chain on swinging arm and plugged clear pipe
 

Hi folks two questions, is it normal for the chain to lay on the swinging arm when the bike is on the side stand? also what is the purpose of the clear breather? pipe which has a plug in the end of it? the chain lying on the swinging arm is really bugging me surely it should not be touchng the arm?

Nope the chain shouldn't be doing that, adjust your chain, your looking to get between 4.5-5.5 cm play on the bottom half way between the sprockets.

if you are talking about the chain touching the top of the swing arm near the front sprocket then yes this is normal that's why there is plastic guards on the top and bottom of the swing arm . I have my chain adjusted within the factor specs and its always rested on the top of the swing arm on the plastic guard.

Normal for chain to touch front of swingarm when on stand as DirtyTenere says, should be adjusted as Simon mentioned about 5cm movement in middle of bottom run. The clear pipe is the drain for air filter box, move the clip out the way pull out the plug and small amount of oil may/may not dribble out.

chain touching swinging arm
 

Thanks for the info folks, i have just tried adjusting the chain tension as the dealers have set it a bit tight (25mm free play). I can now get about 45mm on the bottom run at midway between sprockets pushing up, then the chain touches the bottom of, the swinging arm. Its a lot looser when i sit on the bike according to the missus. should be okay?

That's not how it should be! The tightest position for the chain is when front sprocket centre, swing arm pivot and rear axle are in line (so it should get tighter when you sit on it!) - in fact the absolute best way to tighten your chain is to arrange the three points are in line and then have a small bit of play at chain run tightest point but it's a bit of hassle so usually a figure is given for when bike is on the stand. So you kind of gently pull down on chain in middle of bottom run then measure from that point and push chain up which should give a figure of around 5cm. Hope that helps.

chain tension
 

OK I will ignore the missis comment (she did not actualy touch the chain) It sounds like my chain needs to be slacker to get the 50-60 mm free play the owners booklet says, but this will be only half the movement as normaly on a bike the play is between the max top and the max bottom movement I cant get the max top as the chain hits the swinging arm. My bike is a 2014 Tenere and the suspension is on the softest setting. It would be interesting if you could measure yours with a ruler and see if you can get 60mm.

:what:

Joking aside...

You'll find you won't be able to get much more than 40-45mm before the chain touches the bottom of the swingarm as you have found.

What I tend to do is adjust it till it hits the swing arm and then give it a touch more slack, tighten everything up, get the bike off the stand, sit on it and check again. Basically it's a best guess. As long as the chain doesn't get too tight when everything is in line and it's not so slack that when the suspension is extended it is at risk of rolling off the sprockets, you're good to go.

At the end of the day though, it's down to guesswork and practice - you'll get a feel for the correct tension with experience. Also bear in mind that changes in rider weight, preload, linkage bone length, shock etc. will cause a deviation from "book" measurements. My Z has got +15mm links and a Yacugar shock and the slack required for smooth running is somewhat different from stock.

To get a better understanding of what's going on and get a feel for the slack needed, you can (if you can be bothered) ratchet the bike down to get the rear axle in line with the output shaft (the chain's tightest point) and then check there is still some slack to give you a reference point.

You'll clearly notice if it's too tight as the whole drive train will be noisy - there will be a pronounced whirring noise. Also the suspension may seem stiffer than normal as the chain will be adding resistance to smooth movement. Too loose and you'll notice sloppy take up from a closed throttle and jerky transmission, plus you may hear the chain slapping against the swingarm or chain guard.

chain tension
 

Thanks for that pleiades I will take your advice, i would rather have a slightly slack chain than one like a bowstring.:icon_thumleft:

Keith adjust how Pleiades mentioned and you only need to do it once to that extent...even easier, drop the lower shock mount and then align the rear swing arm with the front sprocket and adjust. (I couldnt ratchet mine down safely without stressing the strap was going to explode)...then set the slack as described.
Then because everyones preload, weight, height etc are all different....
Now fit everything back up and measure your correctly adjusted chain in whatever method you prefer..ie on centre stand, on side stand, upside down...whatever and mark the position you measured from.

Since you know the chain is now correct, whatever measurement you get will be the correct setting for however YOU choose to measure in the future on YOUR bike, ie without having to ratchet or disconnect anything in the future.

Hope this is clear and enjoy!

Matt.

If you've got a centre stand or some way to support the bike so the swing arm is not taking the weight, then you can disconnect the dog bone linkages to the swing arm and easily move the swing arm through its range to check the tension at the tightest point. Same advice as Matt's above, except it is easier to disconnect the dog bone linkages than to disconnect the shock (well, on the R at least). And as Matt said, once you've done it once you know what degree of slack is required for future checks.

I've got shorter linkages (equates to greater swing arm angle and raised seat height) so doing the above was the best way to determine how much slack I need. On the side stand, it looks like the chain is overly slack but I know it's the right amount once the shock compresses.