Newbie Chain Adjustment

[instin]

This is a pain in the arse. I am trying to adjust my chain per the KDX service manual an it states the clearance should be between 2.2 to 2.8 inches.

The first setting at notch 3 gives me 2.55" at most points on the chain except for the tightest spot which is 2.3" clearance. Too close to the bottom limit.

The second setting at notch 2 gives me 2.8" at most points on the chain except for the tightest spot which is 2.5" clearance. At the top limit!

Which do I use? The notch 3 setting looks right but I'm afraid it will snap at the tightest point.. The notch 2 setting leaves the chain very sloppy to the point it looks like it could fly off if I gunned it.

Thanks

 

[kelseybrent]

A good rule of thumb is adjust it so that you can lift up on the chain below the swing arm and just touch the back edge of the chain slider. If your chain has noticeable tight spots, adjust at the tightest spot. If you're stuck in between detents on the snail adjuster, go looser instead of tighter and if this is a new bike with the stock chain, get ready to buy a new O-ring chain. The stockers are crap.

B out

 

[ChuckyBoy]

This might be stating the obvious, but when checking the chain slack, be sure the bike is on a stand.

My 2 cents.

Chuck

 

[Jackpiner57]

Chain slack is measured with the bike on it's kickstand, not on a center stand.. Measure from the center of the kickstand bracket (between the 2 bolts) up to the bottom side of the chain. In muddy conditions, leave a little extra slack (2 5/8" to 2 11/16) I put mine at 2 3/8" for normal conditions.

The chain will look fairly loose. That's OK! Ride it like a madman.

 

[ChuckyBoy]

I "stand" corrected.

Wouldn't you know it...the only time I chime in with some tech advice, I'm wrong!

Sorry about that.

I better go check my chain slack

See y'all,
Chuck

 

[instin]

JackPiner57,

That's exactly what I did and my findings are in the original post above. Obviously the 2 notches are next to each other and both fall in the accepted parameters, but on the bottom limit and the top limit. Which am I better off using?

 

[canyncarvr]

Better the looser than the tighter.

...I thought is was measured from the top of the swingarm to bottom of the lifted chain at the end of the slipper....

If '..on most parts of the chain..' means you can rotate the thing to various places and get that much of a difference in slack, that's curious. Something is kinked, some pins/bushings are shot.....something is wrong.

 

[Jackpiner57]

I stand corrected! (well I'm sitting down but)The measurement IS from the top of the swingarm to the bottom of the chain! It is measured at the point on the swingarm that is above the center of the kickstand bracket. Sorry to not be succinct. Like CC said, you lift the chain and measure. Chains don't wear evenly so rotate the rear wheel until you have the smallest distance from the top of the swingarm to the chain, then adjust it. Like CC said, better a little loose than too tight.

I wouldn't worry too much about it being perfect, just as long as it isn't way loose or tight.

 

[canyncarvr]

This is kind'a picky..but to be 'succinct' ;)...that measurement is taken at 90º to the swingarm, not vertically.

Yeah...sure that's obvious. I keep thinking of the idle screw/air screw confusion of a few months back. It took a l-o-n-g time to get to the point that if we're talking nylon, we're NOT talking air screw!

 

[wibby]

...talking nylon? ;)

 

[Jackpiner57]

Unless it's parked on a downhill! Yeah that's it.

Talking nylon is OK, I like nylons but talking through them can get you into trouble.

 

[Jaybird]

A chain should indeed wear evenly on each link. Only if there is a problem with the chain drive, ie...links with violated rings, damaged sprocket teeth, damaged links due to bad link removals, etc...will a chain wear unevenly.
The reason you will see manuals and tutorials explain to check the measurement in several different places on the chain is so you can identify a problem chain, rather than because they wear unevenly naturally.

I realise that bike mfg's will provide you with a method for checking your chain slack and it usually amounts to making the measurement the easiest for the rider to accomplish. But, the proper measurement for chain slack on ANY bike is to have approx. 2% distance of your sprocket shaft centers when the chain is in it's tightest possible point. To get the chain in it's tightest point you have to either remove the shock and pull the rear up or compress the shock until the chain is at it's tightest point and keep it there with a strap. Once the chain is stationary in it's tightest position,(swingarm in a straight line between counter shaft and rear shaft) you can lay a straight edge accross the top of the chain at both sprockets and measure from that line to the top of the chain at it's lowest slack point.

You should really only have to do this procedure one time. After you have the correct chain slack then put the bike back in it's normal position that the MFG recommends you measure, and check to see what measurement you get. Use that measurment from then on. It may vary slightly from what the MFG recommends, but it will be a much more precise measurement for your particular bike.

I have seen bike mfg's give out the exact same measuring procedures and values when they have changed the swingarm length from year to year. This is proof that they are providing method for ease of rider rather than using engineering data of what the slack should actually be for a particular model. However, if you don't pay close attention to detail, you should just stick with what the mfg spouts and ride.

 

[instin]

It may be because I am new to riding and rode it 3 times before adjusting it?

 

[canyncarvr]

A chain that is not adjusted properly or misadjusted due to lack of adjustment stands a much better chance of being damaged than a chain that is properly adjusted.

It's an easy guess (not necessarily a correct guess) that your chain is damaged due to lack of proper adjustment.

re: swingarms and such.

You don't have to look at many bikes to see a huge difference in the arc the drive components travel through, and therefore a like difference in where that 'tightest' part is. Some bikes get 'tightest' fairly quick, some don't.

While I doubt many, if any follow J's regimen for determining swingarm movement and chain slack......they'd be well served to do so.

Instin: What is 'it' exactly?

The 200 comes with a non-o-ring chain. It's also a CRAP chain. If you can get any sort of decent ride out of it in a day and not have to adjust it in the middle of that ride, it's a wonder. If that's what you ride, expect the chain to be junk in short order.

If you haven't damaged the sprockets yet..and you have a 200 with the oem chain, you'd be doing yourself a favor by getting decent chain on it now! O/X-ring or not, your choice.


sez me.

 

[instin]

I have a 2003 KDX 220. It's the O-Ring chain. It has to be worth at least 100 miles. I only have 40 miles on the chain.

 

[instin]

"It" is referring to the uneven stretching of the chain. Hence the one spot that is tighter than the other 95% of the chain.

 

[instin]

I live in mass and our terrain is very technical and tight with lots of water crossings and boulder climbing, no sand or soft dirt here. Slow (2nd at most) technical riding.

 

[wallasaki]

Whatever happened to the 3 finger measurement from the back of the slipper to the bottom of the chain? Seems to keep me in the ballpark... woods too - but since I put the rk o-ring chain w/ new sprockets on I adjusted once.

 

[BRush]

Take a short wooden dowel or a thin metal rod and use paint or masking tape to mark the upper and lower ranges of recommended chain adjustment. The idea is to make a simple go, no-go gauge stick that you can use to rapidly check adjustment. I’ve always run my chains at the loose end of the mfgr’s spec and I don’t worry so much about finding the tightest spot to measure. Jaybird’s method is technically advanced and most likely would produce better long term results, but for me it would be like the time I vowed to do fifty sit-ups every morning. I think I lasted three days :silly: .

 

[Jaybird]

AH, but my method is only a one time event. It is just to find out where exactly your measurment should be. If after you are done you find that you can place three fingers under the chain just above the kickstand....then it will be the easy place to measure from them on, and you will have the confidence of knowing it is spot-on no matter what the book says.