Topic: chronic drive chain slack?

[mrblasty]

How often do you guys find it necessary to tighten your chains? mine seems to need it about every two weeks.
The chain is a few months old.   

[oldbiker]

A new chain will always stretch a little while settling down but depending on your milage and how often you lubricate it, I would not expect to adjust every two weeks. If you set it too tight in the first place this will accelerate wear.

[jaknight]

Since you asked; for what it's worth........

     The chain on my CB750 K4 gives me the biggest pain in the *** , more than anything else that ever needs to be done on my bike.  I have only 24,500 miles on the bike.

     My understanding is that the manuals say adjustment is needed every 500 miles.  It seems like I need to do mine about once every two weeks, though I sometimes put it off for a month or so.  I normally ride 10 to 15 miles per day, ergo, about 280 to 420 miles a month.  It is the original chain.

     I have tried many different brands of "modern" spray on lubricants, letting them soak in while the chain was warm from a ride, then cleaning off the excess so it doesn't get thrown all over the rear wheel.  They all throw excess on the rear rim, no matter what the spray can says about not flying off.

     About one week ago I switched from the spray on wonders to old fashioned 80/90 weight gear oil.  I put it on after cleaning the chain, let it soak in, then with a rag took off the excess to help prevent it flying all over the rim.  So far, after proper adjustment, the chain has stayed better than it ever has before.  It is more "pliant", non kinking, and hasn't needed adjusting yet, though it has only been a week or so (sometimes I had to adjust in less than a week with the spray on wonders).

     Though time will truly tell, so far I am happier with the gear oil than the sprays.  The gear oil seems to really lubricate the chain and penetrate to the innards of the chain.  I felt that the spray ons never really did that, they simply dripped off the links, appearing to soak between the links and onto the pins and rollers, but only an appearance, not for real.

     I do know that the chain, with use of the gear oil, has gotten rid of the somewhat tight spots it did have.............

     P.S.~~~I thought I should add that before I changed to the gear oil, I did thoroughly clean the chain in a pan that was placed under the bike with the rear wheel removed and filled with denatured alcohol.  I scrubbed the chain with a wire brush and the alcohol.  Then I let it dry completely using a hair dryer to evaporate the alcohol.  At this point I added the gear oil.

     ~ ~ ~ jaknight ~ ~ ~

[putnaja1]

I know that when I used to ride dirt bikes, I used to take the chain off and put it in a pan, and fill the pan with 90 wt. oil that I heated, so the chain got a hot oil bath.  This was after I scrubed the chain with Soap and water and a brush, rinse with water, then WD-40, and finally dried with a rag.  While this was time consuming and a pain in the butt, I never had a chain failure, and I abused the crap outta the dirtbikes while riding 

Jason

[STLrocker]

blasty, i had a cheap chain a while ago and i had to adjsut it a lot, though not quite as much as you. but then, im lazy with chain maintenance, so maybe i should have. anyway the point is, i got rid of that and got a decent chain, and havent had any trouble since.

dont know what type of chain you have, but from experience the cheap ones stretch a lot in comparison. i usually go the cheap route on things, but to me it turned out to be money well spent.

jaknight, to me 24,500 sounds like a lot of miles on an original chain. especially if you havent owned it forever, and dont know what kind of maintenance was done over those miles. and the tight spots suggest that it wasnt cared for in the best way.  did you check for play in the links when you had it off for cleaning? something sounds wrong if it needs adjusted that much.

[glendaler]

jacknight, it seems to me gear oil is the way to go, i always felt the same way about the spray on stuff, it didn't last and ended up everywhere. i'm getting a brand new chain and sprockets and i'm wondering if i can just start off with the gear oil, or should the chain be cleaned like you said even thought it's brand new?

[cd811]

good thread..I got one of those $120 subaki nickel plated chains and I have to adjust it a lot...of cource I ride wfo and burnouts and such(like some kid, but it makes me smile)...I like 90 wt also plus I got my top vent hose routed down to puke on my chain.

[TwoTired]

How often do you guys find it necessary to tighten your chains? mine seems to need it about every two weeks.
The chain is a few months old.   

Were the sprockets new too?

Old sprockets can accelerate chain wear.

Cheers,

[ofreen]

The chain on my CB750 K4 gives me the biggest pain in the *** , more than anything else that ever needs to be done on my bike.  I have only 24,500 miles on the bike..........It is the original chain.

I'd say you got your money's worth out of that chain.  It is a good sign the chain is becoming toast when you have to frequently adjust it.  At some point, the wear will really accelerate as the chain grinds itself up internally.  The sprockets will be history, too.

[Dave Wyatt]

On the Hondamatic, I may adjust it this season, it's that easy on chains.  But it wasn't always that way.  My O-ring chain, lubricated with the blue PJ-1 lube, does far better than the standard chain with the same lube.  And if I don't beat the hell out of the chain, it sees little stress.  That's easier done with the 'matic than a regular bike. 

But the number one thing I have found to prolong the periods between adjustments it to adjust it to the loose side of the specs.  I have found through trial and error, heavy on the error, that getting the chain to the tightest point of initial adjustment, just managed to stress it quicker and cause more stretch.  I leave it a tad loose and it does go further between adjustments with proper lubrication. 

I lube when the outer part of the rollers start to look dry, or before an extra long (200+ miles) ride.  Yes, my wheel and sprocket is a little skanky looking, but parts last a long time.

YMMV

[Paul]

Also something to note....
The chain will tighten when one sits on the bike, I usually adjust mine to a nice slack when I'm sitting on it. (you'd be surprised how much it tightens depending on the additional weight)....not sayin' you're fat or anything..

[Dave Wyatt]

Also something to note....
The chain will tighten when one sits on the bike, I usually adjust mine to a nice slack when I'm sitting on it. (you'd be surprised how much it tightens depending on the additional weight)....not sayin' you're fat or anything..

You don't have to say it, it's true, I probably do sqat the bike a little more than the average rider.

That is a good point.  The manuals tell you to tighten within a certain range with the bike on the centerstand.  If you are "Freddy Flyweight" it probaly makes little difference.  With us real men, we stress the chain.

Now, back to the candy bar and coke!

[2wheels]

I have heard it's best to clean / soak the chain in kerosene.  Any thoughts on this before I try it?

[HondaMan]

One tried-and-true method: centerstand the bike at the quarter car wash, run the engine in 1st gear idle, put the carwash on high PSI soap and blast it clean. Immediately take it to about 40-70 MPH to fling out the extra water, then while the chain is warm, lube the chain, again on the stand. Then let it cool.

This process 1.) removes the dirt, even between the sideplates, 2.) flings out the water you just drove it and 3.) liquifies the chain lube and then pulls it into the joints of the rollers by the suction of the cooling air inside the chain's rollers.

After I do mine this way I can typically ride for 2-3 weeks before it needs it again. The Diamond XDL chains get about 30,000 miles before reaching the 2nd notch (2% stretch) on the rear axle adjuster with this technique.

[mrblasty]

Thanks guys, I didn't figure in riding style I think I beat on it plus I could never be described as a fly weight .  I replaced the rear sprocket with the chain and I'm just spooked about wrecking another set of cases.