Slightly confused regarding chain slack and adjustment, especially as the bike passed its MOT a few weeks ago.

when pushing the chain towards the swing arm, on the sidestand it touches the slider, so far too slack, correct?



So I have loosened the pinch bolt and have tried to adjust the chain, I have one of these
http://www.jap4performance.com/images/1710/TYTO0001.jpg

However i cant get the adjuster to budge and access is proving difficult.

I have the bike raised on an abba stand

Now this is no doubt a dumb question but which way to turn the adjuster to tighten the chain? Clockwise looking from the chain side which I assume will pull the hub/adjuster back, or counter clockwise?

anti clockwise to tighten i think...
just wanted to check, the tool is sitting right in the adjuster isnt it...

Yeah anti clockwise to tighten , i have that tool and it is a bit fiddly lol , you have loosend the pinch bolt enough i take it?

It's no uncommon for the hub to be sized if it hasn't been adjusted in a long time, this also contributes to the castleated adjuster being chewed up when people hit a sized hub with a screwdriver.

According to the Honda manual,

Bike on side-stand and in neutral.

Check the slack in the chain lower run midway between the sprockets.

Slack: 15-25mm (5/8 - 1in)

Loosen the holder bolt (I remove it)
Turn the hub with the C spanner.

- To make it easier raise the rear wheel and turn the wheel in the same direction as your rotating the hub.

If it's seized you may have to take it apart, clean and grease.

amorti wrote:If it's seized you may have to take it apart, clean and grease.

Oh deep effing joy

Clockwise loosens it, it did move and the chain got looser, however i can't get it beyond the tightness it is now, and now it won't budge either way.

Any point in spraying the area liberally with wd 40 or plus gas?

Or could it actually be at the point of max tightness and its buggered?

You aint got nothing to loose using wd40 or something like pro gas etc or some sort of penertrating fluid

WD40 is pointless. Get the rear in the air, get the wheel and hub out, clean up the swingarm, fill it with foam and then rebuild the back end. It's the only way to sort it. The hub should fully rotate in the swingarm with no resistance. What you'll find is that it's a stone that stopping the hub rotating.

viper_biker wrote:WD40 is pointless. Get the rear in the air, get the wheel and hub out, clean up the swingarm, fill it with foam and then rebuild the back end. It's the only way to sort it. The hub should fully rotate in the swingarm with no resistance. What you'll find is that it's a stone that stopping the hub rotating.

So I should be able to get it tighter, its not a case of getting so far and not having furthet to travel then? I can slacken it right off and tightening it only seems to get it so far and I cant seem to get it any more on it. To the extent that I'm nearly pulling the bike off the stand.


This is not what I wanted to be doing this weekend!

Incidentally is this chain at the end of its life?



Not sure if it shows up too well

So long as the hub is not at the furthest point back on the swingarm, you should be able to adjust it more. If you are using excessive force, then there's something wrong and I'll guarantee that it's dirt in the creavace between the hub and swingarm. As for that pic, I've never used the guide as a chain life indicator as I've never ran standard sized sprockets on my bikes so it'd never be acurate. If the chain is over stretched or has tight spots then I'd say to change it, if not, then leave it alone.