Measuring chain stretch with a tape measure??

[Kiwi Rider]

well not exactly. I use to ride one of those rare Honda bikes with an inline 6 cylinder. I currently only own two busa's though

also agree with everyone's assessment of just checking out the sprockets, and giving the chain a lift off the rear sprocket, and calling it a day.

I was just trying to look solely at chain stretch as the book suggests ... but without a 12" caliper as I dont have one.

thanks for everyone's input.

Measuring the wear is the technically correct approach, but with my experience of seeing so many chains and sprockets working as a motorcycle mechanic, for me measuring is no longer necessary.
In saying that, as an exercise I will measure the chain wear on the very next bike I have to assess, if the chain looks worn, will be interesting to see just how much wear (stretch) it has in comparison to my eyeball assessment.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

I strongly encourage you to keep the 'rabbit hole' attitude, esp as it pertains to bikes. It will enrich your riding...

...but ... killer chains at about $150 last 10 - 20 k mi, AT LEAST. Ima have to side with Mythos DeerKiller on this one

“Deerkiller”. . . Ha!
Or was it nearly ‘Killer deer’?
That deer was suicidal and wanted to take some human with it, very close shave for Mythos.
Phewwww....

 

[clean]

Measuring the wear is the technically correct approach, but with my experience of seeing so many chains and sprockets working as a motorcycle mechanic, for me measuring is no longer necessary.
In saying that, as an exercise I will measure the chain wear on the very next bike I have to assess, if the chain looks worn, will be interesting to see just how much wear (stretch) it has in comparison to my eyeball assessment.

Yes I was trying to take the correct technical approach as more of an exercise then anything else, and to further understand chain wear. The sprockets on this particular bike look good, but it has been well lubed its entire life. perhaps sprockets can look good, but a chain may still be beyond its stretch specification? Maybe this scenario is even more possible in really high power bikes where a ton of stress goes through a chain, but overall has no miles on the chain / sprockets. I'm not sure why berlin did not see my approach as following the book. perhaps its the language barrier.

 

[Dopey]

Although I completely understand where you’re coming from, and you’re absolutely correct about the fact that a large percentage of people find it difficult to comprehend engineering concepts, you must realise that our good friend Frank (Berlin) is German, and Germans in general have a precise way of looking at engineering.
They are not known for taking short cuts or guessing. They’re ‘by the book’ types of people and Frank is no exception.
So in summary, Frank is trying to be helpful by always stressing, “read the damn manual!!”, he is right in that reading the manual IS the best source of CORRECT info re the repair of the bike.
But you’re right also in that you like to share with mechanically illiterate people your understanding of the bike’s systems and the reason for why some components have failed and best way to repair that failure.
I too am a mechanic ( lifelong working in the trade) and I’ve met a lot of mechanics only to learn there are various ways of tackling a job, some guys are extremely efficient and some take a longer way around the problem to reach the end goal... (being the repair), some guys are really good at electrics but terrible at other things and so on.
We all have our strengths and weaknesses is what I’m trying to say here.
One thing I’ve noticed is that reading the factory service repair manual is usually the last resort for many mechanics, I’m guilty of that too, but when I do look at the manual BEFORE tackling the job at hand, it does make it easier and the job goes smoother.
So I do think you took Franks comments the wrong way and please don’t insult him inferring he’s a d***head, he’s actually extremely knowledgeable having worked on Busas for almost 20 years and many other bikes too... and he’s read every service manual front to back.
That’s my 2c on the subject.

Yes sometimes reading the manual is the best source but for people who can't read something and comprehend it easily sometimes they need someone to explain it in way that they can understand and in those cases having someone just answering repeatedly with read the d@m manual is less then helpful, and while I've spent the last 20 years turning wrenches for a living and my entire life in a shop or garage thanks to my old man I'm one of those that has a slight case of dyslexia and a.d.d so I can read the manual front to back multiple times and even knowing what it's saying can be an issue for me to understand so thats kind of why it hits home enough for me that I felt the need to say something. Now in this post he did recite the manual to try and help but there have been other threads that he has commented on and came across as aggressive about reading the manual and that's where I feel it seems a bit d!@kheaded to just say read the manual but as I've said before I know he's having to use a translate app to post so it may just come off different then it's actually supposed to so if i am taking his post wrong like I said I apologize.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

@I know he's having to use a translate app to post so it may just come off different then it's actually supposed to so if i am taking his post wrong like I said I apologize.

Frank's English is actually very good, I've video called him and chatted a number of times and his grammer and general vocabulary in English is impressive.
I do take your point re people with reading disabilities.

 

[Mythos]

Service manuals are very valuable but they rarely give all the info and they never answer questions.

 

[Berlin Germany]

Service manuals are very valuable but they rarely give all the info and they never answer questions.

grin / big grin

all manuals are - first of all - written for experts, with bigger to huge experiance in fixing issues.
so the manuals are not made to answer beginners questions - that would be "bible" with >1000 pages and still the last question won´t be answered.

that´s the deeper reason for my homepage where i little-screw-turner try to explain some "things" aside to the (busa) manual and where i for instance describe the best tools (torques) or the self-made midstand at the hollow swing arm axle and so on.

all that is "born" by my own experiances means different fails in e.g. torquening screws to much and ripping out the thread out of the alu.

and yes - on the one hand i am a craftsman but on the other hand i am also a german engineer who (typically) tries to say / describe it precisely to the point
and to repair just as precisely - just mr. picky / fussy

and for that i personally need the to the bike belonging manual .

little example
the nut at the rear wheel´s axle at the busa get 100 Nm (acc. to manual).
the same nut at a yamaha yzf r6 ´99-´00 (all around is technically built 1:1 equal to the busa) wants, according to its manual, 150 Nm !
so what the heck might happen if i torque this r6-nut only with 100 Nm ?
or
2. example
the (single per side) fork clamp screw at a 2014 honda cbf 650 lower joke needs 40 Nm instead of 23 at the busa´s lower joke (double screws per side).
damn´ n the heck - what could happen if i didn´t get and read the honda´s original manual first?

these, only two examples, tell me that my my insisting on using the manuals is the only save way .

 

[Berlin Germany]

back to main theme - chain

when the rear sprocket shows washed-out-teeth (we here in germany call it shark´s teeth) the entire set is to be replaced.
if one is not shure get a brand new rear sprocket (for some bucks) as an example and compare the teeth .

to be sure one can also do the chain pull off the sprocket , but the view at the (shark´s) teeth allone should tell you that all is "worn" and a new chain set is necessary.

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

What would happen if I just tightened the rear axle nut with the OEM tool kit?

 

[Berlin Germany]

@WuzzaCBXRider

if ! the nut isn´t fastened as prescribed
the rear wheel can ! turn horizontally so that it is crooked in the swing arm / the centering is no longer given
and the bike never won´t run straight ahead - you have to counter steer.
a bit unseriously / joking said - try once to get 100 Nm onto the nut only with the oem tools - i suppose you´ll fail.
remember for the length of the necessary torque wrench (e.g. 60-150Nm) and the power of hand you need to get the nut to 100Nm

my brother had that fault 20 years ago at his ´89 yamaha fj 1200
by chance i saw that the right tensioneer endplate was loose.

at the busa (and similar built swing arms)
the rh prisma would slide backwards so you would find a gap between the prisma´s front and the tensioneer´s screwhead .
this is caused by the torque the chain brings onto the sprocket and via the torque-lever from sprocket to mid of rim the wheel gets turned to the right .