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[Specter]

Hello everyone.  Getting ready to tighten my chain here.

The directions look pretty straightforward, even a tard like me should not mess this up too bad

question is.  Does the bike have to be up on blocks /  chocks to tighten the chain or can I do it with wheels on the ground and bikes weight on them?  When I loosen the wheel axle bolts, is it going to spring or anything and lurch one way or another that will become an issue to reseat to where it needs to be to retighten?

also, and yes I know each chain / bike is different etc, but if the chain is not like totally flapping and slapping loose, about how many flats does it typically take to get it back in specs, 3 or 4?   or 3 or 4 complete turns on the bolt???

Thank you
Aaron

[MVetter]

Chris has told me it does not need to be suspended to be adjusted. You can adjust it on the ground.

[Specter]

Thank you morgan.
that makes life a little easier until I get my lifters and other gear to work on the bike in a more proper fashion.  I wish I would have known all this stuff before I bought the thing, Id have ordered it all up front and not playing catch up later

Aaron

[wadejesu]

[jotjotde]

Unfortunately the explanation in the video is different from what the manual says.
That was discussed at length in another thread some months ago and the general consensus was that both methods appear to be OK as tightening the chain is not rocket science.
Just avoid overtightening as this puts a lot of strain on the bearings - damaging them is very expensive.
Tightening the wheel nut with 70 Nm according to manual, 80 Nm according to the video - should not be a problem either way.

I had to tighten the chain about 3 times now (16000 km on the odo now). It was 1/6 every time (just the 'next face' of the hexagonal nut) on both sides.
Axle nut can be loosed without problems. I do this work with the bike on the backstand - bought an extra-slim wrench for that.
After doing all this, sit on the bike and roll forward and backward to allow the stuff to settle, then check the chain tightness again. Might be, that it is now a bit too tight - that shoud be avoided.

After 16000 km my chain has lenghened approx. 1% according to my gauging tool. I plan to have it replaced against a Regina HPE at the next opportunity.

[Specter]

you get a bit of play in the chain, for an 'acceptable range'.
How critical is the tightness as far as dead on the perfect zone?

An overly loose chain, causes noise, some power loss, and a bit more wear on the chain and sproket maybe?
An overly tight chain, can stress those and take out the bearing, yah very expensive there!

Let's say your chain IS a little over tight.  How harmful is that?  Will it kill you in 500 km?  or just a little which will pretty much stretch itself back out again in probably those same 500 km is not a big deal?

For each face you took the nut in, how many mm of slack did it take out of the chain?

sorry for all the stupid ?'s  I plan on keeping the bike for a long time and want to make sure im doing everything right here.

aaron

[Pard]

I used to get very anxious and overthink this issue.

Just measure it so that is meets manual specs.

After doing this a few dozen times, you develop the sense so your eyeball and finger are calibrated close enough with actual measurement.  Better slightly loose, never ride when too tight.

These videos are helpful.

Chain alignment cannot be judged by swingarm markings if you want precision.  Misaligned chain will wear the chain and sprockets and tires more rapidly than needed, and will affect handling.

Motion pro tool is a cheap and easy solution. 

https://www.sportbiketrackgear.com/motion-pro-chain-alignment-tool-08-0048/

[jotjotde]

Let's say your chain IS a little over tight.  How harmful is that?  Will it kill you in 500 km?  or just a little which will pretty much stretch itself back out again in probably those same 500 km is not a big deal?

For each face you took the nut in, how many mm of slack did it take out of the chain?

An slightly overtight chain will not kill you nor cause instant damage, but you know that already. Damage will happen over time in the appearance of high wear.
Sprockets wear out (shark teeth) and chain lengthening will speed up. That is the damage you can see and measure.
What concerns me most in this scenario is the damage to the bearing of the axle where the drive sprocket sits. You cannot see it and you cannot gauge its wear.
Bearing theory says that misalignment can shave off lifetime exponentially. So for me overtightening is to be absolutely avoided.

Turning the nut 1/6 took out about 3-5 mm of slack if memory saves me well.

The Ribelle has a 525 chain with 112 links. Pitch of a 525 is 5/8'' or 15,875 mm which results in a total chain lenght of 112 x 15.875 = 1,778 mm.
Measuring with a chain ruler, my chain is now approx. 0,5 % lengthened which is nearly 9 mm, more than half a chain link. Without tightening that would be quite a slack.

[Pard]

Good stuff @jotjotde ! 

This video of a too loose chain outcome  ...  watch till the end.

[Specter]

Man that chain was hanging off for a while there, i wonder what made it finally catch?

If he had one of those airbag vests / jackets on, I wonder if it would have detected that and set them off as he went over the handlebars?  Glad to see he wasn't too tore up in that.  The bike now. hmmmm

Aaron

[Specter]

Thank you for your advice everyone.  I got my chain tightened w/o much issue.  Wow, that bitch was 6 mm loose!  Span was supposed to be 30mm mine was at 36.  I got it at 29 now.  that last 1 mm is a sob to try to eyeball dial in 1 mm so that should be close enough IMO.

One other thing they should tell you in the videos is that if you loosen the chain at all you need to tap the wheel / bang it with a rubber mallet, or roll the bike slightly to ensure that it is fully engaged with the tension adjuster plate by the screws. 

Aaron

[jotjotde]

@Aaron: After retightening did you notice a difference in the noise the chain makes? I think mine got louder but that might be because I cleaned it and there is less noice cancelling dirt on the chain.

At next opportunity I will get me a Regina HPE chain which is at least low maintenance (their earlier claim to be maintenance free was apparently too optimistic).

My dealer told me he has installed one already on an EsseEsse and the owner is very happy with it.

[BorS]

Good stuff @jotjotde ! 

This video of a too loose chain outcome  ...  watch till the end.

This video it not about a lose chain,  but a chain braking... that is something completely deferent.

[Specter]

jotjot  YES,  i was hearing a lot of chain noise, like metal contact noise, it actually concerned me.
I took the bike for a romp around the block and could absolutely hear the noise while riding, which I did NOT like.
Maybe my paranoia kicked in but it felt like the bike was handling different as well.

I took it home and RE checked everything and instead of 30 the chain was measuring 28 mm.  So I went thru and re did the entire procedure,absolutely double checking everything and my measurements, centering bla bla.  I got it at 31 mm now and it's nice and quiet, well a lot quieter and seems to be running well.  It appears if you are going to be off a bit, looser is absolutely the way to go.

I got a brush, some cleaner and lube coming from revzilla here hopefully today or saturday and will clean the chain and re lube everything over the weekend, will let you know how it all goes.

Aaron

[jotjotde]

@Aaron: I share your paranoia 

I am not sure, where actually this noise comes from. It's definitely somewhere under me, that rules out the back sprocket. Suspects are the drive sprocket or one of the the chain guides.

Going to be a rainy weekend here - so, no riding for me. Time to check everything and give my chain a full-scale wellness treatment. Maybe that will make things a bit more quiet.