Chain care and adjustment
A badly tensioned chain wrecks a gearbox; a dry chain stretches within a few thousand kilometres. It is the most profitable maintenance on a motorcycle, and it takes fifteen minutes.
Why a chain goes slack
A chain does not stretch like elastic: it is the pins and bushes of each link that wear, and the sum of those tiny clearances lengthens the whole. That is why a poorly lubricated chain goes slack quickly: the wear happens inside the links, where the lubricant no longer reaches.
Measuring tension at the right spot
Slack is measured at the middle of the lower run, with the bike on its wheels and nobody on it, then rechecked while turning the wheel slowly: a chain always has one tighter spot, and that is the one that counts. The correct figure is the one in your machine's manual; too tight is far more destructive than too loose.
Clean before lubricating
Lubricating a dirty chain glues grit onto the O-rings, which eventually cut. Brush it dry or with a product made for sealed chains, never with harsh degreaser or a pressure washer, which drives the factory grease out of the links. Lubricate the chain warm, on the inner run, then let it settle before riding.
When to replace the whole kit
Chain, rear sprocket and front sprocket wear together and are replaced together. A new chain on a worn sprocket is ruined within a few hundred kilometres, because hooked teeth no longer bear in the right place. Two signs never lie: hook-shaped teeth, and a chain you can lift away from the rear sprocket at its back edge.
The mistakes that cost a chain
Tensioning cold then riding loaded, forgetting to check wheel alignment after adjustment, using a thick grease that collects grit, or torquing the axle before rechecking slack: these are the four most common faults. A tight link found while turning the wheel calls for stripping, not for more lubricant.
These guides give general bearings. They do not replace your machine's workshop manual, which alone gives exact torque figures and wear limits.
The essentials in three points
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