dduelin
Site Supporter
A 1 and 1/16" socket may be easier to find and it fits 27 mm. I have both and have occasion to use either.
Question about Adjusting Chain Tension
- Thread starter belrix
- Start date
belrix
Site Supporter
Ahh, good to know! Last auto parts store had a 27mm!
Knight
New Member
MZ5
Well-Known Member
My American-sized sockets fit the axle bolt & nut better than my metric-sized ones. The rest of the bike the metric wrenches fit best, but for axle bolts the American wrenches are best. There are a number of Japanese items I have and/or have had that are this way.
belrix
Site Supporter
Thanks for all the replies and advice.
I adjusted my chain this evening, it was both easier and harder than expected and took about 10 times longer than it should have! But I'm fairly confident that I did it correctly, rode for 70 miles and the rear wheel didn't come loose or shred the tire.
72llbs of torque on the axle nut seems a little light, but some of that might be due to the length of my torque wrench, will double check tomorrow.
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I adjusted my chain this evening, it was both easier and harder than expected and took about 10 times longer than it should have! But I'm fairly confident that I did it correctly, rode for 70 miles and the rear wheel didn't come loose or shred the tire.
72llbs of torque on the axle nut seems a little light, but some of that might be due to the length of my torque wrench, will double check tomorrow.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
You need a large and a small torque wrench at minimum for a motorcycle. I have six ranges to cover firearms to tractors. It seems that you need a large and a small everything: lawn mowers, trucks, trailers, chain saws, motorcycles, knives, even dogs. Three is better.
Regarding the torque, You must go with the manufacturer's spec because it is different for different types of bearing systems and depends on how the preload is achieved. Old BMW's run with 25 lb.-ft. of torque. 72 lb.-ft. would destroy the bearings in a couple of miles. 25 lb.-ft. on the rear of the NC and your rear wheel might pass you in a turn one day.
ST13Fred
Active Member
Because the distance from the swing arm is shorter to the rear axle than the distance from the drive sprocket to the rear axle, (not concentric) the chain tension tightens as the suspension compresses.
So I reach down, with me sitting on the bike and am satisfied with about an inch of slack that I refer to as 'real time' tension. It's too easy to have too much tension on a chain otherwise, IMO, which kills chain life, along with running a chain dry.
So I reach down, with me sitting on the bike and am satisfied with about an inch of slack that I refer to as 'real time' tension. It's too easy to have too much tension on a chain otherwise, IMO, which kills chain life, along with running a chain dry.
I hate to be the one to inform that you are both wrong (and both right). The slack decreases from unladen to the point where the countershaft, swing arm pivot, and axle are aligned. After that point as you continue to compress the suspension, the slack increases.
The happy reality is that Honda's engineers did all the math, and if you simply set the slack on the side stand to the specified minimum of 1-3/8" that all is well and you can ride away in confidence.
The happy reality is that Honda's engineers did all the math, and if you simply set the slack on the side stand to the specified minimum of 1-3/8" that all is well and you can ride away in confidence.
ST13Fred
Active Member
Wow! Everyone seems to have a different interpretation on this subject.
The slack on my NC TIGHTENS when I sit on it, compared to the side stand setting. If I adjust it per the manual, it is way too tight when I plop my 225+ lbs on it.
For those wanting for confusion: http://nc700-forum.com/forum/garage...in-slack-diff-side-stand-vs-center-stand.html
The slack on my NC TIGHTENS when I sit on it, compared to the side stand setting. If I adjust it per the manual, it is way too tight when I plop my 225+ lbs on it.
For those wanting for confusion: http://nc700-forum.com/forum/garage...in-slack-diff-side-stand-vs-center-stand.html
Your picture proves my point that the slack is minimum when the three points are aligned. The problem with your statement is that the factory spec for slack is on the sidestand, not with the bike held upright. When my bike is on the sidestand, the axle is below the alignment point. The slack decreases until the three are aligned and then begins to increase again. The slack is not at a minimum at the place where Honda specifies measurement.
Has your suspension been lowered? The factory spec would not be correct for a suspension that has been lowered or raised from the stock position. If the suspension height is not stock, then the process that ST13Fred mentioned of determining the correct slack needs to be conducted once. Once done, the slack can be measured on the sidestand and the new measurement can be used thereafter in place of the Honda specified slack..
on second thought...
[video=youtube;V3FnpaWQJO0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3FnpaWQJO0[/video]
[video=youtube;V3FnpaWQJO0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3FnpaWQJO0[/video]
Antarius
Site Supporter
I may have misread something here... because you're using big words and phrasing them in a way that is confusing for laymen folk like me who work on bikes a lot
But bottom line: A bike with load on the rear shock will have less chain slack than one that is completely unladen.
This does not matter if the source of the load is your butt sitting on it, if it's your new super-heavy saddlebags with camping gear in them, if it's you pushing on the rear seat, or even if its the bike sitting on the side stand. Anytime you add ANY load to the bike, you will reduce the amount of chain slack you have -- in other words, the chain will get tighter.
This is why Honda has you check the bike with the bike as unladen as reasonably possible -- which for most people is the side stand. That way when you sit on it, your 40mm of slack shrinks but doens't go to 0 and place unnecessary pressure on the countershaft sprocket and chain.
Antarius
Site Supporter
Thank you, you made my point. From that article:
Iron Butt said:
So, as you sit on the bike or "load" the bike, the three points align and thus - the chain gets tighter. Exactly what I said above.
Antarius
Site Supporter
Yes, I'm aware of that. It is the tightest when the center of the counter-shaft and the center of the swingarm pivot AND the center of the rear axle are all in a straight line. That is not a point of contention.
I think where you're confused is you seem to think that an unladen bike is when those three things are in line; As the article points out, MOST bikes that is not the case.
On MOST bikes, when the bike is unladen it the three points are NOT in line, thus, giving more slack. On MOST bikes, when a person sits on the bike, it "squats" and the three points come in line --- or more inline than when no one was sitting on it --- thus tightening the chain.
You are correct that when the three points are inline the chain is at its tightest, but you are incorrect in your assumption that the points are inline when no one is sitting on the bike. That's not how most bikes are set up.
Here's a few pictures for illustration:
That is an unladen, stock NC700x photo. You can see the swingarm has a very distinct upward slope to it. In other words, the swingarm pivot point and counter-shaft are ABOVE the rear axle.
Now look at this one:
In this picture, you can see how much STRAIGHTER the three points you spoke of are. That's because as the rider sits on the bike, it squats and straightens out the swingarm. Obviously, more weight (2-up etc), the straighter it gets. Suspension components and linkage changes can also affect this.
To further illustrate, here's an NC700x with NO weight on the rear -- as it's on the center stand. You can see the exaggeration of the upward slope (upward as in the counter-shaft and swingarm pivot are HIGHER than the rear axle) as the bike is completely unloaded.
So, as I said, you are correct in when the chain is the tightest but you are for some reason unwilling to understand when that ACTUALLY occurs... and to make it clear again, it DOESNT occur (on the NC700x and most other bikes) when the bike is unladen. The swingarm / axle / pivot points are at their straightest, and thus tightest points, when the bike has WEIGHT on it!
In short, and to be very direct because you have been most patronizing so far; You're wrong.
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lootzyan, please carry on your debate without being rude.
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frog13
Active Member
Anyone use gear oil to lube their drive chain instead of aerosol spray type?.
If so , what weight should be used....90 perhaps.
If so , what weight should be used....90 perhaps.
Most folks find that it works well but is very messy. Pick a weight as you wish. It will sling off. Some even use chain saw bar oil. One of the benefits of o-ring chains was not having to do that any more. The people who keep them clean and adjusted with a light coating of any o-ring compatible chain lube seem to be doing as well as anyone.
ste7ios
Member
Oils must be used with oilers unless you want to lubricate the chain every time you ride...
dduelin
Site Supporter
I use a 50/50 mix of ATF and 80/90 weight hypoid gear oil. I picked this up from a guy that runs chains to 35 - 40,000 miles. The theory is the ATF helps condition the O-rings for long life, the oil runs the chain quiet for a few hundred miles.
The trick is to use a tiny amount of it so it does not fling off. I use a toothbrush dipped in the mix - just ONE brush dip amount applied to the lower run of the chain whilst turning the rear wheel by hand every 300 miles or so. The rear wheel stays as clean as a shaft drive bike, chain stays clean, no cruddy build-up around the countershaft sprocket.
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MZ5
Well-Known Member
I use 75W80 manual tranny oil (Red Line MTL) through my automatic oiler for much of the year. A 90-weight is better for our summers, to limit flow a bit.
