Checking chain tension

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JDJ

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I know this seems simple, but I cannot find a definitive answer. Here’s what the owner manual says: “Turn the rear wheel until you find the position where chain is tightest.“

VnNP7bA.jpg


Logic leads me to presume that you do the following:

1. Place the transmission in first gear.

2. Roll the bike backwards, which tightens that portion of the chain on the top side between the sprockets.

3. Lean the bike over on its kickstand.

4. Finally, take your measurement on the midpoint of the portion of the chain which is on the bottom.

In contrast, if you roll the bike forward in step number 2, then the measurement would not truly reflect the slack in the chain.

Am I right or am I missing something? Thank you. :)
 
Bike has to be in neutral.

You want to find the tightest position the chain is in from the bottom not the top.

You’ll find that as you rotate the rear wheel the chain will tighten and slacken at different points in the rotation because it stretches a little more or less at different parts of the chain.

This is the position the measurement and adjustment should be made.

In my case I have found the tightest position is always when the connecting link is at the bottom of the rotation (might not be the case for other bikes).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
^^^ Thank you. Are you rotating the rear wheel on a paddock stand or just rolling the bike forward a bit and checking?
 
The method in the Service bulletin needs a stand since you are making four measurements. As you roll the bike forward you can watch the chain rise and fall. Just stop it where you want it and put it on the side stand.
 
I adjusted my chain tension a couple of hundred miles ago, and to this day I’m still having doubts whether I did it correctly or not since the chain feels tight. The “sliding shoe” is shaped like a T looking at it from the end on. The manual shows that you measure from a center of a chain pin to the bottom of the horizontal part of the T of the sliding shoe, right? Not the bottom of the vertical part of the shoe? Mine is set to 22 - 25mm measured from the bottom of the horizontal part, but it feels taut. ‘23 V4s.
 
airjawed said:
Just a reminder that too tight can be damaging to chain and driveline. That's why you measure at tightest point. Better to be loose than tight
Click to expand...

I followed the manual down to the T— push down on the chain with a finger at the half way point between the sprockets (after locating the tightest part of the chain), then measure the distance from a chain pin to the sliding shoe. It’s about 23mm. There’s very little slack compared to my other bikes.
 
Here’s a pic of my measurement. Tightest part of the chain, on side stand, measured after pushing down with finger:
IMG_2319.jpeg
The pic angle is kinda off a bit, but the measurement is actually ~27mm. Am I doing something wrong? The chain feels tight at this sag.

Video:
 
Last edited:
cfive4s said:
I followed the manual down to the T— push down on the chain with a finger at the half way point between the sprockets (after locating the tightest part of the chain), then measure the distance from a chain pin to the sliding shoe. It’s about 23mm. There’s very little slack compared to my other bikes.
Click to expand...
Yup you’re doing it right. I’ve got 21-23 mm written on the side label of my 22 PV4S swingarm. Mine also has 27 mm slack currently and shifting has been a little on the sloppy side. I did this measurement as indicated on service bulletin on the rear stand. I didn’t find any tight spots. When I checked on the side stand there wasn’t a significant difference from the rear stand.

Also a good rule of thumb is to do this after the chain is lubed so it’s as free as possible. Will be
 
The variability in new chain tightness is actually variability in the sprockets particularly the rear. Take the shock off, cycle the swingarm and adjust the chain to being just shy of play at it's tightest point in the swingarm cycle (find the mechanical tight spot first). Drop bike onto side stand and measure the slack. That's the minimum free play you can set the chain to.
 
baggerman said:
The variability in new chain tightness is actually variability in the sprockets particularly the rear. Take the shock off, cycle the swingarm and adjust the chain to being just shy of play at it's tightest point in the swingarm cycle (find the mechanical tight spot first). Drop bike onto side stand and measure the slack. That's the minimum free play you can set the chain to.
Click to expand...
Or just follow the specs printed on the swingarm
 
When it comes to chain slack, I follow a simple rule. Keep it slack at the tightest point to the extent where shifts are sharp and smooth. Any more slack, and shifting gets rough. This roughly translates to 25-30mm slack at the mid-point of the chain, under the swingarm, dependig on tire size.. Also, I havent found any variations in keeping the bike on the side stand, as compared to the paddock. The paddock makes it easier.
 
That range is a little different with the new bikes. Seems like it’s 4 mm less on the 22+ models most likely to take into account this 4 mm change in pivot height. I think the 2020-21 are like 25-27 and the 22+ is 21-23
 
I didn’t notice that the spec changed. It’s 23-25 in the manual for my 2021.

IMG_0873.jpeg
 
How I read Super's last message was that the ballpark/ "A little bit on the loose side" chain slack he recommends/uses/has-heard-others-use is 25 - 27 mm.

Maybe I assumed wrong, but that is what I have realized to be the sweet spot as well. (Currently, my '21 V4 is set at 25 mm on the rear stand). But something tells me the moment I am on the track next, I will add 2 mm to the slack just to be safe...)
 
From the digital versions of the Panigale V4 owners manuals.

2018: 23 to 25mm
2019: 23 to 25mm
2020: 23 to 25mm
2021: 23 to 25mm
2022: 21 to 23mm
2023: 21 to 23mm

From the digital versions of the Panigale V4R owners manual.

2019: 22 to 22mm
2020: 22 to 22mm
2023: 26 to 28mm
 

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