Is this normal?

[Jonah]

Hi all,

Sorry for the noob question, I wanted to ask if the chain jiggle in this video is normal or not, and if you think it's because there's too much slack or anything else? I noticed it as I was cleaning and lubing the chain.

Thank you in advance!

[dazzler24]

Three things here to say: -

1. Hard to say as the rear wheel has nothing to drive against so the slap you're seeing is probably expected.

2. What you should be looking for is an approx ~25mm (1 inch) movement measured in the middle of the 'bottom' part of the chain when the rear wheel is on the ground.  Have a search on this forum and you'll see lots of discussion and images on the subject.

3.  Have you thrown an error code on your display?  I understand that if you run the bike in gear as shown in your video then it's likely you'll get an error because the ECU sees a discrepancy between rear and front wheel speeds. Again, do a search within the forum to find other's experience in this matter.

[dazzler24]

Check this link out that addresses what I was talking about in point 3 above in my previous post and this one discusses point 2.

[someguy]

1. I don't recommend letting the rear wheel idle whilst in gear on the centrestand. Risky/unsafe, and it can also lead to an error code. Lubing a chain this way is also dangerous.
2. Jiggle observed in this video is meaningless as it's in the absence of a load.
3. Check your chain slack with the bike on its sidestand - 25mm / 1" midpoint is ideal. Slightly loose is preferred over too tight (which causes undesirable lateral bearing & axle/spindle load).

Edited June 9 by someguy
chain slack

[Ride365]

Agree with ALL that everyone else has said, and yes to me your chain appears to be a bit on the loose side.

[betoney]

7 hours ago, someguy said:

1. I don't recommend letting the rear wheel idle whilst in gear on the centrestand. Risky/unsafe, and it can also lead to an error code. Lubing a chain this way is also dangerous.

I will be the odd man out and disagree with the dangers of using this method- assuming the user has even a shred of common sense.  Manufacturers sell every can of chain lube with a 6" spray tube for a reason; so that there is no way to get your hand near the sprocket.

Every street bike I have ever owned has had a center stand and I have never used any other method,- run the bike in gear, spray the chain (with the supplied 6" spray tube) and let it run for a few seconds, done.  No body part gets anywhere near the sprockets, ever.  I don't have animals or kids running around the bike and I don't do chain maintenance while wearing a scarf or necktie (although that could make for a humorous scene in the next Mr Bean or Dumb and Dumber movie). 

[piotrek]

12 hours ago, someguy said:

Check your chain slack with the bike on its sidestand - 25mm / 1" midpoint is ideal.

We have a center stand, so why not use that.... it's way easier to measure, and make adjustments. 🙂

[someguy]

5 hours ago, piotrek said:

We have a center stand, so why not use that.... it's way easier to measure, and make adjustments. 🙂

No problem with that either. Front sprocket is below the axis of the swing arm, thus the Inter-sprocket distance is at its shortest with the swing arm at full extension. Chain slack measurement should therefore be a bit longer - manual recommends 35-45mm on centre stand.

This can also account for OP’s wacky wobbly chain in their video.

in an ideal world we’d all be setting chain free play with the rear suspension at full compression, but that’s not practical.

[dazzler24]

11 hours ago, piotrek said:

We have a center stand, so why not use that.... it's way easier to measure, and make adjustments. 🙂

 

6 hours ago, someguy said:

No problem with that either. Front sprocket is below the axis of the swing arm, thus the Inter-sprocket distance is at its shortest with the swing arm at full extension. Chain slack measurement should therefore be a bit longer - manual recommends 35-45mm on centre stand.

This can also account for OP’s wacky wobbly chain in their video.

in an ideal world we’d all be setting chain free play with the rear suspension at full compression, but that’s not practical.

Full disclosure - I actually do mine on the center-stand as well as it is easier as mentioned.  The reason I said on the side stand was that I was trying to convey (without saying) that the chain should be at, or closest to, its shortest length when in that position giving some margin of error.

The most important thing is to not sweat it too much (IMHO) and just ensure that you've got 'round-about' the recommended amount as per the handbook and you should be golden.  Unless you've got a handbook from an early Tracer that says 5-15mm(0.2-0.59") on the center-stand which would then make it even tighter on the ground!!

This has been proven to be completely way too tight and I believe corrected in later manuals. ("...manual recommends 35-45mm on centre stand") 

2015 manual: -