Chain Whip

[Ripley/Fla]

I read the post on rear chains and it raised a question. I have two clutch arms and both are worn away from the rear chain. I just swapped out my trans and was amazed to see my clutch arm had been rubbed on by the chain a little! I have tried to keep the rear chain adjusted correctly. Don't laugh now - is this due to poor shifting practice - such as not synchronising the downshift - or just a loose chain? For what's worth I am running a 23T sprocket. Thanks for any input!

[oldbob]

Always adjust a rear chain by rolling it through all the way and adjusting it so it has a little bit of slack it's very tightest spot. But there is a limit to the slack you can have with out causing damage. I had a chain that whipped so bad that it put dents in the shift drum lid. My personal thoughts is if you have a one inch slack get a good chain.

[Kuda]

Yup, they do that. Ok, seriously tho', keeping the chain *perfectly* adjusted at all times will *almost* prevent any damage to the clutch arm. When I ran an AM round oil tank I had the clearance to adjust the arm up a little and had no problem at all. Since I've gone back to the OEM oil tank there's not enough room to bend the arm up any and yeah, it's hitting occasionally. I find that I have to adjust the chain every 500 miles or so to keep ahead of it, which is more than once a day when I'm on the road. A real PITA, actually, so I'm now thinking about fabing up a bolt on chain tensioner that I can pop on when I'm going a longer road trip...

-Kuda
'49 panchop

[Bosheff]

These preloaded slack adjusters for the rear chain are available from the aftermarket....bosheff