Chain Stretched Out?

[Wag]

I was out riding yesterday and about 200 miles into it, mostly freeways but about 90 miles of twisty mountain roads (Crestline in So. CA). I was on my way home and contemplating taking the long way via Angeles Crest. I was rolling through Hesperia and heard a clunking under the center of my bike whenever I would start rolling at a light.

I pulled over to eat and sure enough, the chain was sagging quite a bit. A LOT more than it had been last time I put a new tire on it a couple of weeks ago. I had it set to spec.

checked the marks on the adjuster nuts and they haven't moved at all.

What the he!!?

Anyone ever hear of this? Chain is stock. Do they stretch?

--Wag--

 

[fstbusa]

the chains do stretch, if they didn't we wouldn't need tensioners.

they do stretch a bit right when they are new but level off. If you experience alot of stretch you may have gotten a bogus chain.

 

[HeliBusa]

What he said.....

 

[PaceMaster]

Yep a new chain--adjust two times and it should stay right there for a long time. 10 to 20k depending on how hard you ride. tires though when worn out make you have to readjust it..look for the red rust sneeking out of the orings---replace that puppy ASAP--and your sprockets will live a long time.

 

[paineless4u]

Yes what they said, I have adjusted my chain several times, I think I am a bit paranoid about the chain flying off at mach speeds, or really any speeds for that matter. Don't need any nuke bombs going off mechanically with the bike, bad enough you have to watch out for everyone and everything on the road.

 

[Wag]

I'll look for those items.

Funny thing is, it seems to have "stretched" all of a sudden. It's been off and on the bike at every tire change so I have to assume that it's been retentioned at those times.

Thanks for your input and I'll keep this thread updated as I discover more.

--Wag--

 

[Nijinsky3]

I don't think the mechanics tighten the chain automatically when you get a new tire put on. You should do it about every 500 miles or so (I am told) but I usually just keep an eye on mine and tighten it when it starts looking like it has too much slack in it. I know for my bike the slack is supposed to be 3/4 inch, but not sure about the Busa's. Have someone show you how to measure it too, as measuring chain slack is not what you first think it is. I can show you if you are at Bravo this week, or we run into eachother at some point, or ask RedHurricane on CC, he knows all about it.

 

[bacharles]

I don't think the mechanics tighten the chain automatically when you get a new tire put on. You should do it about every 500 miles or so (I am told) but I usually just keep an eye on mine and tighten it when it starts looking like it has too much slack in it. I know for my bike the slack is supposed to be 3/4 inch, but not sure about the Busa's. Have someone show you how to measure it too, as measuring chain slack is not what you first think it is. I can show you if you are at Bravo this week, or we run into eachother at some point, or ask RedHurricane on CC, he knows all about it.

I must say that I have to agree with Nijinsky.  Too many horror stories of mishaps or near-misses when letting the dealer's mechanics work on our bikes.  I don't trust them sometime because over half of them don't even know what the hell is going on.  I'm willing to bet that if we all went to every dealer that we could think of and asked for Suzuki Certified mechanics along with credentials... I'm sure we'd be amazed at how many actually aren't certified mechanics with Suzuki products.  That is the primary reason that I do 95% of my own work.  I don't think that most Busa owners realize how convenient and nice it is to have the Shop Manual on CD.  That thing has gotten me out of a few tight jams.  I've taken just about every part apart on my bike except for the motor.  I've gotten very confident in my mechanical skills so far.



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[LadyHawk]

I check the chain about once a month. It should move up and down no more than an inch. If so, tighten it.

 

[rubbersidedown]

I don't think the mechanics tighten the chain automatically when you get a new tire put on.

if they dont...fire them, and get a new shop.

Seriously. It takes 2 seconds to re adjust the chain.

The axle is already loose from the re/re of the wheel.

 

[Charlesbusa]

I believe the busa chain is supposed to have .8" to 1.2" adjusted on the kickstand.

Tighten it up, and check it to see if it continues.



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[shenoyp]

The chain does streach when your bike is new... but if definetly does not sagas you are describing it!! Do you have any pictures

Are you sure your chain was tightned... last time you got it serviced or had a tire change? ...

 

[nitrousjunkie]

Dont get it too tight, the thing will stretch and break prematurely if you do!

 

[petereb]

The manual states that the chain should be adjusted while the bike is on the sidestand.

 

[thrasherfox]

Wag -

I was just riding with Sageronin this last week and the same thing happened to him.


He just had a brand new, high dollar chain put on his bike, we were riding around and then all of a sudden he heard a clunking, we all pulled over and checked it out and the chain was SUPER loose!!

We thought it just loosened up, so we went over to this guys trailer and he started to tighten the chain up, as he is looking at it he notices that the top link on the right side of the chain busted.

The chain was still in one piece, and Sageronin was able to ride it back to his house, but the fricken link had partially busted. On a brand new chain!!!

Don’t know if the chain was loose before that causing the chain link to bust, or if the chain link popping did something. But make sure you rotate the chain all the way around and check out all the links closely before you drive it anywhere.

Also if Sageronin’s friend had not of noticed the damaged link and just tightened the chain, that could have been real bad.



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[Bronto]

Something else to look for is busted rollers. They can make the chain appear loose when those busted roller is on the sprocket.
Getting new chains 120 links length and cutting it to 112 links. Have spare links to replace busted roller links later on down the road.
Busa can stretch a chain in one time run through the gears under full acceleration. It doesn't take much stretch to cause a lot of slack.