Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Chain slack

So I went to clean my bike to day (posted about it in the Lounge) and noticed a serious slack in the chain. I broke out the Haynes and read the slack should be 20-30mm. Doing a rough measurement, I found it to be greater than 40mm. The bike isn't a year old and only been in for the initial 500 mile checkup. 3300+ on it now. Is that much slack to be expected? The upper portion of the chain actually rest on the case.

I wanted to go riding for most of tomorrow and tried to tighten it up myself. Unfortunately I only have a small ratchet set and couldn't break the axle nuts loose. So the next question is do I park the bike until I can get it to the shop or keep riding? I've been riding it to work for most of the week, but that's not a 300+ mile Saturday morning ride either.

Time for some more tools...

loose is better than tight by all accounts but you don't want the chain to be hitting anything. Adjusting the chain is not that tough - I'm a motor-wimp but I'll do it myself. Could you find the wrenc you need tonight and save the trip to the shop?

I want to say I did my first chain adjustment with adjustable wrenches. Now many people refer to them as adjustable hammers, so be careful... Don't round anything over. But my point is you can probably dig up a couple large wrenches easier than the proper sockets/wrenches.

Greater than 40mm is an inch and half or more which is definitely too much slack. It's quite possible the dealer that did the initial 500 mile service had it a bit on the high side to begin with. My dealer tends to set the chain the same as a Bonneville which is 25-35 instead of 20-30. It's not hard to adjust and gets easier every time you do.

You need a 24mm socket for the axle nut, but you could use an adjustable wrench (or a 7/8" wrench) to hold the opposite side. Specs call for the torque to be 85Nm. I check mine every time I oil (wax) the chain. I clean, check, and wax every 500 miles. I have found it necessary to slightly tighten the chain at least one time between yearly services. Chains do stretch and adjustments can loosen.

If you don't have the tools or want to do it. Ride it to a shop, but tell them to put no more than 1" slack in the center while on the side stand (spin and check for tightest part - they don't stretch evenly). I would take your Haynes manual for reference if it's not a Triumph dealer.

I would definately take it to the local Triumph dealer. I have all the right tools; I just couldn't break the axle nut loose (question about that at the end). Which worries me if I do get it loosened, will I be able to get it tightened to spec. I certainly don't want to be riding and have the rear slip out of alignment or something. I don't have anything around the apartment to use as a cheater bar so I'd have to take a hammer to my socket wrench.

Question about the axle nut - the way Haynes is written it makes me believe I have to only loosen the right side nut. Is this the case?

You need both wrenches. The left side may not turn when you are loosening right, but you should have both to properly tighten it back. I use 15/16 and 22mm combination wrenches. Just the ones I happen to have.
I've noticed the most chain wear and need for adjustment when the chain is new. As it gets older, adjustments aren't as frequent.

Cale, one "torque amplifier" you can find around the house is a cut piece of PVC pipe. Slide it over the wrench on the nut side for more leverage. The first time I used a vacuum cleaner extension tube. Mine was hard to "break" the first time. I use the Sears cheaper 1/2" torque wrench for checking that it is tightened back properly.

It's not hard to tighten something to 85Nm. Many service dealers actually over tighten them sometimes. The flex type torque wrench is not expensive, works, and is a great piece of mind.

Chains stretch the most in their first and last thousand miles, so that is normal. Adjustment is really not very hard once you get the right size wrenches, and you can save a lot of cash doing it yourself. The only trick is that chains seldom stretch evenly, so it is important to turn the wheel to find the tightest spot when you make the adjustment. Otherwise, the chain will be too tight in places and that can cause bearing wear and, in extreme cases, crack the transmission case.

i hate to resurrect this thread, but i could use some advice. the new bike/chain is at ~1500 miles now, and seems like it could use a little tightening up. do i do this on a jack, or while it's on the stand? what do you guys mean by 'find the tightest spot when you make the adjustment'? if it's on the floor, i imagine i could roll the bike to make the chain tight, if its in gear.

i looked in the technical thread, but for noobs like me, maybe someone could quickly scribble out a 'chain adjustment for dummies' type of instruction.

e.g.
1) put the bike in neutral
2) roll till chain is at tightest
3) blah blah blah

i have no idea if this is even how it's done, but i would really appreciate a step through. i'm not interested in ruining my chain any faster than i need to, so...

jack, no jack?
gear, neutral?
tightest chain position when 'rolling the wheel?"

Tim, it's pretty simple. You check the chain slack while sitting on the side stand. I set my slack 1" at the tightest point. You push up on the center (between sprockets). A chain does not stretch evenly with age. So, roll the bike forward and backward checking in a few places to find the tightest point.

If you have a jack, put the bike up and rotate the rear tire until you find the tightest spot on the chain.
Then set the bike down and adjust while on the side stand.

Note: If there is a significant difference between the tightest and loosest spot, you need a new chain.

And another: To be sure of maintaining correct alignment, both adjustment screws need to be equally turned. To be sure, count the threads with a toothpick.

85 NM = 63 ft.lb.

Just to be clear ,DO NOT adjust it on the jack. If you do that the adjustment will be wrong.

and a good way to make sure its lined up is to measure from the nut to the end of the swingarm piece.