Adjusting chain slack

[countersteer]

I've had 4 chain driven bikes in the last decade, so I've adjusted chain slack often.  The GT seems different to me though in that the slack before and after torquing the axle nut varies as much as 7 mm.  That seems like a lot.  Are others seeing this much variance?

[dbeau]

I didn't measure how much but I noticed early on that the chain tightens considerably after torquing the axle nut. So yes, I agree with you 

[coachluciano]

I can’t say enough how important chain slack is to this bike in particular. It is one of the fundamental adjustments and effects a lot on this bike. Case in point.  I just installed these two days ago. Had to pull the swing arm pivot rod out as part of the process. It slides right out with the proper tension of the rear wheel. All back together. 1st ride. Love the rear set. But the bike did not feel normal at all. Clutch felt like it was catching hard, bike was jerking on engine braking. All wrong. WTF I say. Drive back home. Look at chain and say “that seems a little loose”. Yup. Probably 2-3mm tops slack added due to the swing arm removal. Set it back my normal, got on the bike and was like and immediately after leaving the driveway, bike was back to its old badass self. Booting new kicks. 

[betoney]

27 minutes ago, coachluciano said:

 I just installed these two days ago. Had to pull the swing arm pivot rod out as part of the process.

 

Those rear-sets look nice.  Do they not have the rear brake light switch?

[whistler]

1 hour ago, dbeau said:

I didn't measure how much but I noticed early on that the chain tightens considerably after torquing the axle nut. So yes, I agree with you 

Don't know if others do this, but after adjusting the slack and before I tighten the axle nut, I jam a rolled up old t-shirt or a couple of cloth shop rags between the bottom chain and the sprocket, then tighten the axle nut.  Don't know how it works, only that it works.  The sprocket will move a tiny bit into the rolled t-shirt and then stop.  Doesn't hurt the chain or sprocket and still maintains the slack that I've adjusted.  Been doing this for all my past and current chain-driven bikes.  Works very well for me.

[coachluciano]

24 minutes ago, betoney said:

Those rear-sets look nice.  Do they not have the rear brake light switch?

Indeed they do. All tucked nicely behind the master cylinder. 

[roadrash83]

2 hours ago, dbeau said:

I didn't measure how much but I noticed early on that the chain tightens considerably after torquing the axle nut. So yes, I agree with you 

 One of the reasons I installed the Lighttech chain adjuster kits. Expensive but work really well.

[coachluciano]

14 minutes ago, roadrash83 said:

 One of the reasons I installed the Lighttech chain adjuster kits. Expensive but work really well.

Stock chain tensioner belongs in the garage with the rest of the stock crap Yamaha neglected to keep in-line with what this bikes performance. Giles make top of the line chain tensioner for this bike. I have one. I know nothing  about chain moving while tightening axel bolt. Lol. 

[dbeau]

Eh, I just leave a little extra slack before tightening the axle. Works for me.

[norcal616]

I barely crack the axle nut loose to adjust chain, just enough to use a tiny bit of effort to adjust blocks using chain alingment tool... I adjust my chain when it's warm also... 

[bikerdup]

I use the chain adjustment tool from MotionPro and am very pleased.  One tool ensures you have the rear wheel properly aligned; the seconf tool is used to set chain slack.  They work very well and are small enough to easily store under the seat.  Check them out and watch the You Tubes.  Cheao and good.

[upshift]

I recently got a new chain put on (among other things) by a local dealer and noticed on the ride home that the chain slack was set too tight. I also noticed that much of the annoying chain lash that I have disliked since purchasing the bike was gone, too, making on/off throttle action much smoother and more confidence-inspiring. 

My question is, if I choose to keep the chain this tight (it's at about 1" slack, I'd say), do I risk doing any damage?

I'm assuming it'll stretch out a bit the more I ride it and eventually end up closer to the revamped specs (2.5-3.5").

Thoughts? 

[kingfisher]

On 7/11/2019 at 6:56 PM, norcal616 said:

I barely crack the axle nut loose to adjust chain, just enough to use a tiny bit of effort to adjust blocks using chain alingment tool... I adjust my chain when it's warm also... 

This is the key point in chain adjustment for me; loosen the axle nut only enough to allow the adjusters to move the axle enough to proper slack, then tighten the axle nut to proper tightness. Adjustment usually will not change at all. If you loosen the axle nut to full loose, adjust, and tighten, it always changes. The axle nut can still be mildly tight, but will still move with adjuster force. Also, a little goes a long way in adjusting. I've found that about 1/8 turn of the adjuster will take up about 0.25 inches of slack. If you over tighten the chain, loosen the axle nut fully, shorten the adjusters some, and again partially tighten the axle nut and repeat the above.

[StealthAu]

1 hour ago, upshift said:

I recently got a new chain put on (among other things) by a local dealer and noticed on the ride home that the chain slack was set too tight. I also noticed that much of the annoying chain lash that I have disliked since purchasing the bike was gone, too, making on/off throttle action much smoother and more confidence-inspiring. 

My question is, if I choose to keep the chain this tight (it's at about 1" slack, I'd say), do I risk doing any damage?

I'm assuming it'll stretch out a bit the more I ride it and eventually end up closer to the revamped specs (2.5-3.5").

Thoughts? 

Yes, you will wear out your chain quicker, increase chances of breaking it too. 

As your shock compresses, chain tightens. I had my rear shock off recently and can confirm the manual specs are what you want. 

[betoney]

2 hours ago, upshift said:

I recently got a new chain put on (among other things) by a local dealer and noticed on the ride home that the chain slack was set too tight. I also noticed that much of the annoying chain lash that I have disliked since purchasing the bike was gone, too, making on/off throttle action much smoother and more confidence-inspiring. 

My question is, if I choose to keep the chain this tight (it's at about 1" slack, I'd say), do I risk doing any damage?

I'm assuming it'll stretch out a bit the more I ride it and eventually end up closer to the revamped specs (2.5-3.5").

Thoughts? 

Where are you getting "revamped specs" of 2.5-3.5" of chain slack?  It should be about 1"-1.25" slack.