chain adjusting

[ricster]

I cleaned my chain last sunday as I could not ride due to my flat tire and used kerosene with a paint brush that I applied it with and used the paint brush to aggitate in the crevises....got it squeaky clean...cleaner almost as I new I think...anyway I checked the adjustment and it was 1 3/4 inch of slack...I ended up adjusting it to 1 1/4 and then lubed it really well....WOW what a difference in shifting...it goes into gear like butter...in fact I was shifting it last night and it didn't even feel that I was switching gears it was sooo smooth...anyway im amazed that that little of adjustment made that much difference....also no more false nuetrals....its just amazing that this small of an adjustment made that much difference...for the record...I adjusted the chain at 178 miles when I first got her...(the chain had alot of slop in the 1st hundred) but just adjusted for the second time at 4400 miles.

[airrider03]

Yeah I'm due for a new chain now at 16,000 miles. It has the accelerated stretch now...I'll keep the sprockets though, trying to squeeze out two chains between sprocket changes. Hopefully I can do this before the next ride a week from Sunday, Ricster.
Ideally, the Sprint should shift silently, with all the factors in place.

[DaveM]

You should get plenty of milage out of your OEM chain.

I have over 40,000 kms on my bike and almost all of that is pretty hard mountain riding and frequently hard riding two up.

I chew up Pilot powers 4,500kms a set.

I appear to have plenty of wear left in mine????

DaveM

[bobw3592]

No disrespect airrider03 as this may be preaching to the choir and just my $.02. I would recheck that the chain is shot. It could use a chain up in that mileage but it would usually take rainy/dirty extreme conditions with little cleaning or lube care and likely poor adjustment. If the chain is checked and found to be in need of replacement, the sprockets are likely toast too. Normally they are replaced as a set to give the surfaces the best matching tolerances allowing them to wear in together. Either chain or sprockets being worn out will accelerate the wear of the new component.

Good luck
Bob

[smegin]

In line with the others, I have 33,000klm on my OEM chain and sprockets. I asked the mechanic to check both at the 30,000klm service, came back the chain was well within the tolerance and both sprockets were good.

Would always replace chain and sprockets as a set, when it comes time considering going to the 18 tooth front sprocket.

[Splinter]

Don't know what 05+ Sprint adjust spec is but a pre-05 Sprint ST or RS that 11/4 slack would be a bit on the tight side, for dssa or sssa. Tight is not good!

[PaloAlto]

As with Splinter, the consensus here has been that the bike's better off with a bit extra slack than too little. Too little slack is the likely cause of rapid chain/sprocket wear. Bottoming out the rear suspension when the chain is too tight can cause a tremendous amount of tension that can be relieved only by stretching the chain and wearing the sprockets.

Too much slack can add a little to gear slop but 80% of gear slop is in the tranny, not at the chain. You can experiment a little with the bike on the center stand and see how much the rear wheel rotates with and without the front sprocket turning.

I've got 20,000 miles on my OEM chain/sprockets and they still look good. But after learning my lesson, I always check the slack when I get the bike back from the shop.

Bern

[airrider03]

Originally Posted by DaveM

You should get plenty of milage out of your OEM chain.

I have over 40,000 kms on my bike and almost all of that is pretty hard mountain riding and frequently hard riding two up.

I chew up Pilot powers 4,500kms a set.

I appear to have plenty of wear left in mine????

DaveM

Thanks Dave,
But this chain has seen a lot of wet-weather riding, including a long, herky-jerky ride thru a tropical depression downpour with a clutch that refused to disengage.
Even though it's far from being shot, it now requires an adjustment every two weeks vs. the every two months back when it was newer.
I could keep it, but then the sprockets will wear faster.
Also, I'm not cleaning my chain frequently enough, I should shampoo it in kerosene and show it off like every other biker I've seen.
I'll start out fresh and get into the routine one of these days.
It is hard to resist the smooth ride of a new chain though.

[DaveM]

Originally Posted by airrider03

Thanks Dave,
But this chain has seen a lot of wet-weather riding, including a long, herky-jerky ride thru a tropical depression downpour with a clutch that refused to disengage.
Even though it's far from being shot, it now requires an adjustment every two weeks vs. the every two months back when it was newer.
I could keep it, but then the sprockets will wear faster.
Also, I'm not cleaning my chain frequently enough, I should shampoo it in kerosene and show it off like every other biker I've seen.
I'll start out fresh and get into the routine one of these days.
It is hard to resist the smooth ride of a new chain though.

airrider03,
fair enough then. That would explain it. I'm a bit of a fuss pot about chain cleanliness and tyre pressures! And we don't get much rain here either.

cheers,

DaveM

[ricster]

Originally Posted by Splinter

Don't know what 05+ Sprint adjust spec is but a pre-05 Sprint ST or RS that 11/4 slack would be a bit on the tight side, for dssa or sssa. Tight is not good!

I thought the slack was to be 35mm-40mm which would equate to 1 1/4-1 1/2 inches..no?