New chain not holding tension

One for the 550 & 400 crowd

I installed new a new chain and sprockets last week.....
noticed today it's developed a lot of slop, out of spec already.....
... issue with the tension adjusters maybe?

 

Did you lube it? The adjusters can't really affect anything once the axle nut is properly tight.

How tight was it adjusted to begin with, and how loose did it get? I find that the 550's spec in the book is a tad tight; it says 35mm~40mm and the bike will hold it at 40MM~45MM~50MM for a long time. Not sure what your spec is.

I've started setting mine at about 45mm and it's only wanting to be adjusted every 1500-2000 miles now.

 

It was Lubed, I set it a bit on the slack side to start.. but now has way too much play ...

I'll re-set it with your specs, and double check the axle nut, maybe I didn't have it tight enough and it slipped a bit.....

 

OK thanks Fitz, maybe it just feels loose
I measured it now and it's between 40-45... by touch it seems like a lot of play
I had it set roughly around 35 (I'm guessing by looking at it now (did lines 5mm apart on a piece of cardboard for reference)
Manual says 30 ( I have a smaller rear sprocket that the 550....35T )

Maybe I'll re-lube, tighten it just a hair say between 35 and 40, crank the axle nut on a bit tighter and see what happens.....

 

Aside from the Axle Nut, ... there should be a Tension & Alignment Mechanism on each side at the rear.

Look to see that those are set to apply the right Tension and Alignment of the rear Sprocket.

With a New Chain & Sprockets, ... the Indicator should show plenty of Adjustment remaining.

If you are near the End of their travel and STILL have looseness in the Chain, ... THAT would indicate that the CHAIN is the wrong size or needs to have an adjustment made to SHORTEN it by ( X ) amount of Links to be the right count for the SIZE of the Sprockets you installed.

Ck. Drive Sprocket & Rear Wheel Sprocket are of the SAME "Tooth-Count".

 

HEy Rick,

I had to reduce the chain by a few links from the start, sammest I could get was 100 and I had to drop it to 96

Went back to stock gearing 16T / 35T (a PO had put a 15T up front)
Feels much better in town with thie stock gearing, 1st gear was pretty much useless before....now it's great...

tensioneers were used to set the tension/wheel alignment and lock nuts tightened... wondering if they are getting worn and not holding correctly?

 

Like I said, the axle nut is solely responsible for holding the axle in place. The tensioners are only there to move the axle when it's loose.

Check your book; I believe you'll find a really high torque spec (in the 75+ ft/lb range) for the rear axle. Use a new cotter pin.

Rick's right about alignment though; be sure the 'tic' marks on both adjusters have identical relationships to the "graduations" on the swingarm. If the chain's not running true it will tend to stretch quickly.

 

I'll double check the adjusters to be sure

 

Tip:

Put the bike on the centerstand, and spin the wheel "forward."

CLOSELY look at the sprocket as the chain rides around.

You'll know it's aligned properly when the chain stays centered on the sprocket; so that when you look in from the rear with a flashlight there is an equal gap from the sprocket to the sideplates on both sides and the chain isn't "favoring" one side of the sprocket or the other.

Like many things XJ, it's an "art." I don't know how many times I've had the tension right but once I got the wheel perfectly aligned the chain was too tight so I had to back everything off and start again. (This applies to all "old school" chain driven bikes that don't have micrometers built into the ends of their swingarms.)

Which brings up a second tip: If you DO have to go back and readjust, go "too far" so the adjusters have to pull the axle into position. They're actually called "chain pullers" and for a reason. They should ONLY "pull." Like I said, if you have to go back, go way back and start again.

 

Ahhh good tips, thinks, I noticed some tracking before the new chain even....

Al;ignment seems a bit off to the left...(viewing to from behind the wheel... right adjuster is not evenly matched with the left one... confirmed by a string test (swingarm/body joint to center of the axle bolt)... will get a good chance tomorrow to get it properly centered up...
Wonder if I can mount up the laser level to check for true running... side project

 

Quick update... I think that I may have been tweaking it out of alignment before after snugging up the locknuts for the tensioners...

This time I check before and after with a visual tic mark check and a string check for the swing arm and all seems well

Thanks fro the extra tips guys...

 

Like I said, peek in from the back and spin the wheel "forward" the sprocket should run right in the middle of the chain and not favor either side. Then you know it's 'true.'

Yamaha got the marks pretty dang near dead-on, at least on both of my 550s. There just aren't enough of them/they're too far apart.

 

Ditto on what Fitz said about tightening, use a torque wrench and set it to spec.
Tightening by feel or till it squeaks is not a good way to do it.
Also, the best way to get the proper tension on the chain is to have the bike on it's side stand so that the chain is "loaded", not up in the air on the centre stand. Once the bike is off the centre stand it will be too tight already and will lead to premature stretching.
Least, that's the way it was taught to me.

 

One other thing, make sure to loosen the brake stay, then when the wheel is tightened properly snug it back up again to spec.
I've heard that not doing this can throw things off just a little.

 

Yamaha's published "spec" for chain adjustment is accomplished with the bike on the centerstand. After oh, 14000 miles or so of living with the XJ550, I've learned that it likes the chain a little looser, measured in the same manner, than factory spec.

If the brake stay is attached using all of the original hardware, loosening it isn't necessary. It will allow enough movement so as not to obstruct adjustment.

 

Thanks Fitz for the clarification.
Always go by the book and things will be fine (unless it's a misprint 8O ) for any and all adjustments, especially when tightening. A good torque wrench is is a major requirement in any tool box, it should be right beside the owners manual. One thing to remember about torque wrenches, when you are done tightening whatever, especially a high ft/lb or Newton value, return the wrench to it's lowest setting as this takes the strain off the wrench internals.

 

http://www.yamahafz1oa.com/sportrydersw ... thod.shtml

 

Nice article Polock!
Maybe you should re-post it in the thread that one of the other members started about "Home made tools".
Waddayathink?

 

I was always under the assumption you were supposed to get a friend to check the slop, while YOU actually sat and held up the bike with your weight on it. Friend checks for the 1in slop.

So when you get off and it's on center stand, it'll feel like a LOAD more slop cause it's not weighted (the shocks aren't compressed at all)

 

You can certainly do that.

But you can also do that; then put the bike on the centerstand and see what it measures out to and use that as the spec. Which is what I'm sure Yamaha did, or thought they did. It's also how I arrived at my "revised" spec, to be used while the bike is on the centerstand.

Saves it from being a two-man job every time.