rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

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Wrong Road
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rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#1

Post by Wrong Road »

What is the correct way to align the rear wheel and drive chain on a 60 FLH swingarm frame? I have a stock frame and does not appear to be bent. Are the adjuster threaded holes in exactly the same location on each side? The axle end-nut on the right side is 1/16 smaller in radius than the axle spacer on the left side so I adjusted 1/16 more on the right side. Is this correct assuming a straight frame or are all the frames different? Thanks
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Re: rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#2

Post by PanPal »

Use a long straight edge. It should contact the front and rear of both tires when it is adjusted in line.
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Re: rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#3

Post by Wrong Road »

Thanks Panpal. I was obviously over thinking that one. I need to remember the KISS concept.
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Re: rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#4

Post by awander »

PanPal wrote:Use a long straight edge. It should contact the front and rear of both tires when it is adjusted in line.
obviously, this is only true if the wheels and tires are identical front and back.....
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Re: rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#5

Post by RUBONE »

It works with different sized tires by measuring the front and rear sidewall to straightedge of the narrower tire.
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Re: rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#6

Post by awander »

RUBONE wrote:It works with different sized tires by measuring the front and rear sidewall to straightedge of the narrower tire.
Yup-but it won't "contact the front and rear of both tires when it is adjusted in line" if the wheels/tires are different.
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Re: rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#7

Post by RUBONE »

I guess you didn't understand my post. Obviously it won't touch, hence the need to MEASURE to the straightedge from the narrower tire. This is with the straightedge in contact with the front and rear of the wider tire. Pretty basic measuring. Do stuff like that about every day in the building trades. You can still determine parallel planes when they do not line up.
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Re: rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#8

Post by awander »

Hi Robbie:

Yes, I understood your post!

I guess you didn't understand mine...:)

The original post that we were both responding to, said that you could align the wheels by using a long straightedge that touched both sides of both tires at the same time.

I responded that this would only work if both wheels and tires were identical)like on a a stock setup).

Your reply, saying that if one of the wheels was thinner, then the wheels could be aligned by simply measuring between the straightedge and both edges of the thinner wheel, was certainly correct, but I read it as if it was discounting my reply(probably not what you meant, and your reply did add valuable information).

My further reply was simply to clarify that, though there is a way to do it with un-identical wheels/tires. the original thread did not contain that information.

I may not have expressed myself as clearly as I should have, so thanks for the chance to set that straight!
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Re: rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#9

Post by george48pan »

Use a straight edge on the rear. Use a separate straight edge on the front. See if they are parallel. Draw lines on the floor if you have to. When you adjust the axle on the swing arm, the turns are the same on each side. Some people count the "flats" of the nut.
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Re: rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#10

Post by Wrong Road »

While I appreciated the simple approach of the straightedge method, it didn't seem to be very accurate. A properly aligned motorcycle rides so much better that I thought there had to be a better way. I measured from the center of the swingarm axle to the center of the wheel axle on both sides. When those measurements are equal, you should have perfect alignment of front and rear wheels as long as nothing is bent. To check that nothing is bent, attach a laser level to the rear wheel with the laser dot pointing forward. Right side works best. Attach a bar or 2x4 across the front wheel (right), straighten the front forks and then take a measurement at front and back of the 2x4 where the laser dot hits it. If you can get the same measurement at both locations then everything is straight! This works regardless of the tire widths.
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Re: rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#11

Post by talldrifter »

For those of us without laser levels, I have 8 foot florescent lights in the shop. I saved a couple of dead tubes, very straight. With the bike on the side stand and enough boards under the side stand to keep the bike as vertical as possible, put some short 2x4's on the floor cross ways in front and back of both tires. Then just lay the tubes on the 2x4's touching the rear tire and measure the front. The only thing "new" here is the tubes are 3.5 inches off the floor and make it easier to align with the tires.
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Re: rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#12

Post by Bigincher »

Wrong Road wrote:..... I measured from the center of the swingarm axle to the center of the wheel axle on both sides. When those measurements are equal, you should have perfect alignment of front and rear wheels as long as nothing is bent.
Exactly. You can't do any better than that.
You can fashion a pointer device out of heavy guage wire with a short 90* bend on each end, or fabricate a large adjustable 'divider' for accurately determining center to center, if need be.
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Re: rear drive chain adjustment on swingarm '60 FLH

#13

Post by thunderalley3 »

I always check from the center of the swing arm pivot shaft to the center of the axle as mentioned earlier. Coat hangers are great to fabricate "special tools" from for this task with various bends and angles that work the best on which model you are working on. I even have one made for my rigid frame bikes that use reference point from the frame. you will accumulate a little collection in your tool box after a few years.

Another helpful trick is to attach a small zip tie around the coat hanger after it is bent into the correct angles to use on the axle end to check from side to side as it will tighten enough to stay in place but will still slide on the wire to make precise adjustments.

In the later model HD service manuals, I am thinking early to mid 80's,would have to look through my library there are instructions on how to fabricate a tool for checking axle adjustment that has the measurements and dregrees of bends so that it will work on various years and models. They reference checking from the center of the pivot shaft to center of axle for proper alignment also.
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