Wilsons Sandbox

you are correct about the chain slack changing. i hope i didn't accidentally give the impression that i thought otherwise. obviously, if it didn't change, you wouldn't need to have slack. the reason for slack is so that at some point, as the swingarm goes through it's travel, the chain doesn't get too tight. chains actually don't need to be slack, they just need to not be too tight. since most bikes don't pivot at the countershaft, this means a compromise of sorts. i believe (someone say something if this is wrong) that the chain is slackest when the suspension is topped out. assuming this is the case, then adjusting the slack at any other setting would simply result in a too-loose chain, which is probably no big deal as long as it stays on. i can't imagine how it would possibly be better to adjust the chain slacker with more load on the bike. the swingarm's path remains the same. it is still possible to use all 9" of travel, regardless of any reasonable load on the bike. as such, it seems reasonable to me to adjust the chain slack to be the same under the standard conditions (bike on sidestand, unloaded) no matter what you plan on putting on it. carrying more weight does not affect the maximum chain looseness/tightness because it does not affect the limits of the swingarm movement. if it were possible to get the chain too tight with the factory slackness spec, then the factory spec would be different, eh? i aplogize in advance if anyone finds this too pedantic. -mark "protractor" weaver

> > As I see it, in order for chain slack to stay constant, the > pivoting radius > would have to stay constant. A constant radius would require > the swingarm > pivot point to be the countershaft sprocket. We all know > that the swingarm is > not attached to the countershaft sprocket and therefore the > radius relative to > the rear wheel changes slightly depending on compression. It > makes sense then > to check chain tension with at least the weight of the bike. > Regards, > -svt- > > >

Four inches from lowest point to highest point, measured at the rubber chain wear piece, sounds just about right to me.  If you use lots of WD you won't have to adjust very ofter, has been my experience.

----- Original Message ----- [b]From:[/b] roadking80@... [b]To:[/b] DSN_klr650@egroups.com [b]Sent:[/b] Tuesday, April 18, 2000 6:42 PM [b]Subject:[/b] Re: [DSN_klr650] Re: Chain Slack Having no manual on me, what I've just done, is to get on the bike, and a friend helped me adjust the chain, with 1 inch slack... seemed alright on a test ride, no noise, no dragging, this equated to about 4 inches of slack with me off the bike, and the bike on the side stand. I'm 170 lbs and getting heavier... JC ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com [img]https://ec.yimg.com/ec?url=http%3A%2F%2Fadimg.egroups.com%2Fimg%2F2346%2F3%2F_%2F911801%2F_%2F956108574%2FColorMeRevised-468x60.gif&t=1571716751&sig=NAy9TvzHCAyalzChzWHiww--~E[/img] Visit the KLR650 archives at http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 Support Dual Sport News... dsneditor@... Let's keep this list SPAM free! Visit our site at http://www.egroups.com/group/DSN_klr650 To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@egroups.com

--- In DSN_klr650@egroups.com, cosmo_bojinski@h... wrote:> Hi List, just wondering how much damage I may be doing by not usinga torque wrench when reinstalling front and rear wheels.(not tootight so they still spin,not too loose so they don't fall off, not tooscientific huh?) am I asking for bearing problems or is this stillsafe territory for tightening by feel?.....thanks all....cosmo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I recommend using a torque wrench all the time until you havedeveloped the proper 'mechanics feel', just don't get over confident!I still use a torque wrench for precision work (cam holders, cylinderhead, etc). You can't go wrong having the proper tools.Professor'95 KLR650 A9Federal Way, Wa [USA]