How much slack to leave in chain?

[zuluanshee]

I tightened my chain today but was not sure how much slack to leave.

I know it should not be tight, so i tightened it all the way then let it out until I could visually see some slack.

I am not sure if that is enough though.

[5th_bike]

The chain should have 1 to 2 inches slack (loose movement)(disclaimer: from memory, the precise amount is somewhere in the manual though). Mostly, slack is not constant - when you turn the rear wheel, at one point you will have almost no slack, and somewhere else you can have 1.5 inches slack.
Better a little too loose than too tight.

[Water Warrior 2]

Can you get the rear wheel off the ground? Will assume you can. What I would do is the following.
Find the mid point between the sprockets and measure the bottom of the lower length of chain from the floor. Rotate the tire a bit and repeat. Repeat again and again till you have found the tightest(least slack) position of the chain. Measure that..........now lift the bottom length of the chain and measure the difference. I would set the slack at 1 inch and call it a day. Hope this helps. Lynda's GZ ran nicely with this measurement.

[alantf]

img058.jpg (http://www.gz250bike.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=432&stc=1&d=1429785642)

The owner's manual says 5-15 mm, and there's 25.4 mm to the inch, so it's around three fifths of an inch max. You'll need a metric tape to get it accurate.(BTW, that measurement is from chain pulled down to chain pushed up)

[blaine]

Chain slack should be 9/16" (15mm) up & down movement
at the center of the chain.Rotate rear wheel to get to the slackest point.To loose is dangerous as the chain can come off with disastrous results. :)

[hankjrfan]

How often should the chain be adjusted in normal riding conditions?

[blaine]

How often should the chain be adjusted in normal riding conditions?
It should be checked/cleaned or adjusted every 1000 km (600 miles). ;) :)

[Water Warrior 2]

Chain slack should be 9/16" (15mm) up & down movement
at the center of the chain.Rotate rear wheel to get to the slackest point.To loose is dangerous as the chain can come off with disastrous results. :)
Gotta disagree with you Blaine. The slackest point may not allow for any slack as the chain may be too tight as it rotates around the sprockets after the chain adjustment.
A chain that is too tight will interfere with rear suspension movement and may also do undue wear to the chain, sprockets and the shaft the front sprocket is mounted on.

[raul10141964]

adjust the chain at its tightest point
to tight may stretch or brake the chain
to loose will increase the wear on the sprockets

[blaine]

Gotta disagree with you Blaine. The slackest point may not allow for any slack as the chain may be too tight as it rotates around the sprockets after the chain adjustment.
A chain that is too tight will interfere with rear suspension movement and may also do undue wear to the chain, sprockets and the shaft the front sprocket is mounted on.
Oops......Meant the tightest point NOT the slackest.....Good catch W.W. :)

[Water Warrior 2]

Oops......Meant the tightest point NOT the slackest.....Good catch W.W. :)
Kinda thought you had a senior moment......................quit that. You aren't old enough yet. :hehe:

[blaine]

Kinda thought you had a senior moment......................quit that. You aren't old enough yet. :hehe:
LMAO!!!!.......Getting there......slowly!!! ;) :)

[Water Warrior 2]

LMAO!!!!.......Getting there......slowly!!! ;) :)
And then one day you will blink and be 10 years older.
As we get older we value life more and more every day because we have 24 hours less left at the end of the day. Value every day even if it is a downer. Tomorrow will be better.

[blaine]

And then one day you will blink and be 10 years older.
As we get older we value life more and more every day because we have 24 hours less left at the end of the day. Value every day even if it is a downer. Tomorrow will be better.
So true WW.....After beating cancer in 07 I give blessing every morning I can open my eyes.........Never take it forgranted......It can be gone in a flash!! :)

[Water Warrior 2]

So true WW.....After beating cancer in 07 I give blessing every morning I can open my eyes.........Never take it forgranted......It can be gone in a flash!! :)
Wow, you give me even more hope for Lynda and her present battle with Cancer. Her illness is why I no longer ride. I don't dare take a chance on a mishap laying me up while Lynda needs me. She was told she had stage 4 Cancer over a year ago. So far so good.
Oddly enough I had just bought and paid good money to get a 1983 GL650 back on the road a week before her first Dr. appt and tests. Consequently I have an unridden road worthy bike just sitting and gathering dust. That doesn't bother near as much as possibly loosing Lynda in the future.

[blaine]

Wow, you give me even more hope for Lynda and her present battle with Cancer. Her illness is why I no longer ride. I don't dare take a chance on a mishap laying me up while Lynda needs me. She was told she had stage 4 Cancer over a year ago. So far so good.
Oddly enough I had just bought and paid good money to get a 1983 GL650 back on the road a week before her first Dr. appt and tests. Consequently I have an unridden road worthy bike just sitting and gathering dust. That doesn't bother near as much as possibly loosing Lynda in the future.
Positive thoughts WW...I was giving a 30% chance of not coming outta surgery. ( I was down to 96 lbs) 11 days later I was home riding my GZ with feeding tubes tubes tucked into my vest....... Dr said my will power to ride again saved my life. ;) :)

[Water Warrior 2]

Positive thoughts WW...I was giving a 30% chance of not coming outta surgery. ( I was down to 96 lbs) 11 days later I was home riding my GZ with feeding tubes tubes tucked into my vest....... Dr said my will power to ride again saved my life. ;) :)
Wow! You must be the Poster Boy for "Never Give Up".

Friend of mine just passed away 3 weeks ago. He made a big mistake in my personal opinion. Although he had great faith in the Creator and his beliefs that he lived by everyday, he failed to see that his Creator had also provided a large number of health care folks to fix his problems. Lynda has a lot of Faith but won't rely on that alone. Lynda isn't out of the woods yet but thanks to the medical professionals available to us she is still breathing and still has a bucket list to look forward to.

[spldart]

Wow! I had no idea... Well... obviously I had no idea the ordeals you guys were going though...
I wish you the best..
I was diagnosed congestive heart failure about 20 months ago and given 5 years to live. I'm trying to enjoy the time that prognosis gave me ;)
Well wishes to you and yours :) I plan on kicking my time frame in the a$$ ;~D
'edit' much respect and love in case I said anything inappropriate.
'edit2' Now I'm wondering if the 5 to 15 mm I left in my chain slack was to little o_O

[Water Warrior 2]

Wow! I had no idea... Well... obviously I had no idea the ordeals you guys were going though...
I wish you the best..
I was diagnosed congestive heart failure about 20 months ago and given 5 years to live. I'm trying to enjoy the time that prognosis gave me ;)
Well wishes to you and yours :) I plan on kicking my time frame in the a$$ ;~D

Lynda has already kicked her time frame in the butt. She has opted for a 5 year plan instead of the 6 months the Doc originally mentioned. :tup:


'edit' much respect and love in case I said anything inappropriate.

I think "we" as a group tend to repect each other on this forum more than most. Even our youngest members seem to have a good measure of maturity and common sense. Must be the GZ Effect.

'edit2' Now I'm wondering if the 5 to 15 mm I left in my chain slack was to little o_O

Some one will be along shortly with the correct numbers. You are better to have a little too much slack than not enough. If I remember correctly I used to adjust Lynda's chain with 3/4 inch of slack. Some of the slack is used up as the rear suspension compresses due to load and bumps.

[Fawlty]

This link will lead you to all the information you need:

http://www.gz250bike.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28&highlight=owner+manual