06-07 chain adjustment

[hi everybody]

Ok...so I searched and searched..and still cant find this thread! I remember awhile back there was a thread on here that explained how to properly adjust the chain...I remember it involving disconnecting the shock, and lining up the axle, countershaft, and swingarm pivot..and some other stuff. can anyone help me out with a link to it? thanks!

[Troutman]

That sounds like quite the science project you are embarking on there. Use the axle blocks and count the hash marks from the back foward.

[Polar_Bus]

Ok...so I searched and searched..and still cant find this thread! I remember awhile back there was a thread on here that explained how to properly adjust the chain...I remember it involving disconnecting the shock, and lining up the axle, countershaft, and swingarm pivot..and some other stuff. can anyone help me out with a link to it? thanks!

Dude, you are turning a molehill into a mountain. The simplest method is to adjust the chain until you can fit 3 fingers between the chain and the swingarm right at the rear of the chain buffer. Then just make sure the indexed axle blocks are showing equal adjustment marks.

[bigred455]

Very very important,count the slashes on the axle blocks from rear-front,like mentioned.

[CaptainKnobby]

Ok...so I searched and searched..and still cant find this thread! I remember awhile back there was a thread on here that explained how to properly adjust the chain...I remember it involving disconnecting the shock, and lining up the axle, countershaft, and swingarm pivot..and some other stuff. can anyone help me out with a link to it? thanks!

Just use a yard stick if you want to line up the chain. Just put the yard stick against the front sprocket at the teeth and the other end of the yard stick against the teeth of the rear and look to see how much the rear sprocket is turned in or out.?

[grayracer513]

This thread could be called, "How to Break the Rear Hub on an '06".

Three fingers may work out for you, IF your three fingers happen to be within 1.9-2.3" across. Incorrect chain adjustment on the late YZF is almost certainly the primary reason for the increase in the number of rear hubs that have occurred since the model was introduced. Don't go by fingers, don't go by what it looks like, go by the book, and be certain you get the rear wheel correctly aligned, so the chain won't chew up the inside of the frame.

The thread that explains the principal on which the service manual specifications were based is this one:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=405031

[Ga450owner]

Most important tip on 06/07 chain adjustment....no less than 3 fingers at the rear of top chain block. (OnTop of swingarm). Less than 3 fingers.....more torque than neccessary to help loosen bolts/nuts on rear sprocket and explode hub. ?

[hi everybody]

THANK YOU grayracer! I came back to look at all these replies saying Im making a big deal out of this...but I know that all that trouble is way cheaper than a hub! thanks a load guys.

[Joe_Jet]

48-58mm above the slipper at the aft slipper bolt head. I check it in 4 places, Master link down, on rear sprocket, over slipper bolt and on CS sprocket. chains stretch uneven and you want to make sure no section is less than 48mm. throw a rag between chain and top of rear sprocket an torque to 96 ft.lbs. It's all in the manual.

[hi everybody]

wait...what are you referring to when you say to put a rag on the sprocket and torque to 96? are you talking about the countershaft sprocket nut?

[grayracer513]

What you will find when you have gone through all of the procedure in the manual is that once you have the chain set so that it has the prescribed 1/2" of slack with all 3 shaft centers aligned, it will have 1.9" (48mm) when the bike is on the stand and the chain is measured as shown in the manual. That is simply because this is the way Yamaha arrived at the specification they published.

Since both methods produce identical results, there is no reason not to use the simpler of the two, except that it may be interesting and educational to go through the exercise.

[Polar_Bus]

This thread could be called, "How to Break the Rear Hub on an '06".

Three fingers may work out for you, IF your three fingers happen to be within 1.9-2.3" across. Incorrect chain adjustment on the late YZF is almost certainly the primary reason for the increase in the number of rear hubs that have occurred since the model was introduced. Don't go by fingers, don't go by what it looks like, go by the book, and be certain you get the rear wheel correctly aligned, so the chain won't chew up the inside of the frame.

The thread that explains the principal on which the service manual specifications were based is this one:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=405031

Never have I once heard of a rear hub granading from an out of adjusted chain (and it certainly could happen). Most all people I see have way too much slack in their drive chains. Now ask me how many late model YZF rear hubs have been destroyed from guys who never check the tightness of their spokes???? TOO MANY.......

[Joe_Jet]

between chain and REAR sprocket. Then you pull back on the tire while torquing axle nut. The rag puts tension on the chain to ensure the axle adjusters are up against the axle adjuster nuts. I always recheck alignment marks on axle adjusters and remeasure tension after tightening axle nut. It is normal for the tension to slacken a bit after tightening axle nut.

[hi everybody]

ohhh ok..thanks. I had never heard of that before now.

[grayracer513]

Never have I once heard of a rear hub granading from an out of adjusted chain (and it certainly could happen). Most all people I see have way too much slack in their drive chains. Now ask me how many late model YZF rear hubs have been destroyed from guys who never check the tightness of their spokes???? TOO MANY.......

When a hub blows from loose spokes, it will pull the spoke flanges apart. The hubs that have failed in the '06-'07 YZF's have by and large fallen into two categories:

> Those failing at the drive side bearing pocket as a result of an improper casting of the hub,

> Those failing at the sprocket flange and/or drive side bearing pocket due to the gross overloading caused by a overtight chain.

The forum has seen several of this second type of failure, none relating to loose spokes:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=495435

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=490220

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=426972

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=403171

...to refer to a few.

The '06-7 model, when adjusted right, looks much looser on the stand or even sitting on the ground than the previous bikes did. For one thing, it is; the slack limit is 2.3 for the new one, vs. 2.1 for the old. The new shape of the swing arm and the lowered lower chain roller contribute to the slack appearance of the chain, but it must nevertheless be set correctly, and the consequences of not doing so are there to be seen. There really is no particular downside to having the chain a bit more on the slack side, in any case, whereas having the chain a little too tight, well....

Again, measure it.

[Joe_Jet]

My check to see if the chain needs adjustment is to push on the chain right over the swingarm at the end of the slipper and see if it will contact the swingarm. At this point it is beyond 58mm, but still not slapping the swingarm when ridden. If you hear chain slap when riding it's definitely too loose for a Yamaha! Honda's will have chain slap even if adjusted properly?!?