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Chain Tension


woozer

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That's interesting that motorcyclist magazine found more chain free play with the rear shock fully compressed. Most bikes are the opposite. That may be why Yamaha has tightened up the spec on the FZ/FJ models. As far as driveline noise goes, the only thing I've noticed is a bit of primary drive/primary driven gear whine at around 60 mph in higher gears. Of course this is heard on the right clutch side of the bike, not the chain and sprocket side. The whine was common on the Royal Star Ventures, although it never led to any failures, Yamaha would swap out the clutch baskets for a small number of customers to "move" the whine to a different RPM that the customer may not normally cruise at.
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Just dropped the bike off for its break-in service and they said some customers want it a little looser than spec (ie, what most people consider a normal amount of slack) and others want to go strictly by the book. I asked them for Door #1 and they said they'd be happy to, they don't think it would be a problem at all.
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I missed that motorcyclist mag detail robb, thanks for mentioning it. I will have a buddy sit on the bike and check geometry and suspect the plastic gizmo swingarm protector is the source of some noise. Mine is constant and varies with speed and clutch in...chain. The different gear pitch is something I have not noticed in other bikes and I wear ear plugs when riding.
 
Further research when this ice melts is in order.
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I went through thus pain when I first got my street tracker.
I adjusted my chain by first by finding the tight spot with no weight on the bike. I then adjusted it to the factory spec measured when I was sitting on the bike.
Everything was fine, although the factory spec did seem a bit tight in my mind.
At the first service, the mechanic asked if I had adjusted the chain, to which I said yes. He said that it was too tight and that he had loosened it.
I pointed out that it was to factory spec. But he told me that he thought Yamaha had made a mistake and he would be taking it up with them. On the ride home, I was getting distinct chain on metal chafing noises!
I re-adjusted it again to the factory spec and the bike went back to being quiet again.
I have since spoken with the dealer who have admitted that they got it wrong and Yamaha was indeed right.
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  • 2 weeks later...
I believe that Yamaha needs to be clearer in showing the dimensions for the slack. I think they are trying to show that the slack should be .5 inches above and below the centerline of the chain. Therefore 1" from bottom to top, which is normal measuring, I think. Correct me if I'm wrong. 
Page 7-25 of the owners manual shows the slack to be the total from top to bottom, 5 to 15 mm. Seems pretty tight. I'll go with 1/2" when I set mine from now on. 
 
 

 
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  • 2 weeks later...
Hi everyone. Just joined this forum for the specific question about chain tension on my lady friends new FJ-09.
 
Noticed on our ride yesterday that her chain has almost no slack when she was sitting on it. That can`t be correct, only have a few miles on it. Checked it when we returned, and it was out of spec on the LOOSE side. Soooo I`m not buying into Yamaha`s chain spec`s just yet.
 
30 mm or 1 in has been the ballpark measurement for chain slack for me, unless your riding a long travel suspension bike, then it could be more.
 
Not new to motorcycling, been riding for over 50 years. The only true way to see if there is enough slack in your chain is to bring the rear axle to a parallel position to the countershaft. At this point the chain will be at it`s tightest point, there should be SOME freeplay at this position.
 
To accomplish this you can disconnect the shock from the swingarm, or use some tie downs to compress the suspension, and bring the rear axle to parallel with the countershaft.
 
So that is what I will be doing before our next ride.
 
If anyone does this check before me, please post it up.
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  • 4 weeks later...
Mine had it's 1st service a couple of weeks ago and the Tech said he'd tightened the chain, it was like a 'bow' string and after 30 miles of riding it felt 'vibey' and you could definitely hear a whining when freewheeling with the clutch pulled in, so slackened it off by 2 flats and now it's spot on.
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 now it's spot on.
What would you say your top to bottom measurement is? 
I'm more confused than ever with this, mine is around 30mm and the ride is fine - gear changes are smooth ( took a good few hundred miles for the gear changes to smooth out though).
 
I had left the chain adjustment as is from new, at the first service (1 200 miles ago) the mechanic said it was way too tight, just a  bit concerned it might be too loose now, even though it seems right to me.
 
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 now it's spot on.
What would you say your top to bottom measurement is? 
I'm more confused than ever with this, mine is around 30mm and the ride is fine - gear changes are smooth ( took a good few hundred miles for the gear changes to smooth out though).
 
I had left the chain adjustment as is from new, at the first service (1 200 miles ago) the mechanic said it was way too tight, just a  bit concerned it might be too loose now, even though it seems right to me.

I think it's about 25mm if I think on i'll measure it tomorrow, I can get a bit paranoid chain/transmission noises (had shafties for the last 6yrs) 
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  • 3 weeks later...
 now it's spot on.
What would you say your top to bottom measurement is? 
I'm more confused than ever with this, mine is around 30mm and the ride is fine - gear changes are smooth ( took a good few hundred miles for the gear changes to smooth out though).
 
I had left the chain adjustment as is from new, at the first service (1 200 miles ago) the mechanic said it was way too tight, just a  bit concerned it might be too loose now, even though it seems right to me.

Sorry Steve i forgot i was to post you the chain measurement, it's 25mm  ;)
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i have noticed a much  tighter chain when the bike is warm from riding than when it is room temperature.  It could be the catalytic converter heating up the swingarm and the heat making it longer.  Whatever is causing it there is a dramatic difference cold to hot in chain slack.
 
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  • 3 weeks later...
I've tried both factory tight and not so tight. My fj, with my weight of 155 feels best at tighter side. Maybe not factory tight? But tighter than what I would normally run on my Versys 650. Usually adjust every 300-400 miles if needed. Love my Fj!
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