KLR died due to overload n no chain slack

[orangebear]

set the chain free play then sit on the bike and check it again. i have done it that way for loads of bike and never let me down.

[Attico]

Sometimes yes, and sometimes no......

Each design has a different geometry. My wr250r is different than a ktm.

What about a g450x? If you didn't follow the manual that "some" engineer wrote, you'd stand a good chance of wrecking something. It only needs a mm or two of slack singe the swingarm pivot is also where the countershaft is.

I'm following my manual. Yes engineers make mistakes, but that is why they issue recalls, bulletins etc.....case and point, my wrr has a tsb for chain adjustment.

Originally Posted by Grinnin

Extra weight (and extra suspension compression) will make the chain run looser. Starting from full extension the chain is loose then tightens up then loosens again as the suspension compresses more. At full compression it runs looser than at full extension (on my 2001).

[Grinnin]

Originally Posted by Attico

Sometimes yes, and sometimes no......

Each design has a different geometry. My wr250r is different than a ktm.

The OP was about a KLR. My measurements are on a KLR.

[Myfuture_yourdebt]

The chain is tightest when the swingarm is aligned horizontally between the sprockets; this is when the sprockets are furthest from each other. So any time the swingarm is moving towards this horizontal alignment point from either direction, the chain is tightening because the sprockets are moving farther from each other and approaching their furthest distance away from each other. Of course this means that the chain is loosening as the swingarm moves away from this point in either direction and the sprockets move closer to each other. The result is that adding weight to your bike will always tighten the chain unless your swingarm is already at the alignment (tightest) point. This will not be the case with most dirt oriented bikes because long travel suspension means the swingarm's static position is generally angled away from the bike/towards the ground to maintain ground clearance and the ability for the swingarm to have lots of travel to compress in/up.

Obviously if the swingarm has enough travel such that it can move above the alignment point, it can approach the point (tighten the chain) from above just as it does from below the point during initial compression. This would occur only after the swingarm has been fully compressed beyond the point and then is rebounding to the static position thereby passing the point again going to opposite direction. For this statement to be true "At full compression it runs looser than at full extension", the swingarm would have to be further north of the horizontal alignment point during full compression than it is south of that same point during full extension. This is not the case as pretty much every dirt oriented swingarm out there has the vast majority of its travel below the alignment point and only a little if any at all travel above the point (for reasons stated in the last sentence of my first paragraph).

Gotta love Attico's martyrdom in the name of the holiness of the manual. Don't worry, no one's questioning the manual's specifications...this is a side-discussion about chain driveline mechanics. We all know you claim to know the only "right way" to measure chain slack...but that doesn't discount any understanding beyond the little knowledge the manual affords you. Your posts in the this thread have only served to make any thoughts outside of strictly following the manual sound blasphemous when clearly there are valid reasons (changed geometry, no manual) to want to see the chain at its tightest point yourself and understand what is going on with the driveline during operation.

[BergDonk]

Will a picture assist?


Check the tension when all 3 pivot points are in line. Works for all bikes, G450Xs included, because S and G are the same. And I have personal experience of manuals being wrong, my ZX9R for example.

Spin the wheel and check for tight spots. If the tight spot moves on the chain, its an out of round sprocket.

[davesupreme]

i can't believe any of these mutts would argue over whether to acutally check the chain tension by dropping the shock and moving the swing arm?..... what the manual sez is just a shortcut to doing this, and it's easy to screw up. the right way is impossible to screw up, cause' it'll get to a point that will be obviously too tight.... but maybe not for some of these bozos, cause' the more i read this forum, the more i think that most here are totally horrible mechanics, and should have their toolboxes welded shut..... and this guy rode halfway across N. America and didn't feel that his chain was binding on big hits?.....

[mnsty]

As I was just driving home tonight a guy on a Ducati Monster came up beside me I could actually hear his chain cause it was so dry as he passed me I could see it was also way too tight. Just waiting for failure. as someone said, a lot of "mechanics" should have their toolboxes welded shut.

[Kbowling]

I got this special tool I use to measure chain slack,its called a tape measure,can be bought at most hardware stores. I use this EVERY time I adjust the chain to the spec that I find in the you guessed it, OWNERS MANUAL