subject: How To Clean And Adjust Your Motorcycle Chain [print this page] The majority of motorcycles have their final drive via a chain. It is really important to keep the chain clean, lubricated and well adjusted in order to prolong its life and to keep the motorcycle running safely. This article summarises the steps any competent home mechanic can take to complete the task themselves. Allow up to 1 2 hours depending on how dirty the chain is.
First up, check you have all the right equipment and working conditions. Ideally work in a well lit garage but you can do this job outdoors on a nice dry day. Equipment-wise you will need
1.The bike manual to give you the chain slack tolerances and torque settings for when you come to tighten up the axle nut.
2.A paddock stand or bike lift, if your bike is not equipped with a centre stand.
3.Spanners, preferably socket spanners to fit the wheel axle nut and chain adjusters.
4.A torque wrench is handy to tighten the wheel nut to the correct tightness.
5.Plenty of old cloths to help with the cleaning and a small brush, such as old toothbrush.
6.Alternatively, you can purchase a proprietary chain cleaner to reduce the mess and speed up the job.
7.A tape measure for measuring the chain slack.
Now you have gathered the essential equipment together, we can get going on the job.
Lift the rear of the bike with the paddock or centre stand so the wheel is off the ground. You need to be able to turn the wheel to measure the chain slack. This measurement should be made at the mid-point between the wheel axle nut and the gearbox sprocket. Turn the wheel gradually until you find the tightest point of the chain. Once you have found this tight spot you can check the slack tolerance against what is specified in the bike manual. If the chain needs tightening then you need to do the following;
Slacken the rear wheel nut. On most bikes there will be adjusters at the end of the swing arm next to the rear wheel spindle. You will need to slacken the adjuster lock nuts before turning the chain adjusters themselves. Usually a or turn of these nuts clockwise is enough to tighten the chain to the required tension. Its important to keep the number of turns the same on each side to preserve wheel alignment. Once you have checked the chain tension at the mid-point with a tape measure, tighten the lock nuts.
Re-tighten the rear axle nut to the required torque setting. If you havent got a torque wrench then just make sure the nut is really tight.
Re-spin the rear wheel and check the chain tension again. Sometimes the chain can tighten when the rear axle is torqued up so now is a good time to double check.
Now give the chain a good clean:
Either using the cloths/toothbrush or proprietary cleaner, clean each side of the chain with some light oil or paraffin to remove built- up chain lube and dirt. The chain plates should come up looking pretty clean using this technique.
Once youre satisfied most of the crud has gone, its important to reapply the chain lube either using a chain wax spray or apply some engine oil with a small paint brush.
To prolong chain life even more you could consider investing in a chain oiler. There are various options available from manually operating oilers that you turn on before each ride, or you can fit automatic chain oilers that regulate the oil dependent on engine speed.
