Air Ride chain adjustment help

M

MrShelbyGT500

Registered
I have an 08 and I just installed the Platinum Air Ride Bleed Feed System. It works great! What do I do about the chain adjustment though? If I set it to My normal ride Height, it’s fine, but it becomes to slack it I raise it up or too tight if I drop it all the way down. Any recommendations for the chain staying the same no matter where I adjust it. It is also on a 10” over stock extension and a 240 kit.
 
You can't make it happen. When you raise and lower the bike the angle of the swing are changes. That is changing the distance between the front sprocket and the rear sprocket. That changes the chain tension. There are a lot of bikes set up that way. Check around. Somebody probably makes a spring roller to take up the slack in the chain. You see them on some drag bikes with long arms.
 
Popie said:
You can't make it happen. When you raise and lower the bike the angle of the swing are changes. That is changing the distance between the front sprocket and the rear sprocket. That changes the chain tension. There are a lot of bikes set up that way. Check around. Somebody probably makes a spring roller to take up the slack in the chain. You see them on some drag bikes with long arms.
Click to expand...
Thanks Boss! I’ll look around and see what I can find.
 
All the chain rollers I’ve found will tighten up the bottom of the chain. The big issue I’m having is that the top section of the chain is slacking down onto the swing arm too. Any way to correct that as well?
 
If you tighten up the bottom, that will pull tension all the way around. The top run should also get tighter or looser acording to that roller doohicky. Never tried one but I check my chain tension all the time. Pull on the top, the bottom also gets tighter. Pull the bottom, the top also gets tighter. It's all one chain so tension distributes evenly even if it only gets tight in one spot.

Anyone back me up on this? I never used a roller tensioner.
 
At around 2 1/2-2 3/4 inches between tail and wheel, the chain is perfect. I’d I air up, it drops the chain onto the swing arm on top. I’m putting the new adjustable dog bones on to drop it to about an inch off the wheel for full drop, but I’m afraid of the chain dropping onto the swing arm when I air up to around 2 1/2-3 inches off the wheel for normal riding. I could keep the chain adjusted as is, but afraid I’ll make the chain have too much tension full aired out. Double edge sword.
 
If the roller tensioner pushes up on the bottom run, it may need to push the chain so high it hits the swingarm. If the roller pulls down on the bottom run, you should have no problems.
 
That one pushes up. Looks like it mounts onto the belly pan bracket. If the swingarm opens and the belly pan bracket stays stationary, that might work. The more the swingarm opens the higher that thing will push up on the bottom run. Might work. Is that what it was designed to do? I'd talk to MPS about it. They're a good company.
 
Mythos said:
That one pushes up. Looks like it mounts onto the belly pan bracket. If the swingarm opens and the belly pan bracket stays stationary, that might work. The more the swingarm opens the higher that thing will push up on the bottom run. Might work. Is that what it was designed to do? I'd talk to MPS about it. They're a good company.
Click to expand...
To me it looks like it bolts onto the swing arm support bars, if your swing arm is made that way.
 
The pics show the bike full down for now, and up about 3/4 of the way (way too high!), but to just show the chain slack.

03F1331B-51AF-4D0A-8DE9-1894A69B43D9.jpeg


0230B3EB-A19A-443A-85E0-34D66F86889A.jpeg
 
@MrShelbyGT500 you are probably right about the mounting position of the roller. If so, it looks like that might work. The lower run of the chain does get closer to the support bar when you lift the tail. I don't know if the tensioner would accommodate the exact chain slack you want across the whole range you intend to raise and lower but it would help. Maybe you could find a happy medium in the chain adjustment you set at the wheel so that the tension won't go too out of whack when you change the ride height of the suspension. It's impossible to tell by looking at the pictures but it appears that tensioner might work exactly as you want it to. Chain tension is a very sensative thing though. You'd really need to test the tensioner out by fitting it to the bike.

That's a very cool busa you have BTW.
 
to me a question of geometry :
put two of these fixed rollers
onto the swingarm
1 onto the upside (close to its front end) &
1 at the downside (middle of the slack)
that way that the chain can´t touch the arm

and think about if you ride the bike
1. lowered completely
2. raised completely
3. in a kind of middle position
what happens then to the slack(s) and do you the ride at all pos. 1. - 3.
or in lowest (1.) never because that is only a show-position?
 
Rubb has a 4 inch extended arm with Air F/X rear suspension.
IMO: You can't worry too much about the top run. As torque is applied it will lift off the chain runner. If it doesn't,you cant use that position setting on your arm.You just can't. Tightening the chain (bottom run) is irrelevant. Picture this,all slack removed from chain,chain still makes contact with the top of the arm...there is no way to fix that. Its a position that can't be used.
Ever see that guy running down the hi-way with the bottom run slapping up and down? Dumb,needs adjustment. But the top run is fine. From rear sprog to front,its under torque and tight.
I can drop to 1" from tire top to undertail (no air/no suspension movement) to full up,like 6" tire top to tail (for carrying fat chics) with decent chain adjustment thru out. Mind you,only a 4" over arm.
A ten inch arm is a "stretch" :laugh:
Can hardly wait to see and here your mod results.

There is one thing I can think of that may help. Some "longarm" guys do it. Larger sprockets. Its not an' adjustment like you are looking for...its more of a fix. A larger countershaft sprog and/or a larger rear sprog will give the added clearance you are looking for.
Fat azzed Busa's rule. :thumbsup:
Rubb.

fat tire.jpg
 
She is fully painted, not wrapped. I truly appreciate everyone’s help! I’m going to order the MPS roller and see if that will help. I’ll adjust the chain to where I will normally ride, about 2 inches off the tire on air so I can still slam it when parked and raise it a bit if needed.
@rubbersidedown I’ll look at a bigger sprocket. I am running a 45 now.
 
MrShelbyGT500 said:
She is fully painted, not wrapped. I truly appreciate everyone’s help! I’m going to order the MPS roller and see if that will help. I’ll adjust the chain to where I will normally ride, about 2 inches off the tire on air so I can still slam it when parked and raise it a bit if needed.
@rubbersidedown I’ll look at a bigger sprocket. I am running a 45 now.
Click to expand...
Sweet ride :thumbsup: lot's of man hours there.
I hope yer boy is telling his IG girls that it's HIS ride. He can take them for rides in 2 years (16) right?
Kiddin'...I'm surprised he was actually allowed to even touch it. :laugh:
Thanks for posting the pics.
Rubb.
 
rubbersidedown said:
Sweet ride :thumbsup: lot's of man hours there.
I hope yer boy is telling his IG girls that it's HIS ride. He can take them for rides in 2 years (16) right?
Kiddin'...I'm surprised he was actually allowed to even touch it. :laugh:
Thanks for posting the pics.
Rubb.
Click to expand...
The paint does have a ton of hours put into it. My son likes to flex on his IG. Both with Stitch and with Shelby. I’m sure tells all them ladies what they want to hear
 
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