[spartan 116]

hey guys, just got most of my bike put back together (woo hoo!) and i was wondering how loose the chain should be. i don't have a manual to check with cause the bike shop is still waiting for it. kinda funny cause i put the bike together without using a manual. ha!
anyway any help is appreciated. thanx

 

[swjohnsey]

35-45 mm.

 

[nugget]

I got mine about 1/2 in. movement. That's what the manual says. If you push up on the chain running underneath the swingarm and you can touch it, it's way to loose

 

[swjohnsey]

That not what my manual says. Half inch of chain slack is way to tight.

 

[nugget]

I misplaced mine. But I think that's what it said for the '03. I may be wrong. What does yours say?

 

[NoFear058]

On side stand.
Clean chain.
Check alignment.
Rotate rear wheel to find position where chain is the tighest.
Measure verticle movement of lower chain between sprockts.
Standard range is 35 ~ 40mm
Unusable range is 35 ~ 45mm (adjust to standard)

 

[Routa]

Originally posted by nugget

I got mine about 1/2 in. movement. That's what the manual says. If you push up on the chain running underneath the swingarm and you can touch it, it's way to loose

That's WAY too tight... My mechanic loosened the chain in my bike a bit in 12000 km service, I think I had something like ~30 mm of slack before the service.

 

[Andy_7676]

tight chain is bad....

35-45 mm of chain slack seems like alot, but it is what you should have...too many people run with a too tight chain which robs horsepower and can cause excessive chain wear...

 

[scum182]

I looked in my manual this AM...for the 2003 636..it is just like NOFEAR058 says....That is how I did mine this weekend

 

[Strong Bad]

Check out the paddock at the local raceway and most of the fast guys run the chain a little on the loose side. This allows the rear shock to do what it's supposed to do without binding up and sacrificing rear-end grip as it fights an over-taught chain. I'd take handling over power at almost any day, even at a place like Road America.