Vagabondetravel

Chain Tightening at Your Fingertips

During most bike discussions, the common subject is average fuel consumption and ways to increase it. To get maximum mileage from every drop of fuel burned by your bike engine, you must first understand the role played by your bike’s chain.

The chain plays the key role of transferring the power from the engine to the rear wheel and that is what makes the bike move forward. Your bike’s chain is a critical part of your bike yet it is often forgotten by most bikers.
Chains tend to slack over a period of time and hang loose over the sprocket reducing the speed and pick up of the bike even while the engine is working just fine. In such a case, we must know that the engine’s power is not optimally utilized. We often come across such topics put forth on bike forums.
Since we all want the best out of our motorcycles, let’s get down to the basics of chain maintenance, which is a very easy task and easily do-able at home.

Clean Sheen: Various chain cleaning sprays are available in the market of which, Motul Chain Cleaner is my personal favorite. All you need to do is spray/ apply the cleaning agent all over the chain without leaving a single dry patch, wait for a minute and begin cleaning the chain using a toothbrush. Make sure to remove all dirt, grime and mud off the chain.

Chain Slack: Moving onto the next level of chain maintenance, we need to check the chain’s slack. Check if the chain is drooping at any point or if there is a ‘play’ if pressed. Check the measurements as per the level mentioned in your bike’s manual or as per mentioned in a motorcycle blog that refers to your bike.

If any slack is noticed, you could go ahead with tightening the chain all by yourself. Loosen the axle bolt without removing its nut. Tighten the chain adjusting nut making one half turn each time. Keep checking the slack to ensure you don’t over tighten it. A tight chain is extremely hazardous and may snap while riding causing grave accidents.

Just in case you find the chain tighter than recommended, you may loosen it by turning the adjuster nut in reverse manner. Keep moving your bike wheel (when on stand) so that the loosening process is correctly completed. Check if the alignment is correct and while holding the bolt, tighten the locknut so that the adjuster does not move. Do not over tighten the locknut, just make sure it stays in place or else it might put strain on the adjuster bolt.

Lubricating and Oiling: As step two, you need to apply chain lube or oil all over the chain. Many brands of lubricants are available in the market although I prefer Motul Chain Lubricant which too is my favorite. It is the lube which increases the longevity of the sprocket. A dry chain consumes the sprocket threads much faster than normal.
Once the lube is sprayed/ applied all over the chain, the chain is now ready to roll.