Adjust the chain or get a new one?

My chain and sprockets are original only have 4k miles on them. When rotating the rear wheel the chain becomes very tight in one spot then relaxes to the proper tension throughout the rest of the rotation. I'm a novice at chain adjustments and am wondering if this sounds like something that can be remedied with an attempted adjustment. Would also like to know why it happened if anyone has any ideas.

 

If it is VERY tight in one spot, loosen the adjustment to get it "not so tight" in that spot. Tight chains are hard on the countershaft bearings in your motor, and also on the swingarm and wheel bearings.

Common problem at the track, as hard launches tend to stretch chains but not uniformly. Better to run it looser 80% of the time, than to run it tight 20% of the time.

...or go buy yourself a brandy new chain and sprockets!

 

What flameface says ^. My chain & sprocket combo has been tight/loose since it was new ('07). I first checked it at about 100 miles, adjusted it for the tightest spot, and have only had to adjust it once in about 5K miles. It kind of bothered me that a brand new bike would come that way, but it hasn't gotten any worse.

 

Got the same deal on my 03, doesn't seem to hurt anything since I like to run it loose so that when my 210 lb. carcass gets on it doesn't "tighten" too much,like flameface said, easier on the bearings too.

 

My previous two bikes were a belt and a shaftie, i hadn't had a chain drive since (well a very long time) my honda cl350 and previous dirt bikes. I thought I read the service manual correctly and was going to do things right by cleaning, lubing, and adjusting to specs. Well i misread the tension part and over tightened my chain. Had the same issues with a non uniform tension. I readjusted on the loose side and kept the chain lubed up. This worked ok, but I really just needed to replace which I did at 12,000 miles. New chain and sprockets and bike felt smooth just like new.

Don't overtighten and keep the chain clean and lubed and you should be good for at least 15 to 20K miles.

 

Thanks much for the insight. I'll go with the least expensive remedy first and attempt the adjustment. Got a feeling though I'll be onlne by days end in search of new stuff. And withouta-doubt it won't be OEM.

Anyone reccomend a chain/sprocket set they've been happy with?

Also, I'm quite interested if anyone has comments or feedback about changing the size of their rear or front sprockets.

 

if you change your final drive ratio your speedo and odometer will not read actual. The pickup is monitoring the rotations of the countershaft sprocket ( not the front wheel like back in the day).

 

Just adjust your chain and ride it. Your chain should be fine for 20k miles.

 

Thanks for the info. Adjusting the chain was stupid easy. No more tight spot.