Chain Tension/Slack

[The Sleeper]

Hi Guys,

I have a question.

i took my bike in SV650 K9 for it's annual MoT. Had to have the chain tightened or it would fail, now i know there was probably a little too much slack but not huge amounts.

Since i've had this knocking which i could not find but think i've finally pinned it to a now over tightened chain.

I'm struggling to find the tolerance, i'm now conscious of taking it back to the place as if they have done that, what else are the trying to pull on me!

Any help appreciated.

[Craig380]

Find the spot on the chain with the least slack / where it's tightest (there's always a spot that's tightest).

At that point there should be about an inch of slack (not total movement, but slack).

[The Sleeper]

Hi @craig380.

Thanks for that, will go and double check now, but I was getting maybe 5mm (mm not cm) movement which not being entirely mechanically minded but even that just seemed way to tight to me.

I think as a side affect is causing the knocking which i'm struggling to track down.

[DarrenSV650S]

Not saying it was, but if it was loose, it may have developed a bad tight spot. On the other hand, they may have just overtightened it

[redtrummy]

Loosen it off a bit and see if the knocking stops.

[Craig380]

Originally Posted by The Sleeper

Hi @craig380.

Thanks for that, will go and double check now, but I was getting maybe 5mm (mm not cm) movement which not being entirely mechanically minded but even that just seemed way to tight to me.

I think as a side affect is causing the knocking which i'm struggling to track down.

A lot of people overtighten chains. They shouldn't sag like old knicker elastic but they shouldn't be tight either.

[shiftin_gear98]

If you are lazy and like it simple - like me.
Buy one of these. Set once, can't go wrong (unless you leave it on, and tried to ride off)

https://www.tru-tension.co.uk/produc...dge%20required.

[Dave20046]

I do it sat on the bike to set the tension loaded

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by The Sleeper

Hi Guys,

I have a question.

i took my bike in SV650 K9 for it's annual MoT. Had to have the chain tightened or it would fail, now i know there was probably a little too much slack but not huge amounts.

Since i've had this knocking which i could not find but think i've finally pinned it to a now over tightened chain.

I'm struggling to find the tolerance, i'm now conscious of taking it back to the place as if they have done that, what else are the trying to pull on me!

Any help appreciated.

i'm not trying to be funny but it sounds like you have had the bike for over a year and you still cant tighten a chain


same could be said for a lot of people. you dont need fancy gadgets, its not rocket science. its always better being a little on the slack side than tight.

[gadget]

I sat on the bike to 'preload' the chain and then adjusted it so there was 25mm of slack (up-down movement) right in the middle of the bottom run of the chain. Seems to work for me, never had any noises or any other chain related issues doing it this way. Biggest headache imo is making sure the wheel is perfectly aligned after you've finished tightening everything up. As said by another member ... it's not rocket science and when you've done it once ... doing it again seems less of a nightmare.