slack in the chain

[Water Warrior 2]

[quote=Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by "Water Warrior":1i05q1k4

The amount of chain slack is mostly determined by the amount of rear wheel suspension travel. More travel = more slack.

[Please see retraction a few posts down! Sometimes what you want to say just doesn't come out right!!] :roll:

Mmmm....well....not really, at least not on MOST properly engineered bikes.
If the geometry of the rear suspension is correct, it will effectively swivel with the front sprocket pretty close to the center point of the arc....and the slack won't change that much.
That is, the actual pivot point of the rear swing arm should be pretty close to the front sprocket.

Hell, if that were universally true, some dirt bikes would need INCHES of slack in the chain.....instead of centimeters.[/quote:1i05q1k4]

Easy, a properly engineered bike can still have lots of chain slack. Depends on the designer's overall goals. My 88 KDX 200 was considered the best small bore enduro in it's time and had about 2.5 to 3 inches of slack. There was a swing arm mounted slack controller. What it consisted of was a spring loaded arm with a plastic rubbing block to control the slack. Very effective and never a problem in it's operation. The rear wheel had 11.5 inches of travel which was a smooth ride and I used every bit of it on ocassion.
And yes there were bikes with mongo wheel travel and little chain slack. They were usually high end bikes from Europe and a lot more difficult to maintain in the long run because of their design.

[Water Warrior 2]

Easy, no problem with your last post about chain slack and stuff. Your idea of a properly engineered bike is good. The one goal for price point bikes is to produce a functional machine with clever and simple mechanisms that are trouble free. And of course we are both posting at the same time again and confusing others.

[mrlmd1]

That's good, no fighting, just kissing and hugging each other to death.
Funny thing is, almost everybody on here is right in their own way, just different perspectives sometimes, each adding a little more ingredient into the overall knowledge pie.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by mrlmd1

That's good, no fighting, just kissing and hugging each other .....

I know where Florida IS. I might just bring you a big 'ole "kiss" !!!! :neener: :crackup

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by tommygun

thanks ww please do a post after you have the data. I ride about 14,000 a year and any parts that can handle that are worth my $. My only hope is that my bike can handle that much riding.

14,000 is more than I ride per year. Maybe you should get the X and post data for me. LOL. My first season was only a short 2000 miles which is far shorter than yours. Each year gets progressively longer and more fun filled.

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by mrlmd1

That's good, no fighting, just kissing and hugging each other to death.
Funny thing is, almost everybody on here is right in their own way, just different perspectives sometimes, each adding a little more ingredient into the overall knowledge pie.

"Knowledge Pie". I like that. The accummulated knowledge and bits of info from days gone by are a bonus. We all have something to share and the forum makes it all possible.