Chain alignment

[Seeker]

When I started riding one half century ago, we aligned the chain with the marks on the swing arm and life was good. We also boiled a tin of grease on the stove when Mum was out and dropped our chains (which had split links) into the grease.
Then comes the internet and people can talk to lots of other people and you must not, under any circumstances, use the swing arm marks to align your chain because it summons the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

I was bored yesterday and since the Z900RS has a lot of chain noise, I spent an hour or so lying on my belly trying to figure out if a piece of string was actually straight or was it kinking around the tyre. Are my handlebars straight? Do I need to measure from the front tyre on both sides. I gave up. I've tried the string method before and I am no more confident in my interpretation of chain alignment from it than using the swing arms marks.

Plan B - measure from the swing arm pivot to the rear axle. This would be great if the swing arm pivot size was the same both sides. I thought maybe I could use the measurement from the Abba stand since it uses the swing arm pivot but the adaptors are different sizes on each side and I need to measure from the centre of each adaptor to the rear axle. In DIY I can measure 23 times and still cut the wrong length (it's a gift). I was searching the net and one guy said he can measure the swing arm to axle distance to 4 thou. Yeah right! I was hoping to get within 2 mm and, at that, the marks on the swing arm agreed with my measurements.

Am I confident? Nope. I'm still unsure whether the swing arm marks are accurate/good enough so since I have nothing better to do with my money (sorry kids), I've ordered one of these:
https://probike.co.uk/mot-service/transmission/laser-chain-aligner-line

This is how it works (it's in German but it's video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsvlcAcWL5w&t=11s

I'll let you let you know how well it works.

[DJ123]

you'll never get it exact, and the marks on the swingarm are good enough. Unless you're starting to see odd wear on the rear tyre which would suggest it was out, or the wheel bearings making some odd noises i'd stick with the 'traditional' way.

[Bibio]

i have always had chain noise from my SV. i have always had a wobbly (out of tru) sprocket carrier. does it bother me.. nope, i just get on with riding. if i were to fuss about every single little squeak and rattle i would never get on my bike. my last chain lasted 36k miles.

one thing that not a lot of people know is that a misaligned chain also gives you misaligned handlebars so if your bars/yoke are more to the left or right (squint) the chances are your chain is misaligned.

i also designed and sold better swingarm marker plates. i have also had both the curvy and the pointy swingarms on the bench to measure the marks and both were perfect from the axle.

if the marks on any swingarm were not manufactured to within a proper tolerance and somebody crashed due to it then it could potentially be a law suit.

upshot.. its urban legend to sell products to paranoid people. its the same as those stupid chain tightness measuring devices.. not needed..

[Craig380]

My dad's toolbox, which I inherited, has a 12" straight edge which I've used for aligning the back wheel since I was a teenager. Bike on paddock stand, I lay it flat against the rear sprocket pointing forward along the lower chain run, and by looking along the straight edge from behind it's easy to check if the straight edge is parallel with the chain run.

[gadget]

I check mine by continuously turning the rear wheel a carefully watch where the sprocket teath engage in the chain links, if they are to the left or right of each link after half dozen revolutions ... adjust accordingly. Easy peasy and pretty accurate too.

[daktulos]

I always used to do it by eye, and it seemed good enough, but i bought one of these, which is cheap and simple.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-MS005-Motorcycle-Chain-Alignment/dp/B008H144EC/

[Seeker]

I always used to do it by eye, and it seemed good enough, but i bought one of these, which is cheap and simple.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-MS005-Motorcycle-Chain-Alignment/dp/B008H144EC/

I used to have one of those in the US, the fact that the rod was slightly bent didn't fill me with confidence so I left it there.
One reason I'm curious (about the marks) is the number of instances you can find saying they're inaccurate yet riders have been using them for years. My last chain was swapped out (on the SV) at 30k miles because I thought it was about time, it wasn't worn out - so the SV marks can't be that bad.

[shiftin_gear98]

When I used to remove my rear tyre I used this, as it was the first straight edge I found in the garage.
It sat nicely on top of the chain and rested against the wheel/tyre. I'm sure the purists out there will say that is the wrong way to do it. But I never noticed any chain noise.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harris-Wallpaper-Cutting-Guide-Standing/dp/B00TYMNWIW

I was also glad to have found a use for it, as I didn't get along with it for it's intended purpose.

[Bibio]

lets not forget that we are aligning the rear wheel with the chassis so making sure that the wheel is straight with the chain is next to useless.

the rear wheel should be straight with the chassis and when it is the front wheel will be straight to the rear wheel and alignment is good. if the rear wheel is off to one side the front wheel will be "squint" to one side.

[shiftin_gear98]

Purist ^

Lance, I had your chain plates too.

[shiftin_gear98]

They are still sat in my garage.

[Bibio]

They are still sat in my garage.

if your not going to get another pointy then get them up for sale :smt064

:p

[CheGuevara]

This guy is looking for a set for a pointy if they do go up for sale!

[Seeker]

My Profi Laser chain alignment tool arrived yesterday and so I tried it on both bikes and...

... contrary to the horror stories I've read, the swing arm adjuster marks are pretty accurate. I made a (very) slight tweak to the SV and no adjustment needed on the Zed.