Chain Tensioner Ditch that junky tensioner!!

[skypiratescotty]

So I have about 7 tanks of fuel through my Raw 80cc and the biggest problem has been that stupid tensioner for the drive chain. After searching and reading posts here all morning I went and bought a chain break tool ( $8 ) and the guy at the bike shop gave me a few links of bike chain. It took about an hour of alignment and now both chains are tight with no tensioner. I can slide the rear wheel back more if I need to down the road. Benefits have been awesome: drive chain is more quiet, a heck of alot smoother and one less thing to fail. Hope this helps anyone who has been frustrated with the tensioner that doesn't tension.

 

[Dilly Bar Rob]

I agree, the tensioner is evil, perhaps one of the most evil parts of the kit.

Unfortunately in some cases it is a necessary evil. Some bikes need it for chain routing, and on single speeds it sometimes actually makes life easier as you will often get to the point that you need to add a half link to the bike chain to compensate for stretch on the engine chain (not that much of an issue on a multi speed since the derailleur will take up the slack).

I couldn't do without one (both the single speed & the chain routing issue), but at least I managed to mount it in such a way that it can't get pulled into the spokes if anything bad would ever happen. I put two layers of old bicycle tube on it (on the tensioner wheel itself) just cut out 2 O's & slipped them on, helped quiet things down a LOT.