As the motorcycle season wound down last fall I noticed my chain was a little loose.
As the motorcycle season wound down last fall I noticed my chain was a little loose. I didn't think much of it because the weather had turned from 70s to 20s overnight and I took a part time job that kept me up from 10PM to 6am anyway. So, I figured, worse case scenario, I would wait for a warm day and get out there to tighten the chain.
A few warm days came and went, but I was usually busy or the sun went down too soon or whatever.
Oh, I should mention: I don't have a garage where I live. I have a carport where the motorcycle spends it's time when I'm not riding it. Therefore, good weather is a must when working on the bike. Or my truck, for that matter - which is not under the carport.
So, I went out today to tighten the chain so I could get a little riding in tomorrow. Loosening the axle nut was a pain the in the ass, but I got 'er done, adjusted the chain and put everything back together. Then took the SV for a test ride around the block. Everything seemed good to go ... until I parked it. Apparently, somewhere along the way, the chain became tight. Like, cable suspension bridge tight.
Gah!
Annoyed with myself I loosened everything and re-adjusted the chain, tightened everything back up and ... gah! it was to tight again! What the F?
As you may have guessed, I'm not the most mechanically inclined person in the room.
So, one more time: this time I left a little more slack in the chain and put everything back together. Whew! That seemed to do the trick well enough.
A short test ride later and all was good. Yay!
But I do have some questions. I read a couple of articles and watched a couple of YT videos, but I couldn't find a single comment or instruction on what gear to leave the bike in when making my adjustments. In the end I went with Neutral. Is that right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NiDFohUbYY&feature=share
A few warm days came and went, but I was usually busy or the sun went down too soon or whatever.
Oh, I should mention: I don't have a garage where I live. I have a carport where the motorcycle spends it's time when I'm not riding it. Therefore, good weather is a must when working on the bike. Or my truck, for that matter - which is not under the carport.
So, I went out today to tighten the chain so I could get a little riding in tomorrow. Loosening the axle nut was a pain the in the ass, but I got 'er done, adjusted the chain and put everything back together. Then took the SV for a test ride around the block. Everything seemed good to go ... until I parked it. Apparently, somewhere along the way, the chain became tight. Like, cable suspension bridge tight.
Gah!
Annoyed with myself I loosened everything and re-adjusted the chain, tightened everything back up and ... gah! it was to tight again! What the F?
As you may have guessed, I'm not the most mechanically inclined person in the room.
So, one more time: this time I left a little more slack in the chain and put everything back together. Whew! That seemed to do the trick well enough.
A short test ride later and all was good. Yay!
But I do have some questions. I read a couple of articles and watched a couple of YT videos, but I couldn't find a single comment or instruction on what gear to leave the bike in when making my adjustments. In the end I went with Neutral. Is that right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NiDFohUbYY&feature=share
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