Honda Motorcycle Chain Adjustment - How To Do It Fast, and Do It Right

Got a Honda? Got a loose chain? Tired of taking it apart and then struggling to align the chain? Watch my video. Mark your tools. Adjust the chain 1/4 turn at a time. Try not to fall asleep from my music choice. Like, share, and subscribe for alerts! More videos every week!

[@user-rm9is7wl8x]

You explain better than a father to a son

[@RideroftheStorm]

@@user-rm9is7wl8x wow. That is so nice!!! I am a 30 year certified ski and snowboard instructor. Kinda hard to explain stuff while your student is screaming their guts out.

[@grandrapids57]

In the sea of KZbin instructional videos, you sir, are one of the rare gems who is also a good teacher.

[@RideroftheStorm]

@@grandrapids57 Thank you. That is awesome to hear.

[@grandrapids57]

.... and finally I can adjust that darn thing with total confidence.

[@RideroftheStorm]

@@grandrapids57 Oh. It gets better. I have a short video that shows you how to put your weight on the bike and use your phone at the same time. The chains slack Tightens up. So now it only moves 1 inch. Hold your hand up to your face and move your fingers 1 inch by curling your fingers. Now lean over your seat put your weight on the bike and pull your chain up. It should be one inch. I just use a rubber glove. Now I can know for sure that I am less than 1/4 turn on the tensioner bolts purely by feel. I lift the chain lower side with my fingertips in the middle of the span. If the chain just kisses the bottom of the swing arm, then I am still at proper tension. If the chain loosely taps the swing arm then the chain is too loose. I should barely be able to get the chain to touch the swing arm. If the chain does not touch at all it may be too tight.

[@RideroftheStorm]

@@grandrapids57 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnivnZeef5uDf8ksi=WaKFs2iXyieguBLa

[@stevensteel8617]

Some nice tips thank you. Interesting use of Silicon glue, though presumably because you use your bike for jumping, though normally you shouldn't need it because the second nut is a locking nut. It is however important to hold the adjusting nut still with the 14mm spanner whilst tightening the locking nut, firstly because otherwise you are likely to turn the adjusting nut more otherwise, but also because the locking nut must be tightened a little more than the adjusting one in order to lock. Thanks for sharing.

[@RideroftheStorm]

Great stuff!! Thanks!!

[@MrWhothefoxthat]

just heads up, you can take a measurement from the side of the nut its a fixed position, and also your like me i like to keep my chain well oiled, i just bought a snoto clean disk guard from Germany, no more oil and grease on my back tire or disk, keep them coming.

[@usernamemykel]

Ditch the totally unnecessary and interfering music.

[@RideroftheStorm]

I started to do that for some tech videos. I crank out a lot for a new youtuber and I am active on facebook. I support you. So. Very good point. Now after months of posting, the automatic scanner is saying, hey! This music has a copyright. Okay. Don’t allow your music to be posted to a 10 year old free content site. The largest online supported my Microsofts content creator software called FMA. So yeah. Trouble afoot.

[@AmaNotaGogo]

I enjoyed the music, soothing - no angst.

[@curryone7]

Thanks, brother. Love the music in the background, by the way!

[@RideroftheStorm]

Thank you. I started going viral recently between Rider of the Storm and The Worlds Dirtiest Workshop. I was recognized on the street in Malaysia also. Wow. I am globally recognizable. So I will be checking for questions on a daily basis or as often as I can.

[@nelsonthebluebird8794]

Wew my chain also tapping the swingarm rubber, i think i need to adjust it right now. Shifting is also with a little bit resistance

[@RideroftheStorm]

@@nelsonthebluebird8794 a firm tapping suggests that you need a 1/4 turn on the adjuster bolts. See my new video for a fast check technique.

[@RideroftheStorm]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnivnZeef5uDf8ksi=in48RgecQIgWeZLt

[@nelsonthebluebird8794]

@@RideroftheStorm well it worked pretty good ! 😁

[@GeorgePreduca]

Loved it, bro! Thank you very much!

[@tendertuna9157]

The issue i find here is that 30mm will touch the swing arm. I just did mine and it touches it. The way you did yours here is around 25mm. I'm guessing that 5mm does not matter.

[@RideroftheStorm]

@@tendertuna9157 It might not. This is a YSS custom shock. The resting height might be different. So. In the other video I show you how to reach over the bike with your weight on the seat. I feel the chain just lightly tapping the swing arm with tension. If I have my rider weight on the bike and the chain can barely kiss the swing arm bottom with firm tension, then it is exactly the way I like it. I determined this through video analysis and riding the heck out of it in the dirt. This feeling I know stays consistent through the life of the chain.

[@elm-neo]

If you are precise enough to use a torque wrench, use a small ruler/scale and set chain sags to manufacture recommendations. Also, I measure from the centre of the swing-arm pivot to the rear axle for chain alignment. Some motorcycles can have manufacturing tolerances that could cause each arm of the swingarm to be slightly different in length, so your method could be inaccurate. I'm not sure how much this applies to Honda (if they make their parts with millimetre precision).

[@RideroftheStorm]

They are extremely precise. But what my goal is, is to give everyone who is starting fresh, a simple thoughtful way to approach things. I will be doing my XR today and will try the above and below approach. Had another XR for 15 years combined. This is my third.

[@RideroftheStorm]

What you are going to see in the front end of the video is what my chain looks like when it is slightly out of spec. It is slapping the swing arm at speed. How do I know? Because I put a camera on it and watched it slap the swing arm. My chain is in great condition, so the next thing to do is adjust it! This is a nice easy video to watch with lots of little tips!

[@RideroftheStorm]

I want to thank you all for 8k views. Either this video is doing well, or I am a flop on a grand scale!! 😂

[@RideroftheStorm]

I will use my famous ZZ and LZ sockets to crack this loose. Yes, this is how I read them upside down.

[@otapecka366]

I don't think that the central pin is equally protruding from the swingarm on each side, you can't measure this way with a caliper. On the right side, where the nut is, it is more from the shoulder..

[@RideroftheStorm]

@@otapecka366 you are 100 percent right. Nothing is 100 percent even. This is why my left side axle center point seems off. When it is slightly off, it is perfect.

[@flipperdoo22]

Thank you! Did you do it without having your back wheel lifted? Can I do it just on the kickstand?

[@RideroftheStorm]

You can adjust the chain with or without a center stand. Watch my videos. You will quickly learn that all you need to do is loosen the axle and then the axle will move just enough for you to slide the tire forward or backward. Usually this is about half a turn or so on the axle bolt. When you turn the adjuster nuts, this will pull the axle aft as needed. If for some reason, the wheels should slip, you can strike the tire from the rear with a large mallet or even a 2 x 4 piece of wood. I have done this so many times on so many bikes. The key to doing this properly is making sure that both sides of the axle or even. Of course you do not want to crooked back wheel.

[@flipperdoo22]

@@RideroftheStorm thank you for your reply. I will try it. I watched your video but couldn’t tell if it was on stands. Great video! Very helpful!

[@RideroftheStorm]

@@flipperdoo22 I try not to limit my viewers. You can do it with or without using basically the same technique. He will need to drop the bike on his rear tire to do the final lockdown. This is all typical jacking procedures for cars and motorcycles. The key is knowing when you can adjust. Knowing that half a turn on the main nut will give you that flexibility. You can do the job with a rubber mallet or a brick.

[@KUBBI7488]

By specks you should have 1 in play ! No more

[@RideroftheStorm]

Okay, you can read the book. It might say an inch for those folks with the 700S. But, I have a custom YSS suspension. Everything was slightly higher... or taller than stock... and I run mine a little loose, so still relevant and correct. Think: 3cm to 4cm of play underneath with the top of the chain still nearly fully tight but wiggling. I run closer to 5cm on one side of play. Always test the same places. Learn it, and put a camera on it if you can. I use a gopro. I learned a lot about "too loose" and "too tight". I have seen the chain nearly snap on video. So. Learn it right. Observe it on the fly!

[@RideroftheStorm]

Watch my jumping video where I jump nearly 3 feet down with my NC. I maxed out all the linkages underneath. I dragged the swing arm. But... I did not break the chain.

[@RideroftheStorm]

After a fresh oil, my rim is all splattered.

[@marcelmuller7623]

to me it looks that your chain is too tight....

[@RideroftheStorm]

This is why I took the time to put cameras on my chain. I rode for hours and watched it all given various tensions. It is quite interesting. It is a learning process.

[@marcelmuller7623]

@@RideroftheStorm yes indeed! So you changed it again and did it less tight?

[@RideroftheStorm]

@@marcelmuller7623 Do I ever do it the same way... looking the same way every time? No. People get soooo touchy about it. And frankly, when they see it spinning at 80mph, everything changes. I know what works and what does not. I do it enough times that I have stopped being critical about it. You can drive yourself bonkers if you check it every week and decide to adjust it. This chain had started banging and was eventually replaced. I ride in the dirt so much that when the chain gets close to end-of-life, something starts to go funky or slacked. Between top and bottom, additive it should be about 4cm. But, as the chain gets older, it allow it to be more slacked. I have had people come at me with all this technical stuff.... and then I say... hey. Are you riding on a custom suspension? Did you put a camera on it at highway speed or rough road? ... and then they go quiet. Watch my dynamic videos on how a chain behaves with 50% life in it.

[@marklevy9]

Sorry do not agree with this video at all - 1) kill the music 2) Honda show the amount of chain slack the bike should have on the swingarm - easy to measure with a tape measure - this is up and down movement 3) at the tightest spot of the chain it should not touch the swing arm 4) the loosest part may touch the swing arm 5) glue for the locknuts?? 6) in your example your chain looks too tight. 7) what does a test ride do??? 8) you use a torque wrench and calipers for measuring and you do not measure chain slack??? 9) measuring with calipers is better than nothing but aligned correctly? - you need a lazer to do this What you do is better than many people - however to call your video “How to do it fast and do it right” is misleading IMO

[@RideroftheStorm]

Yep. I sure stink at making videos. Glad you wrote your opinion. Thanks and feel free to write as much as you like. I got tired of music owners popping up and claiming rights long after the video is created. And people see my videos as more of a reference point. So. Thanks again for posting!!

[@marklevy9]

@@RideroftheStorm don’t be hard on yourself - thanks to people like you as helped many people like myself. Do suggest that you measure slack with a tape measure at several points Plus stop using sealant after the lock nut- could make the nut cross thread when removing. (Worst case scenario)

[@RideroftheStorm]

@@marklevy9 I do thank you for that. Anyone who adds a little knowledge to the pool is sure welcome. On a personal note. I am such an old rider/mechanic with engineering knowledge that I can tell you this. My chains feel different through their life span. I don’t just read the meter and say. Oh yeah, that is near end-of-life. And this is a big problem. When I set up a near end-of-life chain, I tend to leave it a little looser. The swing arm meter means nothing unless you made a note in your log about where it was at new. There is three or four ways one should feel a chain and this gets most people kinda confused. Chains feel different. I will run a stock chain or a chain intended for a very heavy bike. Mostly because I am big. A new chain has almost no lateral play and sits in the middle between the teeth on the sprocket tightly. Lately, I lube the heck out of my chains so the sprockets never wear. I prefer a certain slack. And I don’t like using measuring devices on chains because it sends the wrong message in terms of life and slack. Why? Your chain may not always slack evenly. Or. It may not have wear signs all the way around the chain. See my point? You can get super technical. But when you get on the road and put a camera on it, you may be shocked to realize that your chain is behaving poorly. So. A new chain has a tight stiff feel to it with maybe 4cm of play. But a stiff 4cm. An older chain might have a loose light feel to it at nearly 5cm of play. I often feel both top and bottom and do the math in my head. The test ride is the final validation. I want smooth shifts. When I ride my XR, I want to miss as few shifts as possible. And on the XR, i miss a lot of shifts. My chain will usually clack or tick at end-of-life. And I prefer it to fail that way. It might fail long before the meter says it is done. I am hard on my chains. Between the potholes and jumps and wheelies, I am hard on my bike and I like it that way. My main message here is: Enjoy your bike. Enjoy your work. Do it often and develop your own way of thinking. But I will leave you with this one thought. A measuring device on a chain will often give a somewhat false result. Yes. For beginners, okay. Measure it. If it makes you feel good. For guys like me, it is all about the voodoo-that-I-do. If people watch me ride and they pull up along side and give me a hoot and and a smile, then I did my job.

[@milmex317th]

That music is annoying AF, I hope you didn't pay for it

[@RideroftheStorm]

After all these months, it may be time to re-post the video. Either no music at all or maybe Marylin Manson. Maybe Korn.

[@normski262]

Just cut the music. please..

[@automatik33]

tip nema pojma o pojmu hitno blokirati stranicu

[@RideroftheStorm]

Hvala što ste posjetili moj kanal. Možda ste to namjeravali reći nekom drugom.