Nothing is as easy as it looks in the video

[Hawks & Turkeys]

Hey my 2024 Hawk (with carb) is at 500 miles and my chain has stretched to the point that its pretty loose. Like probably not safe loose. So here I go, watching videos on chain tightening, ordering 17 and 19mm heavy duty sockets to work the axle bolt and nut, and...that damn axle bolt did not want to come loose. It had to be sealed up with Loctite. They may as well have used cement.

Ok, so after beating the socket wrench with a hammer (sorry - its the military guy in me) I get the axle nut loose and loosen the adjusting nuts on the swing arms. And I'm following the advice in the videos to set a tape measure alongside the chain and doing my best to line up the wheel with the measuring lines and keeping everything in alignment, and doing my best to pull the wheel back to tighten the chain to just the right tension and gently tighten the adjusting nuts...

And every time I tighten the axle bolt, it rides back on itself and tightens the chain to some impossibly tight tension.

It took a Google search and one obscure video to learn about the tension of tightening the rear wheel axle. Some videos recommended tightening the tension nuts in the swing arms first. Another video recommended tightening the axle bolt first, then adjusting the swing arm adjusters.

Well, I finally got it - I found a tension I could live with that wasn't super tight. I never did find the recommended tension of an inch and 1/4, but I found a tension that wasn't crazy tight and didn't look like it would snap the chain (there's videos of chain snaps out there. They don't look like something I want to have happen).

And guess what - I just completed the chain adjustment yesterday and took the bike for a gentle ride around the area to test it. And when I got back home after riding like a mile? The chain had already stretched out to: about an inch and a quarter. Go figure.

I'm out.

[tknj99]

buy a quality chain off Amazon/Ebay, ideally o-ring or x-ring (even better) and you wont have nearly as much stretching going on

[bigdano711]

You watched the wrong video.

[Crossbar]

I'll find on my Templar that the tension will change depending upon the rotational position of the sprockets. It may seem loose at first but, when rotating the wheel, the tension changes in certain spots. Not sure why it does that, sprockets seem clean, no binding links in chain, sprockets don't seem out of round... Just something to keep in mind.

[bigdano711]

Originally Posted by Crossbar

I'll find on my Templar that the tension will change depending upon the rotational position of the sprockets. It may seem loose at first but, when rotating the wheel, the tension changes in certain spots. Not sure why it does that, sprockets seem clean, no binding links in chain, sprockets don't seem out of round... Just something to keep in mind.

Replace your chain.

[cheesy]

This is why mechanics drink. And why my main rides are shafties or friction drive.

The chain being tight in one spot and loose in another is because the sprockets are not concentric. None of them are. IIRC they can be out of round by as much as .020". If both are out by that much, you are looking at .040" in one spot. Throw in a cheap or worn chain and you'll be bald like me. So, you shoot for a compromise in chain adjustment, aka, good enough. And go ride.