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Did I read this right? Chain slack in the manual states .20-.59 inches??

67K views 71 replies 35 participants last post by  LouG 
#1 ·
So I just got my xsr (yay! lol), and I always notice that chains are tight from the factory. I looked at the manual and I saw that it should be .20-.59... Is this right?? Seems awefully tight. On my previous sportbikes they were set around 1-1.5 inches.

What gives? Is this correct? Or am I just not reading this manual correctly lol.
 
#2 ·
You are correct, 1 inch or a little more is good. Mine is at 1 - 1.2 inches or so.

I am sure others will also chime in and tell you that the manual is wrong.
 
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#3 ·
I am not an XSR owner, nor have the manual.

But, from experience with other bikes, one thing to take in to consideration is that chain slack differs to how the rear swingarm is loaded.

As in, if there is no weight on the rear wheel, or if the back end of the bike is fully loaded so there rear suspension is fully compresed. The difference changes the angle and therefore distance between the front sprocket and rear sprocket.

Whilst the tolerances in the manual may seem tight, it may also just happen to be that when the bike is on the side stand (or whichever the manual specifies the bike to be in when you measure the tolerance) the chain is already at a relatively tight angle.


...it could also be of course the manual is wrong lol, but I doubt it.
 
#5 ·
#6 ·
Why such a big difference than what Yamaha says? Why would a reputable motorcycle manufacture such as Yamaha sell and tell us something vastly different than what others say?

It feels super tight to me too. It's just who do I listen to? Yamaha or Not Yamaha

I also was seeing that the general consensus was 18mm for the XSR and FZ
 
#8 · (Edited)
Why such a big difference than what Yamaha says?
Printing to no one caught the proofread error?

It feels super tight to me too. It's just who do I listen to?
The feel is to have gone thru a lot of personal bikes or servicing a lot of bikes for a living, add both and you figure stuff out. So if I have a strange bike, I apply the 'feel' to it. If you can feel it being too tight, then you'll know when it's too loose is the bike will miss a lot of gears one shifts in the most robust sort of spirit. Just right is 'feel' it, Bernie. I run a very loose chain this side of missing shifts. I haven't adjusted it in over 20k miles, even with changing tires. It dials-in to the same marks. That's how I broke-in my drive chain... loose, no high spots. I have video of chain stretch so I can backup my she it.

I also was seeing that the general consensus was 18mm for the XSR and FZ
The consensus; is to have this skill set to know what is tight, who is too lose to home he dunt need know book spec is only your finger pushing up the lower rung knows for sure.

Signed,
NOLTT (no one loosens too tight)
 
#9 ·
A lot has to do with how hard you push up & down on the chain when checking the slack.

Checked the chain slack with the chain cold and the bike on the side stand. Measured the slack 1/2 way between the sprockets. When moving the chain up & down until it stops with hardly any force by hand, I get 20 mm. If I then put a little bit more hand force on the chain up & down, I get 25 mm. If I put quite a bit of hand force on the chain up & down, I get 30 mm. So changing how much force you use up & down can really change the measurement. Even with the most force put on the chain up and down, it's no where even close to putting too much tension on the chain during the check. I'd say put a moderate amount of force up & down on the chain and shoot for 25 mm of slack. That's what I've been doing and the chain is still at that amount of slack at 1000 miles.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Just a side note, to show Yamaha just refers you to the Owner's Manual, and they do not think it is a typo or a mistake.

Back on February of 2015, I emailed Yamaha Canada and Yamaha UK and asked them about the Owner's Manual chain slack numbers and if it was a mistake.

====================================

Yamaha Canada's response was "Yes the Owner's Manual is correct." end of story.

====================================

So I went on the Yamaha UK website and emailed them, asking the same question about the MT-09. They say that they contacted the Yamaha Factory in Japan for confirmation and this is their response.


Hello,

Yamaha UK has had this enquiry many times from customers who have previously used 25mm chain slack when adjusting there chains on other models.

The Yamaha Factory in Japan has confirmed that the information stated in the handbook is correct, 5.0-15.0mm, when adjusting the chain on the MT09.

I hope this information helps.

James

Technical Service
Service Department
Sales Support Division
__________________________________________________ _
Yamaha Motor Europe N.V., Branch UK

Units A2 - A3
Kingswey Business Park
Forsyth Road, Woking
Surrey GU21 5SA

Telephone: +44 (0) 1932 358000
Fax: +44 (0) 1932 300203
E-mail: tech.service@yamaha-motor.co.uk
Website: Yamaha Motor UK Yamaha Motor UK


This really makes me wonder how many new counter shaft seals Yamaha has replaced under warranty???

Go with 35-40mm chain slack and you shouldn't have to worry about any kind of warranty claim like that.
 
#14 ·
If you guys are that bothered, why don't one of you test the difference in the slack between the rear being loaded and un loaded at different points along the chain and put the results down here.

Put some actual testing/science in to it, rather than just saying, "well that can't be right".

;)
 
#21 · (Edited)
Stoltec Moto check the required chain slack needed the first time they took the rear shock out of a FZ-09.

http://www.fz09.org/forum/32-yamaha-fz-09-guides-how-s/477-how-tight-chain-11.html#post215336

I checked the chain tightness throughout the swingarm arc when I replaced my rear shock a few weeks ago. I didn't record any measurements because I had my hands full and short on time with the rear shock, but with the chain set to about 30mm slack on the sidestand, it got nice and tight as the swingarm traveled up. Knowing this, it seems very foolish to set it to factory specs.
I did the same back when we did the Penske shock builds. With the swingarm at it's tightest position, the chain will need a touch of slack. That corresponds to roughly 35-40 mm when on a rear stand.
This is taken right out of the Owner's Manual, and it clearly states to check the drive chain slack with the bike on the side stand and no weight on the bike.

Map Ecoregion Line World Screenshot
 
#17 ·
Exactly my thought on this too. If there's ever any damage, it's much cheaper to replace the chain than the other way around ��. Now I'm just curious if this is what they have for their other bikes like the r1 and r6..
 
#18 ·
I took my shock off for servicing and measured what position of the swingarm made the chain the tightest. That position was the same position of the swingarm when the bike is unloaded, leaning on the sidestand or on the rear stand.

Moving the swingarm up or down from that point, increased the chain slack.
 
#20 ·
Yea good post above, see whilst the tolerances may seem tight, the chain is at its tightest point where the manual recommends to check the tension.

This isn't the same for all bikes, which is why that seems tight, however I guess on other bikes there is an opposite effect to when the back end is loaded/unloaded.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I think 35~40 mm on the side stand is too loose. I've been running 20~25 mm on the side stand, and that's with a moderate amount of hand force used during the measurement. Per the linked Motor Cyclist article linked in Post #24 above, they said:

"Curious to know more, we placed our FJ-09 test bike on the lift and compressed the rear suspension. In our view, there’s no way the chain can come into contact with any part of the frame. Moreover, when we started the experiment with 30mm of slack, the chain had just 10mm of free play with the suspension compressed ..."

This would mean that having 20~25 mm on the side stand should still be fine if having 30mm still gave 10 mm of slack at the tightest point in the swing arm travel.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Appreciate this thread!

Purchased my 2015 FJ-09 used last month. It had less than 2700 miles, first thing I checked when I got the bike home was the chain sag. It was set at 15MM or .59". The FJ-09 operators manual calls for 5 to .15MM or .2 to .59", too.

The chain/sprockets were making quite a bit of noise. Adjusted the chain to 25MM or .98", the chain/sprockets were still making noise. Read a FJ-09 forum thread about the same thing. Have more than one chain drive bike and this is the loudest chain/sprockets I have had.

Installed new DID chain & JT 16/45 sprockets. Took the FJ for a ride & figured the chain would stretch out during the ride.
Once the chain stretched to 30MM or 1 1/8" sag the chain noise decreased.

After seeing the great information posted in this thread, going to run the chain at 35MM or 1 3/8" since I do quite a bit of two up riding, too.

Thanks,
 
#30 ·
The chain/sprockets were making quite a bit of noise. Adjusted the chain to 25MM or .98", the chain/sprockets were still making noise. Read a FJ-09 forum thread about the same thing. Have more than one chain drive bike and this is the loudest chain/sprockets I have had.
This bike definitely has a noisy chain drive, but from what I've found most of that noise is from the chain rubbing on the top chain slider on the swing arm. Some chain noise is also coming from the front sprocket because the chain makes contact with the rubber rings that are part of the front sprocket. Put the bike on a rear stand and rotate the rear wheel by hand and you'll hear a lot of chain noise coming from the areas I just described.
 
#32 ·
I picked up my 2017 FZ-09 yesterday. Chain was so tight, it actually twanged like a guitar string. I asked the dealer to loosen it, and I waited while the "mechanic" loosened it a little. It was still at maybe 5-8mm of play, so I rode gently home. I checked the alignment - WAY OUT. Using the straight edge method it was 8mm from one rotor and almost 40mm on the other. The stupid rear number plate carrier means the reference marks are useless. So I set it to 30-40mm of slack, and did the alignment (29mm from each rotor). My swingarm marks are almost 1/2" out. I'll get Lighttech adjusters (or knock offs) and then calibrate against them -guess that justifies it :)

The important point - I have ZERO chain noise now, but with the alignment off it roared. Check your alignment, that is probably contributing to the noise.
 
#36 · (Edited)
Edit: just realized this is for the XSR and not the FZ 09... apologies.

Is there a consensus on this? The manual being wrong?

My bike felt and ran fine up to about 700 miles or so...but right around there I started noticing vibes...and a slight pulling sort of feeling.

I've taken the bike back to two Yamaha service centers complaining about something I am feeling which feels like a tight spot in the chain...both sort of told me the bike feels fine but the first place I took it too said chain was on the "tighter" side. After measuring slack on sidestand I am @ 15mm more or less. I'm going to put it on a swingarm stand and rotate the wheel and look for tight spots...

Is the concensus that 35-40mm is the actual target range for this bike when measuring on side stand?

Or is it 25-30?

So confused.

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