Loose Chain

My chain is a bit loose and needs tightening, what is the best way to tighten it?

I don't currently have a paddock stand or anything like that, so will I be able to do it?

Your bike didn't happen to come with a manual did it? All is explained in there and it's perfectly doable (is that a word?) on the side stand. If you haven't got a manual then minds far superior to my own can spell it out for you step by (simple) step.

Yep - just read it and now I am petrified I won't tighten it up enough and it'll fall off and i'll die, leaving my wife rich and happy and my kids father-less...........

HELP!

Have you tried a plea on the SELKENT section for some practical assistance? Peeps are awful helpful.

Originally Posted by krhall

Yep - just read it and now I am petrified I won't tighten it up enough and it'll fall off and i'll die, leaving my wife rich and happy and my kids father-less...........

HELP!

I admit it's scarey doing it for the first time, but it's really nothing to be frightened of. I rationalised doing it the first time on the grounds that I had been putting car wheels on for years and not once had I done one up loose, let alone enough that it came off. Might be worth investing in some more heavy duty tools than the provided (chocolate) toolkit though. I think it's a size 24 and 22 spanner (for the rear axle), but don't quote me on that. If you really want to make sure you do do it up tight enough, get a torque wrench- I believe it's 100nm for the rear axle, can't remember what the adjusters sizes/torque settings are, off the top of my head.

I always worry about overtightening it....

Also the alignment guides are useless on the SV so you can't tell if you have the wheel lined up straight.

On top of that I have always had a general issue with bike chains and how you measure the movement exactly. It varies on where abouts on the chain you push it up and down and do you pull it down first or just leave it under gravity and push up only? Plus the slack varies as you turn the wheel and god I hate it.

TOP TIP. when you tighten up the rear spindle be careful that the marker plates on either side dont bend and spin when you tighten, they are made of a very soft metal and if they spin they will mark your swing arm, i personally hold the nut side still and tighten the other side with a socket or similar.

It's easy enough with the right tools, just a bit freaky the first time, thinking that if you mess it up it could all go horribly wrong.

Turn the adjusters exactly the same amount (e.g. both one full turn) and the alignment will be fine, assuming it was aligned right to start with.

Remember the SV has much more slack than most bikes; most bikes have up to 20mm slack and the SV has more than that as a minimum.

Mine got up to over 40mm slack before I first adjusted it; I didn't notice any difference when it was adjusted. Seems to need adjusting every couple of 1000 miles though I check it every 600.

My tip, as someone who has done it recently, for the first time. DO NOT over tighten the chain. The adjusting nuts require very, very, very little turning to have a large effect on the tension. It's much harder to loosen it off than it is to tighten it up, so make sure you don't go too far.

Right I'm going to go for it this weekend - thanks for all the advice.

Kev