Chain Adjustment

T

trader

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can someone please give me a step by step basic instruction on how to properly adjust the drive chain. I believe mine's fine but I would like to know for sure . At different throttle settings I am hearing definte diferences in the amount of noise coming form the chain I 'm assuming this is normal since it's moving fatser it's going to be significantly louder.
 
If you have it too tight it will rub against the chain tensioner. Mine is pretty silent even up to 30 MPH
 
that seems to be the general rule, but it never worked for me. I have about 1/4" free play and my chain is smooth and doesnt make noise, also isn't rubbing too hard on the tensioner, runs fine for me. But, again, that's just me :???:
 
do you think the loud noise I'm hearing from the chain could be associated with the fact that my back wheel and engine chain sproket aren't exactly in -line. I mean how exact do they have to be?
 
I was going to suggest you align them, but I decided against it.

YES THEY SHOULD BE IN LINE! (not to be rude... but...)

Just because the chain is pretty wide and it looks like it can take a little mis-alignment, it's usually best to get them in line.

For me, it was a very slight misalignment. on the rear sprocket, it is a flat chrome disc, and the teeth are on an outer ring that sticks out sideways from the main disc at about 1mm, this was how much my chain was out of line, so I flipped the rear sprocket backwards so the outer lip was inwards towards the wheel, thus aligining the chain that 1mm I needed.

Lift your bike, roll the rear wheel with your hand, see if the sprocket is bent, and while the chain is moving, look at it to see if its seated more to the left or right on the sprocket, this can help you decide if you need to switch it around.

My sprocket seemed to be bent like a patato ship, but just slightly, light taps with a rubber mallet fixed it.

also see if the chain is rubbing on the frame in any place. that can cause a sound that gets louder as you go faster. If it is, you can put washers between the skewer and frame to give the chain some clearance.
 
You should align them a closely as possible. However, the chain itself has quit a bit of side to side free play. Mine make a ton of noise, but all seem to be fine as far as the operation goes.
 
BikerGuy.........Thanks for your reply that's what I needed to hear.
your chain also makes a ton of noise. My drive chain is generally quite at speeds below 1/2 throttle. At 3/4 throttle the damn thing is real loud and has a serious vibration but I checked everything for tigthness the tank included and narrowed down the vibrating noise to chain noise,.
But if I increase the throttle power above 3/4 and as high as full it runs and feels smooth (No Vibration).. I guess if it ain't broke don't fix it. I'm just trying to optimize performance and fix a couple things. Such as a High Idle Problem see my other posting. On this post I figured I'd ask you guys the pros how do you tension your chain? Step by step I mean you guys have played around with these things long enough to find out what works best. Please do share.......Thanks
The Stock Trader.
 
My learning curve is pretty steep at this point myself. I rode about 35 miles on mine for the first time today. I re-did my chain tensioner and that helped A LOT!

My sprocket is not dead center, so I can't really get an optimal tension on the chain, but it seems pretty happy at around 30 mph the way it is. It will go faster, and it's quieter while accelerating, but that, I believe, is the nature of the beast.
 
I noticed that too, the faster the bike is going the less the bike vibrates, its really cool. Feels like gliding along over 40MPH
 
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