My dealer says that the measurement should be made with the rider on the quad. The owners manual says nothing about this. Any help guys?

i guess no one has adjusted their chains yet huh .
Any way i have the way i do it it adjust the chain with my wife siting on the bike and then set the spec.

I always make shure I can fit two fingers between the chain and the end of the chane slide.That seems to be a good measurement for me.

On any quad, the chain will be tightest when the line between the center of the axle, the swingarm pivot bolt and the front sprocket center is straight.

I always try to check my chain tension at that point, and it's loosest point to make sure it is acceptable at both....

I was a little leary of the spec. I adjusted mine to 1.375"(about the middle of the spec) and it seemed kind of tight. That measurement is from the top of the swingarm to the bottom of the chain at about the end of the chain slide- as shown in the photo. That's also with all 4 wheels on the ground and my wife in the house. I then went to the top of the range- 1-5/8" and it made a pretty good difference. I was still a little concerned about it, so in a conversation with a c'dale engineer, I asked. He said to follow the spec, they haven't seen any reason to make a change.

Okay, that's what they say, that's what I'll do, and that's what I'd suggest to you.

Edit: BTW- the dealer I asked about it was using Jap methods for measuring slack- total play in the chain, center of high as it will go to center of low as it will go. That results in a very loose chain compared to what the manual specifies. Dealers don't know it all, as much as some of them would like to think. There human too and can be wrong. They didn't realize or had never read the specific instructions printed in the manual. They were surprised when I told them what the book says, and got somewhat defensive after showing them they weren't following manufacturer recommendations.

inoticed at about 1.25 to the 1.5/8 with me on jumping upon landing it seems to want to stall out a bit i only weigh a buck 40

i have it apart right now lubing the swingarm and front a arms so when i get it back togther i'll re spec the chain and let yall know how it feels .

i've loostened the a arms a bit down to 15 ' lbs abd they have a lot less drag in MYO ....

once agin i'll see once i get it out to test { heck i could not believe how much drag they had with out the shocks on them .

Niels