Sustaining your bike’s chain ought to be an everyday behavior of each rider. The overall rule of thumb is that you’ll want to clear, lubricate, and verify the chain pressure each 400 – 600 miles (650 – 900 km). When you’re an everyday commuter that could possibly be as usually as as soon as a month. Sustaining your chain correctly will lengthen its lifespan, forestall extreme put on of your sprockets and will help hold your bike protected. An excessively unfastened or tight, rusty, dry chain on a bike is a recipe for catastrophe.
Cleansing and lubricating a bike chain is a straightforward course of. Yow will discover directions on do it printed on the packaging of most high quality chain lubricants. It’s simply as simple as washing and waxing your paintwork so there’s actually no excuse to not do it your self. Adjusting the chain, nonetheless, is a barely extra difficult course of that may appear formidable to the uninitiated. The excellent news is there’s a straightforward answer and it’s known as the Tru-Stress Chain Monkey.
What’s a Chain Monkey?
The Tru-Stress Chain Monkey is a straightforward but sensible little system that takes the guesswork out of adjusting a bike chain. Your bike’s chain ought to have slack in it. The precise quantity of slack is specified by the bike’s producer as a spread i.e. 20 – 30mm. The Chain Monkey is designed that can assist you set that vary exactly with out the trial-and-error you encounter when not utilizing the instrument.
Tru-Stress additionally sells a product known as the Laser Monkey. Used along with the Chain Monkey it lets you align your bike’s wheel in order that the chain (or belt) is working true. Along with your chain’s pressure set appropriately and working true your chain and sprockets will last more and their total efficiency is improved.
Earlier than adjusting your bike chain
The method for adjusting the chain on a bike will fluctuate from mannequin to mannequin. There are various kinds of axle chain tensioners and other ways the bike ought to be sitting in the course of the course of (wheel on or off the bottom). So earlier than you start remember to seek the advice of your workshop handbook for particular directions. On our take a look at bike, a Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe, the chain slack specs are listed on the swingarm and the adjustment course of is printed within the person handbook.
PLEASE NOTE: It’s all the time essential to do not forget that if carried out incorrectly upkeep duties like this might injury your bike or render it harmful to trip. If you’re involved you cannot carry out this job competently ask a skilled mechanic to do it for you.
How one can use the Tru-Stress Chain Monkey
Step one in adjusting any chain is to loosen your bike’s axle. Carry out this step as per your workshop handbook.
As soon as the axle and chain are unfastened you will have to measure your chain hyperlink measurement. Utilizing a ruler it’s best to be capable to decide whether or not the chain hyperlinks fall between both 12-13mm or 14-17mm in width (see picture above). The Z900RS was 13mm and the proper slack in accordance with the handbook is between 30 – 40mm. Utilizing the provided chart within the Chain Monkey directions I may see that I wanted to make use of setting 2 on the instrument.
To set the Chain Monkey appropriately you screw the bolt in its centre till the bottom of the domed nut is aligned with the proper setting quantity. When it’s positioned appropriately transfer the rubber stopper on the decrease half of the bolt as much as seat it towards the physique of the Chain monkey. Now unwind the bolt and hook it onto your chain mid-way between the entrance and rear sprockets. Place the dome nut so it sits within the centre of a hyperlink and screw the bolt up till the rubber grommet seats on the base of the Chain Monkey. This can kind a kink within the chain which equates to the scale of the slack required.
Now with out eradicating the Chain Monkey pull the rear wheel again till the chain is taught i.e. no slack in any respect. The axle can then be tightened as per your workshop handbook. As soon as that’s carried out merely take away the Chain Monkey and your chain slack shall be set appropriately. Sure, it’s that simple!
How one can use the Tru-Stress Laser Monkey
The Tru-Stress Laser Monkey is used in the course of the ultimate step of adjusting your chain. That is whenever you regulate the angle of your axle to make sure the chain is working true. The method for doing that is defined in your bike’s workshop handbook. The problem with the normal strategies nonetheless is that they’re not a precise science.
Typically, wheel alignment is judged utilizing a set of markers on the swingarm. When you don’t have a bike bench to work on getting the markers set to equivalent positions might be troublesome. That is the place the Laser Monkey is available in.
See additionally
To make use of the Laser Monkey you’ll first have to take away your chain guard. Subsequent, clamp the Laser Monkey to the physique of your rear sprocket (not the chain) on the prime of the sprocket. Activate the purple dot laser and level it on the closest chain hyperlink. Now regulate the Laser Monkey in order that the purple dot sits within the centre of the chain.
Now tilt the laser up till the purple dot sits on the furthest chain hyperlink you may see. If the dot isn’t sitting on the centre of that hyperlink regulate the axle angle in accordance with the workshop handbook directions. As soon as the dot is centred decrease and lift the laser once more to verify it’s nonetheless aligned centrally at each factors of the chain. When it’s you may tighten the axle in accordance with your workshop handbook specs.
Tru-Stress Chain Monkey and Laser Monkey ultimate verdict
Having carried out my very own bike chain upkeep for years now these merchandise are effectively price having for two causes. Firstly they make your entire course of a lot quicker. Utilizing the True-Stress instruments removes the entire measuring, testing and remeasuring carried out whereas utilizing the usual chain adjustment course of.
Secondly, though quite simple in its design, the Laser Monkey is an extremely exact instrument. It is because the alignment is about over a distance of round 1 meter which supplies a way more correct outcome than utilizing the notches on the swingarm. Earlier than adjusting my chain I used the Laser Monkey to see how effectively it was already aligned. To my shock, the purple dot was about 3-4mm off-centre. That won’t sound like a lot, nevertheless it’s sufficient to trigger pointless sprocket put on. I now know that my axle and chain are aligned lifeless straight.
Would I like to recommend this product? Sure. The Tru-Stress Chain Monkey and Laser Monkey take the guesswork out of what’s primarily a vital upkeep job. I don’t usually see merchandise that I’d label as revolutionary, however these intelligent upkeep instruments undoubtedly match the invoice
Obtainable from: Tru-Stress
