[Smurph300]

Hey guys, I need some help. I had a scary moment happen a couple days ago in town. A car in front of me slammed on their brakes at a traffic light, and I grabbed my rear brake really hard before realizing what I did. The back tire locked up and I came sliding to a stop. For the rest of that ride, and again today, the back tire feels like it's grabbing and pulling back and forth. I pulled over today and checked the chain and it seems WAY tighter than it was when I adjusted it this past weekend. So my question is, in a situation like this what should I look for first? And is there a way to adjust the chain without breaking the back tire loose? Thank you!

 

[SparkyMJ]

I've done this. Although it didn't happen from locking my rear brake.

Your axle blocks/adjusters are loose or not fully seated.

The fix is to loose the axle nut, redo the alignment and chain tension, tighten the axle nut to spec, then re-check the chain tension and alignment. It's not hard but you gotta.

The trick too is while tightening the axle nut for the final time, apply pressure to the tire to keep the wheel pushed "into" the bike (against the adjusters) so that the position is accurate. Then, after tightening the axle, I like to go back and snug up the adjusters just a hair against the axle blocks.

You should be fine. I had this happen when I hit a monster pothole once, and it felt to me like my rear bearing had gone out. But it was just the axle was misaligned and shifting.

Hope this helps. The readjustment is easy, I promise. You don't even need a rear stand.

-Mike

 

[Smurph300]

I really appreciate the feedback! I went out a bit ago and adjusted the chain tension. I'm not sure on the spec for the axle nut, so I'll have to find that. I plan on spending more time on it tomorrow evening and getting everything set to where it needs to be, as it was raining tonight lol Thank you so much!

 

[SparkyMJ]

Sure thing! If you need the service book, PM me your email and I can send you the PDF. It is no longer available online, and luckily I recently re-downloaded the file for my new garage computer.

-Mike

 

[iahawk]

72 ft lbs on the rear wheel nut..and yes, after adjusting chain tension you need to maintain tension on the rear wheel. I've seen Ari Henning jam a microfiber rag between his chain and rear sprocket to hold pressure when tightening. That works well. Probably a number of ways to do this.

 

[jjmaine]

That's what I do, not sure where I learned it but I'll stuff a rag in between the chain and rear sprocket and roll the tire back while giving it a few sharp bumps with the palm of my hand. Then grip the rear tire in between both knees while I use both hands to hold a wrench and tighten the nut by hand. Once it's tight enough so it won't move on it's own I'll let go and torque it. IMO the oem torque spec is overkill but maybe they do it for liability purposes. I do 55 ft lbs on the rear and 45 on the front.

I've never torqued any motorcycle axle nut to spec but I wouldn't tell someone not to. I think it comes from off road bikes, if you torque them to 70-90 ft lbs, try getting the tire off on the trail to patch a tube with a 6 inch aluminum axle wrench lol.

 

[SparkyMJ]

@jjmaine it's interesting you say you don't torque them to 72. I have actually made the axle move and misalign in the swingarm by hitting a pothole as I mentioned. I think part of the clamping force the 72lb/ft makes is needed to ensure that the axle doesn't shift inside the swingarm, but in my case I hit a doozy of a pothole and it did move. Of course the locknut adjusters didn't let the axle move forwards or slacken the chain, it actually pulled it back and tightened the chain, and then once that has happened, the locknut adjuster becomes loose in the swingarm.

So I am kinda inclined to keep the factory torque. In fact it tells you to do 72lb/ft and then tighten until the safety pin holes align. IIRC.... So I probably am at around 80 all said and done. Just my 2 cents though.

-Mike

 

[jjmaine]

Good point sparky, I’ve never had that happen but thats why I say don’t take my word for it. Everyone should do what makes them feel comfortable. I think it’s excessive so I don’t torque that much but it can’t hurt anything.