[hocko]

Hi all, Just a quick query, while moving house lately, my owners manual has gone walkabout to places unknown. My rear chain badly needs adjustment, I remember reading that the castle nut and sheerpin are removed and the brake retaining bolt loosened and adjust is done via the adjusters each side . Which if any tool is used in the retensioning, also is the 1" play as recommended on the top of the chain, with someone sitting on the bike or on the centre stand. Any photos would be appreciated.

Thanks  

[prof_stack]

Heh, I just adjusted the chain for the very first time, at 300 miles.

Who thought up having snails adjust your chain?  

Castle nut - 24mm  or  15/16 inch (I used this socket)
Spindle nut - 30mm  or  1 3/16 inch (ditto)
Anchor nut - 19mm (corrected from 18mm)
Brake rod nut - 13mm

I should have marked the snail settings with a Sharpie before I started.  Getting the wheel aligned was all about visual settings from behind the bike.  If there is a more precise way, please broadcast it.

But it all went back together and the chain is tighter, the brake is adjusted back to spec, and the wheel turns freely with no binding, so I have to say it was a success.  

I also changed the oil, but that is for a different thread.

[Vitalc]

I should have marked the snail settings with a Sharpie before I started.  Getting the wheel aligned was all about visual settings from behind the bike.  If there is a more precise way, please broadcast it.

I'm not sure if the rear wheel can be poorly alligned if the snails settings are symetric 

A valid method of alligning both wheels is with a piece of string along the front and rear wheel, 5" above the ground.  Complicated with the centerstand though...

[Ducati Scotty]

I should have marked the snail settings with a Sharpie before I started.  Getting the wheel aligned was all about visual settings from behind the bike.  If there is a more precise way, please broadcast it.

A sharpie is a good start but I took mine off entirely and scribed little marks every 5th notch with a dremel.  It makes it easy to see where I am.  The sharpie wipes off too easily.

If aligning the wheel is too difficult just align the chain.  Take a slim straight edge, a thin metal ruler works well.  Lsy it along the rear sprocket at the lower chain.  It should be in line with the chain.  If it's skewed to one side re-align.  It's better overall to align the wheels but unless your frame is way off this should be fine.  It's how I do it all the time.

Oh, and when it's straight the two snails may be on different notches.

Scott

[prof_stack]

Yeah, I read that the snails are not necessarily going to be symmetric when the wheel is aligned.  Mine appear to be aligned but that is not what I used to get the wheel set.

I could have re-used the cotter pin but have a bunch of them so on went a new one.  It's been decades since I had to adjust a chain!  1986 Sportster, IIRC.

The picture below shows the three main nuts that need loosening.  I was glad to have some seriously big sockets on hand.  It would have been a pain with a crescent wrench!   

After 300 miles the muffler doesn't yet show discoloration near the end as I've seen on others, including the demo.  Maybe that one got the pi$$ run out of it.

[singhg5]

Hi all, Just a quick query, while moving house lately, my owners manual has gone walkabout to places unknown. My rear chain badly needs adjustment, I remember reading that the castle nut and sheerpin are removed and the brake retaining bolt loosened and adjust is done via the adjusters each side .

Which if any tool is used in the retensioning, also is the 1" play as recommended on the top of the chain, with someone sitting on the bike or on the centre stand. Any photos would be appreciated.Thanks  

You have good memory  .  I will only add a couple of lines to what has already been posted.

1.  You do not need to remove any of the nuts - ONLY LOOSEN them.  There are 3 of them for moving wheel - See picture below.  But the 4th nut is for loosening brake.
2.  The rear brake cover anchor nut may be 19 mm size, that is wrench size I use.  Prof wrote 18 mm.  In my tool set there is no 18 mm and 19 mm works fine.
3. The chain play is 2.5 to 3 cm.  Though the manual says top run but all the posts on this Forum think it should be bottom run.  Most people use centre stand but some recommend a person sitting on bike.
4.  The number of notches on the snail adjusters may not be same on the left and right side when the wheel is straight.
 5. I use THICK Sharpie (Permanent Ink- though it can be cleaned by alcohol) on snail adjusters and find it extremely helpful - see in picture below.

[hocko]

Thank you all for your replies, that covers most of my query, just one thing however, what tool do I use to do the actual adjustment of the chain on the chain adjusters each side,  or am I overlooking something here (More often the case  )

Cheers and thanks again 

[2bikebill]

You don't need a tool to turn the snails - just slacken everything enough so you can waggle the wheel a bit if necessary.
Hitchocks sell alternative adjusters  if you can't get on with the snails. A lot of folk here prefer them. I prefer the snails. The alternative adjusters don't have as much adjustment available when the chain starts to "stretch". Also with the snails, once you have your wheels aligned, you know they stay aligned each time you adjust the chain. The new adjusters do allow more precise adjustment though - sometimes the snails give only the option of a bit too loose or a bit too tight.
Equally adjusted snails do not necessarily mean your wheels are aligned. On my G5 the left hand snail needs to be 2 notches more than the right hand for the wheels to be aligned. Most folk seem to use the string method, but for perfect accuracy you can use laser pointers. The dirt cheap ones are fine for this job. here is a link to how to do it.
www.realclassic.co.uk/techfiles/wheelalignment.html
It's a good idea to make a similar jig to clamp to the front wheel for easier sighting. And a bit of fiddling is required to get the beams past the centre stand, so don't stick them to the jig as instructed - you'll need to set them further out.

[hocko]

thanks all again, just adjust by hand.....way to go.

Cheers 

[UncleErnie]

I'm pretty sure CMW has those screw-type adjusters, also.

I use a long aluminium angle set on bricks for a straight edge.
The trick to the snails is keeping the right side tight as you tighten up eerything on the left. 

[davem]

Can you be too fussy about chain adjustment?. I've done 2600 miles on my g5 and i've not adjusted the chain once.It seems to run fine, no snatch at takeoff and changing gear.
I've had it up to 80 mph with no problems.Just wondering.
Briliant forum by the way
Davem

[2bikebill]

Well you can be too fussy about anything. Then there's neglect.....

[davem]

Good answer Will. I see yout point. Then again if it aint broke!!!!!!!!.
Davem

[gashousegorilla]

  Guys, I would not sweat the snail positions all that much. You can mark them it you like. That will only give you an idea of were you were before you loosened everything up. The snails are gonna be where the snails are gonna be, when the rear wheel is inline with the front, and the chain is set right. They may be on a different notch when your done due to chain stretch. Or you have your chain a little tighter of more loose. Don't think anything is wrong if your on a different notch, as long as alignment and the slack in the chain is good. Unless there's some drastic difference.

[singhg5]

Can you be too fussy about chain adjustment?. I've done 2600 miles on my g5 and i've not adjusted the chain once.It seems to run fine, no snatch at takeoff and changing gear.
I've had it up to 80 mph with no problems.Just wondering.
Briliant forum by the way
Davem

It seems your chain is doing well.  Generally these RE chains 'stretch' a bit during intial few hundred miles and require adjustment.  Have you checked the slack in your chain ?  If it is between 2.5 to 3 cm then you don't need to do any adjustment.  Just keep it clean and LUBE it.  

Sometimes there are no symptoms but the chain could be little loose.  When you adjust it, you will feel the difference in the ride - it will feel better.  The bike will respond quicker with throttle.

 

Good answer Will. I see yout point. Then again if it aint broke!!!!!!!!.
Davem

If it does break, it will be lot more expensive to fix the whole thing.  Prevention is better than cure !!!!!!     e.g., Your bike is running fine with dirty oil in it.  When you replace it with clean fresh oil, you can feel the difference in gear shifting and the way it runs.  The same is true of chain adjustment.