supermoto wheels chain slack

[Mojoe]

2016 Honda crf250l with warp 9 supermoto rims. 150/60 r17 rear. I set the chain slack to 30mm which is what the manual says. but when I take the bike off the stand the chain feels way too tight compared to the stock wheels setup.

is this normal ? and does that mean that I have to loosen the chain past what the manual calls for? just use the 3 finger rule?

 

[abkdt41]

2016 Honda crf250l with warp 9 supermoto rims. 150/60 r17 rear. I set the chain slack to 30mm which is what the manual says. but when I take the bike off the stand the chain feels way too tight compared to the stock wheels setup.

is this normal ? and does that mean that I have to loosen the chain past what the manual calls for? just use the 3 finger rule?

Does the manual say how to check chain slack? (On or off stands)

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[blackcamaro]

It shouldn't make a difference what wheels are on the bike. The bikes suspension is going to sag the same regardless of what wheels are on it so you should get the same result either way. I assume being a 2016 bike the chain is relatively fresh? If you have a bunch of mileage on it maybe you have a tight spot giving you a different amount of slack this time you measured.

For what it's worth I do usually go with the 3 finger method on my dirt bikes. I'm not going to tell you it's the right way but it works for me, make your own call on that.

 

[blackcamaro]

Btw 30mm seems pretty tight for a chain on that style of bike. If the manual gives you a range I'd go on the looser side.

 

[48Connor]

Btw 30mm seems pretty tight for a chain on that style of bike. If the manual gives you a range I'd go on the looser side.

On the DRZ it says 1-2", so like 25-50mm, which is on par with most dirt bikes.


I believe you are supposed to measure slack when its on the side stand, but when you stand the bike straight up you'll compress the suspension and tighten the chain.

 

[Mojoe]

so apparently you should check slack on the side stand. but because the bike is lower the angle of lean on the side stand is different. it leans a lot less. official Honda manual says 30mm, and if it's 50mm or more replace chain. I have 1000kms on the chain now. so I'm gonna go with maybe 40mm or 35mm as taken from the bike on kickstand.
on my last bike I always used the 3 finger rule.
thanks for the input! now I have to find a shorter kickstand to compensate for the 17" wheels.

 

[mxs]

If in doubt, have someone heavy compress the bike by standing on the pegs and check how tight the chain gets at the moment. Not exactly scientific method, but will give you an idea how the chain tightens up when the shock compresses. Always check at few spots, to rule out tight spots.