aeg Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 I asked the dealer to tell the tech who was building the bike from the crate that I need 30mm as a minimum for a chain slack. I'd hope the moto mechanics would question the numbers so low Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 I asked the dealer to tell the tech who was building the bike from the crate that I need 30mm as a minimum for a chain slack. I'd hope the moto mechanics would question the numbers so low That's exactly what I did when collecting my new 2016 three months ago, having learned from my earlier Tracer and this Forum what all that whining was about. The mech raised an eyebrow, but did as asked: much, much better! And I checked it before riding away... Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeetea Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 And rear tire on the ground...this is just like the oil debate. I measure on center stand, rear wheel off the ground... ~25-30mm.So what's the best oi So what's the best oil to use on a chain? (just kiddin'). Hi folks I'm back after 8 months of madness! So the ol' chain thing trundles on...it must be linked to something. Honda SS50, Kawasaki Z200, Honda 400/4, Yamaha TDM900, Yamaha XT660Z Tenere, KTM 990 Adventure, BMW R1200GS, Mr Stevens, and my favourite of all: Yamaha MT-09 Tracer...a bit like FJ-09 only properly named :¬P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattonme Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I'd hope the moto mechanics would question the numbers so low With rare exception line mechs are taught only one rule: the factory manual + service bulletins are infallible and must be obeyed regardless of any "on the job experience" that says otherwise. The dealer is far more interested in avoiding a lawsuit/complaint arising out of deviations than preserving the mechanical integrity of your machine. If the manual is followed, they have a legally defensible position and can conveniently deflect it to Yamaha corporate which has the deep pockets. Plus HQ will give you the run-around as you try to navigate the labyrinth of bureaucracy and incur your frustrated wrath, all the while the dealer is spared having to spend any more of their time on you. Or you call up the editor of a certain trade magazine and he makes a call and an engineer calls you back within 3 hours. The problem never gets fixed, but at least an "investigate this" memo gets sent out. To be once more lost in the Japanese HQ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojosz Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 My 2 cents after 53k miles and chain number 4. Slack 1/2 to 3/4 inch is ok - more impacts negatively on the drive, less will wear the chain earlier, especially with pilion. The problem is the rear shock. The preload is limited and the shock wears out after 30-35k miles (with lots of 2 up riding probably much earlier). I changed the shock at 40k to ohlins with hydraulic preload adjustment - best upgrade on the bike - and that has also taken care of the chain slack issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crempel Posted August 19, 2017 Share Posted August 19, 2017 No offense jojosz, but how can changing the shock take care of the chain slack issue! Seems to me that someone who has gone through 4 chains in 53k miles hasn't figured out much about chain maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojosz Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 No offense jojosz, but how can changing the shock take care of the chain slack issue! Seems to me that someone who has gone through 4 chains in 53k miles hasn't figured out much about chain maintenance. No offense taken. The ohlins shock performs just much better: the preload and compression can be dialed in to get a comfortable ride without the suspension bottoming out. The original shock in comparison has limited preload while the compression is firm (and can't be adjusted). And the spring seems to wear out rather quickly (compared to previous bikes). The soft spring stretches and wears out the chain, especially if ridden two up. The chain life reduced rapidly after 25-30k. I changed to the third chain at 35k miles and it lasted only 5k. If ridden a lot two up, I estimate that this will occur much earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crempel Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 Longest distance between the two sprockets is not at fully loaded, it at about 1/3 of the travel distance. It gets looser after that. If the slack is sufficient at the tightest point, no other factors are relevant. I'm certain that the new shock improves many things, but it won't improve chain life. With chains it's always good to remember that nothing bad will come from a chain that is slightly loose, but slightly tight can be a real problem. Your 5k chain, assuming is was a decent quality item, almost had to be defective. Do you clean and lube often? The chain I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipperT Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 No offense jojosz, but how can changing the shock take care of the chain slack issue! Seems to me that someone who has gone through 4 chains in 53k miles hasn't figured out much about chain maintenance. No offense taken. The ohlins shock performs just much better: the preload and compression can be dialed in to get a comfortable ride without the suspension bottoming out. The original shock in comparison has limited preload while the compression is firm (and can't be adjusted). And the spring seems to wear out rather quickly (compared to previous bikes). The soft spring stretches and wears out the chain, especially if ridden two up. The chain life reduced rapidly after 25-30k. I changed to the third chain at 35k miles and it lasted only 5k. If ridden a lot two up, I estimate that this will occur much earlier. Interesting observations. I'm on my second chain at 23k and am unhappy with the wear and noise, but the slack is very consistent and hasn't needed very much adjustment to keep it in that 15-20mm range. I'm a average build guy and rarely ride 2-up, so have been living with the stock rear shock. I put a Renthal sprocket on the rear, and it's trashed after 8k miles. Not a good purchase on my part. Stock front sprocket. RK top of the line oring chain (forget the kind). What have you had good luck with? I'm considering going back to a stock rear and another RK chain. A buddy likes Vortex on his FZ09. I think the torque (and my wrist) just eats sprockets on this model. Skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojosz Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 No offense taken. The ohlins shock performs just much better: the preload and compression can be dialed in to get a comfortable ride without the suspension bottoming out. The original shock in comparison has limited preload while the compression is firm (and can't be adjusted). And the spring seems to wear out rather quickly (compared to previous bikes). The soft spring stretches and wears out the chain, especially if ridden two up. The chain life reduced rapidly after 25-30k. I changed to the third chain at 35k miles and it lasted only 5k. If ridden a lot two up, I estimate that this will occur much earlier. Interesting observations. I'm on my second chain at 23k and am unhappy with the wear and noise, but the slack is very consistent and hasn't needed very much adjustment to keep it in that 15-20mm range. I'm a average build guy and rarely ride 2-up, so have been living with the stock rear shock. I put a Renthal sprocket on the rear, and it's trashed after 8k miles. Not a good purchase on my part. Stock front sprocket. RK top of the line oring chain (forget the kind). What have you had good luck with? I'm considering going back to a stock rear and another RK chain. A buddy likes Vortex on his FZ09. I think the torque (and my wrist) just eats sprockets on this model. Skip I wouldn't exclude that the 5k chain was defective, but I noticed increased wear and stretching on the previous chain. I agree that the weakening shock should not lead to stretching the chain, but the frequent bottoming out was the only obvious change over time. I use jt sprockets which have been prefect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crempel Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Was the chain that went 5k installed onto used sprockets? What is your cleaning and lining procedure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeg Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 ... I'm on my second chain at 23k and am unhappy with the wear and noise, but the slack is very consistent and hasn't needed very much adjustment to keep it in that 15-20mm range. Skip I see the problem listed in the numbers listed in the last sentence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcal616 Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 1" of chain slack is what the FJ-09 needs... *thats she said* ? 2012 wr250f - C-class 30+ age group 2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition-80whp 2015 fj-09- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich tune by 2WDW @120whp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattonme Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 I put a Renthal sprocket on the rear, and it's trashed after 8k miles. Not a good purchase on my part. Stock front sprocket. RK top of the line oring chain (forget the kind). Not to side-track the thread too much but "top of the line RK" is a misnomer. RK chain is of poor quality. You want an EK chain. Talk to Vortex Racing - US importer. I run steel chain rings since they don't wear out like aluminum. But if you do use aluminum the "replace chain at same time" argument goes out the window for the most part since AL is so much softer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojosz Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Was the chain that went 5k installed onto used sprockets? What is your cleaning and lining procedure? The 5k chain went on new sprockets. Usual lube and clean. Wheel alignment checked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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