Thread: New Chain

I just put on a new Chain on my bike... Not my old was was loose. The new one is alittle Tight,I am still able to push up and down, so there is slack to it. Its lined up and everything the way it was before i took the old on off.. Now is it suppose to be tight.. Let me know
Thanks

It shouldn't be so tight that there's zero slack . There should be about 1/2". If it's like a violin string, then it's dangerously tight. Of course chains tend to stretch quite a bit, especially when new (unless you bought one of those expensive HD gold-colored ones), so if you've already ridden with no problems, then it's probably already loosened somewhat. If it's still too tight, then back off both tensioners by 1/2 turn or so.

You'll find that the chain tends to loosen and needs adjusting frequently until you have a few hundred miles on it. Although less than ideal, as long as it cannot contact the swingarm, it's tight enough.

Are the gold chains worth it!? All three CT's I've seen have had broken chains blasting apart the cover on that side.

The D.I.D 420NZ2 chain is far & away the best I've found in a #420 chain. My beater bike is capable of 65mph+ and would wear out a standard chain in less than 1000 miles. It was a pain having to keep adjusting it every other ride. My other bike is setup with a new-gen Honda engine punched-out to 137 that puts down something like 19hp (good for ~80mph). I figured that standard chain wouldn't live very long behind that kind of power. So far, have had excellent results on both bikes.

The expensive chain has a tiny amount of stretch, but seems that seems to stop after two adjustments. After 1000 miles on the beater, I've only had to take out the slack 3 times. It seemed to add another 2mph or so to the top speed...something I've heard other riders claim. Seems more likely that the old chain was adding resistance, but with a small displacement, low torque, motor a small reduction in friction could make a measureable difference. Is 2mph worth triple the price? Probably not on it's own, but sprockets last longer (a worn chain will eat sprocket teeth from the thrust side)and if the chain lasts three times as long it'll actually be cheaper over the long haul. Besides, an extra $20 isn't going to break the bank.

Those broken sidecovers were most likely the result of neglect. Even the torquiest 137/158cc tuned motors only put down about 10-11lbs-ft at the rear wheel, not nearly enough to snap an unworn chain.

what i did was i bought the 420 if i am right , from dratv.... i put it on, and i jacked up the back end of the bike..... i stuck it in 3rd gear and put it almost full throttle, and no problems...

With an overtightened chain, the big stresses occur when going over bumps. The countershaft and swingarm pivots don't share a common axis, thus the chain traces an elliptical path as it articulates up & down. It works because the swingarm covers relatively few degrees of arc, but the chain tension does vary while you ride. Make the chain too tight and it could place some dangerously high stress loads on the driveline. It's a simple adjustment, why leave it to chance?

Others have already pretty much said what needs to be said, but maybe you want to hear my 2 cents from past experience. I've never seen a properly maintained chain break. Chains do break, but this is not something that happens to normal people who identify a rediculously loose, worn or dry chain. Those broken side covers you guys see are usually resultant from the chain coming off the REAR sprocket & bunching up around the countershaft sprocket with nowhere to go. THAT happens all the time when people beat the bike into submission & never touch the chain, thinking "what's the wost that could happen? It just comes off like a bicycle & I put it back on right?" Well, no. Many times a broken left engine case results. Power will never break a chain that's maintained or still within it's service limit. It will stretch the hell out of it at most (usually from the wrong application), but never break it. Sure, if a neglected chain is old as the hills, dry, neglected, sure I guess it could break while shifting from 1st to 2nd, but what would you expect? I use the highest quality chains available on my bikes. The cost difference between the cheapest chain available & the best one available is not much compared to what you get. I hate touching chains & the less I have to adjust or replace them, the better. The better quality of the chain, the less overall stretch, the less adjustment needed. That's good enough for me. Yes, the gold chains from a renowned company are worth it. I use D.I.D. gold chains for everything from 3 hp on up to 150hp- Simply check the tensile strength specification provided by the manufacturer & that will tell you the most important spec when selecting chain for strength. With regards to tension, just go by what the owners manual says for any bike you own. (a personal note, there's not a single one of you out there who owns a classic bike like the CT70 & has a good enough reason not to own a $20 workshop manual from Haynes or Clymer) The CT book states 3/4" or 10-20 mm. The way that the spec is calculated is by cycling the rear suspension. Anyone can do this. The easiest way to remember it for me is that the chain varies in tension as the swingarm moves through it's travel. The chain is tensioned the most when the swingarm is level. This is when the rear wheel is it's furthest from the countershaft sprocket. At this point, the chain should not be tight, but have just a little bit of play. This allows the swingarm to get past that point & continue to the end of the suspension travel. Consequently, leaving the chain too tight will not allow full suspension travel, will prematurely stretch ANY chain installed, put undue stress on the countershaft sprocket, the countershaft itself, the transmission bearings , the engine case & on & on.
If you want to test the chain slack theory, adjust your chain to spec & have a buddy or 2 (depends how big your buddies are) sit on the bike while you observe the available chain slack with the swingarm level. You will find that there is a lot less than when it's unladen, but that there is still a little bit of slack. Without that slack, things get ugly in a hurry.
A note of caution:Testing the above theory with the "2 fat guys on the bike" method can be destructive to a well worn seat pan.

Those gold chains are so heavily lubed as delivered, that they are miserable to handle and make a mess. On a road bike, I just wipe down the chain with a dry cloth and put up with the chain spray for the first couple hundred miles. If the bike is going to be run on dirt, I spray the whole thing down with dry film chain lube and wipe it down with a rag to remove as much of the sticky lube from the outside surfaces as possible. The first time I used a gold chain offroad, it looked like KFC after a few miles and suddenly "stretched". It took one helluva bathing in the parts washer to get rid of all the fine sand particles The heavy oil they apply at the factory attracts grit of all types and makes a very effective lapping compound

The easiest manuals to follow are the Honda reprints. The later editions of Clymer's will give newbies an information overload. I frequently see reprints on ebay. Eveyone should have a service manual and a parts manual...if only for the exploded diagrams.

Funny you mention the lube. I don't even install those chains before first saoking them in the parts washer. After a day or so I just wash all the lube off & start from scratch. Hey, it's better than no lube, right? If don't have a parts washer, do like racerx says, just wipe off all the grease you can. It's still in the pivot points & behind the plates at that point & can't be "too clean" by doing it that way. If you clean it in the parts washer, a little WD40 is all i use on any chain. I never use chain lube, but i always lube my chain. It's all relative.

"Just shows to go ya"...there's more than one right answer . I'm not the WD-40 fan I was 25 years ago. That doesn't mean it's no good; I just prefer more specialized lubes for specific applications. The main thing is getting the exposed surfaces of the chain dry so that they don't accumulate dirt and keeping the pins lubricated. To my mind, WD-40 remains a little too wet on the surface and goes away from the pins too quickly. Chain lube costs a little more, but it leaves the surface dry and lasts longer. PTFE, silicones and graphite are all effective dry film lubricants. The better chain lube formulas will contain one or more of these.

I'm a pragmatist, thus I don't argue with success. If something works for you, no sense in changing. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"...