little bits of rubber under rear fender area.

[Deleted member 5383]

bottom line is still that the assured way to set chain slack is to line up sprocket centers with swingarm center and have 1% to 3% of the total distance between sprocket centers for slack. dynamic, static, flabulent, whatever.

 

[fleetingyouth]

I'll be the first to admit I dont know enough about chains. Ive had the bike for years and taken good care of it but when it comes to chain life I ask others.

The chain is not dry. I lube it after every long ride or 500 miles which ever comes first. There is some rust on the chain but thats because I ride it in the rain all the time and it goes away after a few rides untill the next time its in the rain.


There are no missing o-rings and no major kinks . Maybe a couple stiffer links but nothing that is kinked.


The chain as it sits right now seems loose. on the kickstand the chain rests on the top wear guard. and I can lift the bottom chain up to touch the lower wear guard. There is no wear on the lower guard.

When I adjusted the chain before my last long trip it was adjusted to the manual on the stand. This time I'll try both stand and while sitting on it and see what happens.

When i tuned my bike up this spring I was worried reading on the forum that Id need a new chain based on others comments. However at 14k there is no noticable wear on my sprokets and the chain once cleaned really seems alright. The only thing I dont know is if it has stretch in it. The little color gauge for chain stretch doesnt seem to be a very good indicator.

 

[lootzyan]

bottom line is still that the assured way to set chain slack is to line up sprocket centers with swingarm center and have 1% to 3% of the total distance between sprocket centers for slack. dynamic, static, flabulent, whatever.

If to follow your "bottom line” recommendation for chain slack setting, it should be - 13.5 mm +/- 6.75 mm.

Honda's NC700 owner's manual, for the same setting point, suggests slack should be - 27 - 37 mm +/- 2 mm - almost 2.5 times more.
I'll trust Honda.

 

[DCTFAN]

If to follow your "bottom line” recommendation for chain slack setting, it should be - 13.5 mm +/- 6.75 mm.

Honda's NC700 owner's manual, for the same setting point, suggests slack should be - 27 - 37 mm +/- 2 mm - almost 2.5 times more.
I'll trust Honda.

I know Greenboy is riding and taking photos, so I'll chime in.
The 1% to 3% slack adj is made at the point where the center to center distance is longest.
Once set in this position, and you put bike on side stand and measure the slack per OM,
you will get the slack within what the 10 mm. If you measure the slack on the center stand or any other
method such as you sitting on it, the slack will be different but still correct.
You just got to be consistent in your methodology. There is one correct setting, but how you measure the slack
is per individual preference.

 

[lootzyan]

...
The 1% to 3% slack adj is made at the point where the center to center distance is longest....
...you will get the slack within what the 10 mm...You just got to be consistent in your methodology. ...

In fact I did those extensive measurements about 4 years ago.
Chain slack settings for NC were discussed here many times in the past - easy to find.
Are we going back to this old arguments again?

 

[DCTFAN]

Who's arguing?
It's time for intermission.
Let's watch a video.
[video=youtube;nODCY2ujWeI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nODCY2ujWeI[/video]

 

[lootzyan]

Who's arguing?
It's time for intermission.
Let's watch a video...]

Why do you recommend to watch meaningless 25 min. of video of a guy with primitive measurements techniques?
100 years ago technicians done it with far superior accuracy.

 

[b_rubenstein]

My point was that given one specific motorcycle, no matter who rides it, the chain slack setting has no dependent variable other than the fixed length of the parts involved.

The placement of the parts changes the geometries and how much the chain slack changes with the movement of the rear suspension.

 

[DCTFAN]

Why do you recommend to watch meaningless 25 min. of video of a guy with primitive measurements techniques?
100 years ago technicians done it with far superior accuracy.

The video demonstrates how small the good vs. bad measurement are for the chain. The OP was trying to figure out whether his chain was still good or not.
But my link to the video was for the benefit of folks, including myself, who take the generous range given in the OM (10mm) too lightly.
After the chain has stretched, no amount of precise slack adjustment will cure the deficiency.

If you really care about one of the most important parts of the motorcycle power train, in your control,
you surely should know every detail about it- not sayin' that lootzyan need to any more.

 

[DCTFAN]

Woohoo! Post #600.
Time for an oil change; I'm outa here.

 

[Deleted member 5383]

Right -- I rode all day on one of my two bikes each having the chain adjusted with exactly the same method -- two bikes that have about 5" difference in suspension travel both front and rear. It's a method that allows for non-standard sprocket sizes, any amount of suspension travel, any sag setting, and any kickstand lean or no kickstand at all ; }