biker basics by e r n e r chains & belt...

CHAINS & BELT SAdjusting and aligning your secondary drive

B I K E R B A S I C S B Y S T E P H E N B E R N E R

1 With the bike up on the lift so the rear wheel is off the ground,find the tightest section of chain. Do this by moving the wheelto get different sections of chain between the sprockets.

198 • AMERICAN IRON MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2004 www.AmericanIronMagazine.com

2 Then drop the bike off the center liftand check the chain’s slack withsomeone about the same weight asyou sitting on the bike. I do this bypushing up on the midpoint of thechain.

■ ALIGNMENT AND ADJUSTMENT OF YOUR SECONDARY DRIVE IS A

critical aspect of your bike’s maintenance schedule. In fact, it’ssomething you can easily check on a regular basis, rather thanduring a big scheduled service at the dealership. The purpose ofthis Biker Basics is to make you familiar with what needs to bedone, so you will be comfortable doing it regularly. This wayyou will be aware of any change in the condition of yourbelt/chain that requires your attention before you’re stuck onthe side of the road. The common misconception among ridersis that O-ring chains, and especially belts, are maintenance-freeitems. This is not true. Although once bedded in and adjustedafter their initial install, these components are pretty consistent;they still need to be checked and periodically adjusted.

The procedure for checking a bike’s secondary drive is sim-ilar in both belt and chain applications. Start by checking thetension as per the manual for your specific machine. Thencheck the belt/chain alignment. Finish by tightening, with atorque wrench, the rear axle nut. Sounds simple, right? Well, itis. The accompanying photos show you just what to do. We’lldo the chain version first and then a belt system. (And don’tmind the dirt. I just got back from an extended road trip.)

3 If the chain’s slack is not within thespec called for in the bike’s servicemanual, loosen the rear axle nut justenough to move the wheel. There’s noneed to loosen it a lot, so it’s sloppy.

www.AmericanIronMagazine.com SEPTEMBER 2004 • AMERICAN IRON MAGAZINE • 199

4 Some people count flats when adjust-ing their bike’s rear chain and somepeople use a razor blade to countthreads. I like to use a degree wheel,so I move each side of the axle thesame amount.

5 I use 10-degree increments to makemy adjustments. It’s a small turn of thewrench, but generally enough of anincrement to make a difference in thechain’s tension.

6 After making my adjustments, I double-check the chain’s slack with my buddyback on the bike. Too tight and you’llhave bearing problems, too loosemakes a mess of the sprockets andchain.

1/2 vert

mc advantages

(1 of 2)

1/6 horiz

dragon fly


7 No rear drive adjustment is completewithout checking the rear wheel align-ment. I made my own alignment tool(from the H-D manual) using a steel rodthat I bent in a vice and an O-ring.

8 To check the wheel alignment, I mustget to the swingarm pivot bolt/shaft. Todo that I need to pop the caps off therubber-mount brackets.

9 Place one end of the alignment tool onthe center of the swingarm pivotbolt/shaft and the other end over thecenter hole in the rear axle.

1/2 vert

crane cams

1/6 horiz

race deck

B i k e r B a s i c s


10 Then move the O-ring/marker onyour alignment tool to the centerpoint of the rear axle. You shouldhave one end on the swingarm pivotshaft/bolt and the other end over thewheel’s axle.

11 Then duplicate the process on theother side and compare your meas-urements. If both are not the samedistance from the pivot shaft/bolt,move the non-chain side to conform.

12 After rechecking the chain tension(with a buddy aboard), if you have tomake an alignment adjustment,torque the axle nut to the correctspec. (Mine is 65 ft-lbs.)

2/3

covington cycle


B i k e r B a s i c s

14 Just as the chain gang had to do,remove the caps on the rubber-mount brackets to gain access tothe swingarm pivot shafts/bolts.

13 As for you rear-belted guys, removethe saddlebags, if you’ve got ’em,and put the bike up on a lift. Be sureto strap it down.

16 Armed with your trusty Harley-Davidson belt tension gauge (a greatone to use, by the way), place thegauge (#40006-85) under the belt inthe spot specified in the tool’sinstructions.

15 Here’s a little trick: Mark the side ofyour belt with a white grease pencil/china marker. This way youcan easily see it through the obser-vation window in the belt guard.

TIPS & TRICKS

ALWAYS USE TIE DOWNS WHEN YOUR BIKE IS ON ANY TYPE OF LIFT.Use anti-seize on your axle nuts.Have a buddy who’s the same weight as you on the bike when checking the

secondary drive belt/chain tension.Use a torque wrench for critical nuts/bolts. This will keep you from over-

tightening your axle nut and crushing your swingarm, or not tightening the axlenut enough, which leads to a different type of disaster.

While the bike is on the lift, clean your chain (I like WD 40 and a grungebrush) or your belt (clean brush and soapy water) and check them for damage.

I made my own alignment tool, using the H-D manual as a guide. You’ll needto bend a steel rod in a bench vice to get the proper configuration and find an O-ring that’ll slip tightly over the rod, so it can be used as a distance marker. ■

1/3 vert

signal dyn.

(2 of 2)


17 With your buddy on the bike, pressup on the belt in the specified loca-tion until the tool compresses to the10-pound mark. Then check the belt’sdeflection. Ours is 3/8” (three markson the belt).

18 With the belt tension correct, check-ing the rear wheel alignment is donejust the same as on a chain-drivenbike. Place one end of the alignmenttool on the swingarm pivotbolt/shaft.

19 Then slide the O-ring on the otherend of the tool down to the centerpoint of the axle. Now that you havethe distance from swingarm pivot toaxle, compare it with the other sideof the bike. If both are not the samedistance from the pivot bolt/shaft,move the non-belt side to conform.

AIM

S O U R C E SHARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR

COMPANY

See your local H-D dealer800/LUV-2RIDEwww.Harley-Davidson.com

1/2 vert

markel

1/6 horiz

forrest auto body

biker basics by e r n e r chains & belt...

Documents