A motorcycle chain is a crucial part of your motorcycle, and the reason for that is that your chain delivers the power off the engine side sprocket and shifts it to the rear wheel sprocket of your bike, allowing it to move.
A couple of things can happen to your chain and cause it to malfunction or, in the worst case, even to break; with that being said, it is important to know how to deal with it and how to repair your motorcycle chain.
So how do you fix a motorcycle chain? As a general rule, you need to loosen the axle nut to adjust the chain slack. Move the rear axle to the engine or away from it to correct the drive chain slack. After adjusting the chain slack in the recommended range, you need to tighten all the bolts that you previously untightened.
Stay with us because we will go more in-depth about all the crucial things you need to know about your motorcycle chain.
Table of Contents
How to Fix a Motorcycle Loose Chain?
A loose chain is one of the situations that can happen to your chain, and it is not something you should worry about and think about if you can deal with it. We will show you how to deal with it step by step, so anyone, even riders who have never done it, can fix this situation.
Step 1: Loosen the Axle Nut
You need to loosen the axle nut to adjust the chain slack.
Tip: If you have a short wrench, use it to leverage and make the process easier for yourself.
Step 2: Adjust the Rear Axle
You can correct your drive chain slack by moving the rear axle towards your engine or away from it.
Tip: Consult your motorcycle manual to know what tools you need and other helpful stuff.
The axle has to be loosened so that you can shift the rear axle in the required direction (towards or away from the motorcycle engine), take the fasteners, and use them for moving the rear axle. To control this movement, you will notice gradations on both left and right sides of your motorcycle’s axle. Make sure that both sides are set the same (symmetrical).
Look in your motorcycle manual for the recommended slack range and adjust your drive chain according to it. Make sure that you have tightened the fasteners properly.
Tip: It is recommended to maintain your chain slack in the highest range possible.
Step 3: Tighten the Bolts
After the chain slack is adjusted and you have set it to the recommended range, you need to tighten all the nuts, bolts, and locknuts so that you are safe during your ride. Consult your motorcycle manual and tighten the axle nut to the correct torque written in the manual. Look at your rear wheel and make sure it is properly aligned.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Setting your chain slack to the correct range as recommended in your motorcycle manual will enable your motorcycle to use all of its performance and power potential; not only that but most importantly, it will prolong the lifespan of the chain and sprocket.
What Causes a Loose Chain?
To know why a motorcycle chain becomes loose, let us define what a loose motorcycle chain is in the first place.
Looseness of the chain is defined as the amount of the move that you can push it to the upside. This range of movement should be as it is written and specified in your motorcycle manual.
Here is a great article about How to Maintain a Motorcycle Chain, so click on this link if you want to learn more.
A motorcycle chain drives from the driver sprocket on the side of an engine all the way to the driven sprocket that we can see on the rear wheel of your bike. Your chain moves vertically, and you can inspect this move with your hand by putting the finger on the chain’s bottom side and moving it up.
We determine a loose chain when we see that the movement (play) is higher than the range written in your manual.
There are a couple of reasons that can lead to your loose chain, and we will mention them to you in this section:
Vibration
A motorcycle moves the rear axle to its engine or away from it to adjust a loose chain. Since there are a lot of vibrations on your bike that occur during the ride, they can make the fasteners on the rear axle loose (especially on dirt bikes) and make your motorcycle chain lose.
Note: Add a lock nut if there is no one and inspect the chain tension screws. A lock nut will help you to minimize chain loose.
Worn Chain Links
This can lead to a loose chain, and if you notice that there is a play between chain-links or loose pins, it will all point to a worn-out chain, and therefore your chain will become loose.
Note: You can determine a worn-out chain by pushing it sideways, and the way you will know this is that a new chain in good condition will not have a lot of side move or play.
Worn-out Sprocket
This is another reason that leads to your chain being slack and loose. You can identify a worn sprocket by determining the play between the sprocket teeth and the chain.
Tip: Inspect each sprocket tooth to see if they are worn or not.
If you have changed your motorcycle chain recently, the initial wear you may notice between the adjacent links can lead to a bit of increase in overall length.
Tip: Once you change your motorcycle chain, you should go for a ride for 50 to 100 miles just to see how your chain behaves and then correct the chain slack if there is any (don’t worry if you notice any stretch on a new chain in these first 50-100 miles).
You must inspect your chain from time to time (it would be best before every ride) and make sure you run proper chain maintenance all the time. If your chain is too tight, it will eventually try to stretch itself, so it drives the rear wheel. Because of this scenario, your chain can wear faster and become loose over time.
Make sure you consult your motorcycle manual to know what chain type is the best for your bike. You wouldn’t like to put the wrong chain on your bike because not only will it become loose pretty soon, but it will probably cause other damage to your motorcycle.
How to Check If Your Chain is Loose or Not?
As we mentioned earlier, there are a couple of reasons that lead to your motorcycle chain looseness, and in this chapter, we will give you great tips on How to Check Your Motorcycle Chain Looseness.
Step 1: Drive Chain Slack
Take your motorcycle manual and see what the allowed drive chain slack is. The slack value is written in your motorcycle manual, and by looking in the manual, you will be 100% sure what is the correct number.
Step 2: Secure Your Motorcycle
Make sure that your motorcycle is cooled (in case you have been on a recent ride). Use a motorcycle jack or lift (it will make the whole process much easier), and place your motorcycle in a neutral position.
Step 3: Inspect Chain Looseness
Some motorcycle manuals consist of the spot where you can inspect the chain looseness. We suggest checking looseness at the middle of the driven sprockets and the driver. Use your fingers to push it up.
There are two positions of your motorcycle chain:
- Loose chain before you pushed it up
- No looseness chain, once you pushed it up
If you notice that the drive chain slack is bigger than recommended, it signals that your chain is loose and needs to be fixed by tightening.
On the other hand, if your drive chain slack is lower than it is written in the motorcycle manual, it means that your chain is too tight, and you need to loosen it a bit so it satisfies the recommended slack.
How to Prevent Your Chain from Becoming Loose?
Maintaining your chain is undoubtedly one of the crucial things that you can do to increase your motorcycle chain lifespan.
Tip: I personally lubricate the chain every 150-200 miles depending on the outside environment and elements such as rain, sun, humid and similar. I lubricate my chain more often when it is wet outside.
Inspect your motorcycle chain slack 2 or 3 times a month, especially when you are on longer rides.
Make sure that your chain tension is set as recommended in the motorcycle manual for your motorcycle make and model.
Visually inspect sprockets, chain, and chain tension.
IMPORTANT TIP: You need to act as soon as you notice anything strange and unusual on your chain, and the reason for that is that if you don’t take the necessary action, it can lead to more damage later, which will eventually take more of your time and money.
Here is a nice video you can watch that can help you with adjusting your chain:
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How Do I Know if My Chain is Loose or Not?
There is a range written in your motorcycle manual (up and low limit) that allows your chain slack. You should lubricate and clean your motorcycle chain first and measure its looseness afterward. Make sure that the looseness is always in the range written in the manual.
What Causes a Loose Motorcycle Chain?
- A loose motorcycle chain can happen because of worn and torn chain links and pins.
- If the chain tension adjustment nut gets slightly loosened, the rear axle can move toward the engine.
- The chain slack can be set wrong and not according to the manual.
- If your motorcycle has a new chain, its links can rub each other in the first 50 to 100 miles, leading to a loose chain. This situation is perfectly normal, and you don’t have to worry about it since it can be corrected quickly.
- The sprocket teeth, driver, or driven can be worn and torn.
- Attaching the wrong motorcycle chain to your bike.
Can I Use a Side Stand For Chain Adjust If My Motorcycle Doesn’t Have a Center Stand?
It is possible to adjust your chain on a side stand, but we recommend doing it with your friend’s help, so it is easier for you to adjust while the friend holds your bike still.
How Often Should I Check Drive Chain Slack?
Checking your chain slack depends on a lot of factors. You should check it after longer rides or at least once a month.
What Can Happen If My Chain Is Loose?
It depends on how loose your chain is. If the chain is too loose, it will produce strange noise, or even worse, it can fall off the sprocket and even hurt your leg. If your chain falls from the sprocket, you won’t be able to continue the ride, and you will be forced to stop by the road. In that case, you need to be careful not to cause an accident that could hurt you or anyone else.
Conclusion
Your motorcycle chain is one of those components that drive your motorcycle and keep it moving. If your chain gets damaged or, even worse, broken, then you won’t be able to continue your ride. For these reasons, we have decided to write our best and most helpful advice and thoughts that have helped us, and a lot of our fellow bike buddies use them to deal with their chain problems, and they said that these steps helped them a lot.