yooo
whats happenin guys. i cant figure out how the heck to tighten my chain. i was readin on it n ur supposed to loosen up the 4 bolts on the back swingarm, and the use an adjuster lock???? in the hole in the sprocket...what the heck is an adjuster lock??? someone help me out please!!!

 

Loosen the carrier bolts. get the little rod from your tool pack and put it through the rear sprocket into the carrier, there is a little hole to put it in. with you sitting on the bike have someone
pull the bike backwards to tighten the chain.
You should have about a 1/2' to 3/4' play in the chain with you on it.
Tighten carrier bolts up and your good to go.

 

If you don't have the OEM tool kit then a #2 Phillips will work. There are a couple of holes in the sprocket hub and a couple in the bearing carrier. With the rod through both holes it rotates the eccentric carrier to either loosen or tighten your chain.
If you don't have a buddy to help you like xrider said then achieve about an inch of play and tighten everything back up. This will give you around 3/4in play with you and your gear on the bike.
Use a Craftsman screwdriver. That way when you snap an inch of it off in the carrier you can take it back and get a new one under warranty. A good magnet will get the remaining piece of the screwdriver out. Don't ask me how I would know that!!!

 

If you have an 04 with the aluminum swingarm, make sure you don't overtighten those four carrier bolts. Also, the owners manual and the shop manual illustrate a specific order that the four bolts should be tightened and torqued.

I have found that on my 04, it seems like you have to keep the chain ridiculously loose when there is no weight on the bike in order to achieve the correct chain slack with rider and gear on the bike. So much so that the chain will rub on the chain guard when I am pushing the bike into the trailer. No such problem with my 03 (longer swingarm and the chain has a lesser angle as it approaches the front sprocket). I have, many times, almost taken off without taking the long allen wrench that I use out of the bearing carrier.

 

well tonight ill let u know how i do with the "craftsman" screwdriver lol thanks guys...ace...ur crazy!!! but im way ahead of ya!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

 

anybody have a problem with the tool in the kit bending?? I didn't achieve any adjustment either. Any ideas?

thanks guys

 

try a #2 phillips lol like ace said. i havent gotten to it yet so idk if it works

 

I use an allen wrench, and just stuff it in there. Never had a problem yet.

 

I also used a #2 phillips, no problem yet.

I use a ratchet strap to pull the rear down until the front sprocket, pivot and rear sprocket are all lined up perfectly, that way there is no question that its at the tightest point.

 

Well crap! Long time no post for me! Anyway, I still cant get this thing tight. Possibly stretched the chain? I dont know what else to do besides pull the bearings and put new ones in to see if that helps. I thought bout takin a link or 2 out just to get it rideable. Im an OTR truck driver now and i have time for nothing and i'd really like to ride my ds when I do have time! Its good to be back on the site, been a long time!