is it bad to leave my chain loose?

hi there, i think my chain is a little loose but im too lazy to tighten it LOL. is it bad for me to ride it like this? the chain won't fly off right? Or skip teeth?

I wouldn't worry unless it is making a lot of noise.
I would adjust it before any long rides but a short trip or two should be fine.

Ok, I'll say it... if you're lazy, why did you buy a motorcycle? Keeping up with the maintenance is what will keep you alive.

My momma always told me, "Life is like a box..." er, let me try that again.

My daddy always told me, "You get out of it what you put into it."

Only 1 1/4" slack... or play... check bottom part of the chain while on the side stand. And yes, it's dangerous for you and the bike--- ever had a chain pop-off at 75mph in the dirt? Yeah not fun.... Lock it up! Check your manual for torque specs too.

There's something about our bikes. Mine makes too much racket and loses some of its response time if the chain is loose. I like to keep mine a hair on the snug side of things. Not to the point that it stresses anything to much though.
Back to the topic though, I don't really love messing with the chain either, but part of having a bike is taking care of it.

ok ok i will go tighten it LOL, i have the manual but does anyone here know how much torque to the axle nut by memory? thanks.

tighten it until it feels nice and tight. I'm more of a tighten to "feels right" type of worker. I'm sure someone on here knows the exact specs.

NorgeWR2X wrote:

ok ok i will go tighten it LOL, i have the manual but does anyone here know how much torque to the axle nut by memory? thanks.

It's 90-something lbs. 93 ?

Drive Chain Slack: 35.0-45.0mm (1.38 - 1.77 in.)

Be sure to use the little alignment marks,

Axle Nut Tightening Torque: 125 Nm (12.5m-kpf, 90.4 ft-lbf)

By the way, the chain is always streching over time, and depending how you ride, will constantly need adjustment. Especially after long dirt trips, big whoops, or any other shananagan's!

Is it just me, or is 90 ft/lbs an insane amount of torque to put on the rear axle nut? I know it's factory recommended, but really? 90?! There is no way you'll get that loose on the trail with portable tools if you had to do something with the rear wheel/tire. I've been tightening mine to 70 ft/lbs, and even that seems like a lot. Comments?

I with you on this Mr. Metal. I have a hard time getting the torque wrench to click at that setting and I feel like somethings going to break or bend if I keep torquing it. I run 70ft/lbs as well.

Mr.Metal wrote:

Is it just me, or is 90 ft/lbs an insane amount of torque to put on the rear axle nut? I know it's factory recommended, but really? 90?! There is no way you'll get that loose on the trail with portable tools if you had to do something with the rear wheel/tire. I've been tightening mine to 70 ft/lbs, and even that seems like a lot. Comments?

Surfer-X wrote:

Drive Chain Slack: 35.0-45.0mm (1.38 - 1.77 in.)

Be sure to use the little alignment marks,

Axle Nut Tightening Torque: 125 Nm (12.5m-kpf, 90.4 ft-lbf)

my slack is like 2.5 in right now LOL

Last year i had one come off WOT,last lap and in the lead. Cracked case,locked rear wheel and came to a sudden stop. RIGHT I FRONT OF THE WHOLE PACK,wanna do that in the path of a big truck ?

dtx wrote:

Last year i had one come off WOT,last lap and in the lead. Cracked case,locked rear wheel and came to a sudden stop. RIGHT I FRONT OF THE WHOLE PACK,wanna do that in the path of a big truck ?

wow! did it break or just hopped off the sprocket? do you recall how loose the chain was? i could be wrong but doesn't WOT apply more tension to the chain so it shouldn't come off?

NorgeWR2X wrote:

Surfer-X wrote:

Drive Chain Slack: 35.0-45.0mm (1.38 - 1.77 in.)

Be sure to use the little alignment marks,

Axle Nut Tightening Torque: 125 Nm (12.5m-kpf, 90.4 ft-lbf)

my slack is like 2.5 in right now LOL

Lock it up! regain that missing horse power...

I remember reaching down and shaken the chain,thinking should tighten that. Well it was time for the first race so how bad could this be ? Just slung it off in turn four on exit,lazy thats all.

hi guys, i just tightened my chain to about 1.6 in slack. it was like 2.5 in before. OMG now the bike rides so much smoother. shifting feels smoother, rolling from a stop feels smooth. 1st gear clutch up from stand still feels amazing!!!

I just tightened mine to, i believe i did it to the correct level, but now theres a skweeking from the back wheel???? it was loose for awhile so is it just getting used to the new tension or do you think its too tight???

Mikechicago wrote:

I just tightened mine to, i believe i did it to the correct level, but now theres a skweeking from the back wheel???? it was loose for awhile so is it just getting used to the new tension or do you think its too tight???

That's the lameass rubber ring that runs around the outside of the rear sprocket. Lube up the sprocket and the sound will disappear until it dries again.

Only the 2008's have this rubber on the rear sprocket. Aren't we lucky.

I have a squeak.. but it seems to be coming somewhere from the front of the chain, around the CS sprocket. I still have the stock front sprocket, but my rear one is aftermarket. So, what could be squeaking? I think there is some sort of chain guide roller down there that may be making the noise, I haven't figured it out yet.

Lube it really well with some quality chain lube and see if that fixes it. This chain makes a lot of noise compared to most and it shows up with any grit or dust in just one long ride--especially if it gets wet. I don't like the teflon lubes and just use a high quality oring specific lube seems to work fine. On a trip I will use wd40 as I can carry one of those real small cans along--doesn't last as long as quality lube but it works in a pinch.
Also check and see if you are getting excessive wear on your swing arm chain guard\slider Good luck.

Mr.Metal wrote:

I have a squeak.. but it seems to be coming somewhere from the front of the chain, around the CS sprocket. I still have the stock front sprocket, but my rear one is aftermarket. So, what could be squeaking? I think there is some sort of chain guide roller down there that may be making the noise, I haven't figured it out yet.

Read the torque thread and you will see I'm an advocate for using a torque wrench--anyway--I agree that getting it loose trail side is a pain.
I went to Sears and got a 27mm open\box combo and cut off the open end then smoothed and rounded the cut. The result is a box end 27mm that will stay in place and long enough to give you the leverage you need to brake the nut loose and enough to tighten it at least close while on the side of the trail. No I don't carry a torque wrench on the trail

Mr.Metal wrote:

Is it just me, or is 90 ft/lbs an insane amount of torque to put on the rear axle nut? I know it's factory recommended, but really? 90?! There is no way you'll get that loose on the trail with portable tools if you had to do something with the rear wheel/tire. I've been tightening mine to 70 ft/lbs, and even that seems like a lot. Comments?

I agree that the stock chain sucks and is noisy... but I have a brand new RK X-Ring chain on there right now and I still have the squeak. I don't think it's the chain. I think it's either the front sprocket OR something right at the front of the swing arm. Can't be the swing arm itself, as I just lubed the entire damn thing.

Maybe I'll try to figure it out this week.

Akasy wrote:

Lube it really well with some quality chain lube and see if that fixes it. This chain makes a lot of noise compared to most and it shows up with any grit or dust in just one long ride--especially if it gets wet. I don't like the teflon lubes and just use a high quality oring specific lube seems to work fine. On a trip I will use wd40 as I can carry one of those real small cans along--doesn't last as long as quality lube but it works in a pinch.
Also check and see if you are getting excessive wear on your swing arm chain guard\slider Good luck.