First Service - Chain Clean And Adjust?

Buy a shaft.

 

Don't do it then, get Shaft-Ted to sort it

 

I did think about a Moto Guzzi V7 for that very reason, but cost and weight counted against it, plus the one person I heard of owning one had transmission leaks....

I believe they are an acquired taste too!

 

Have you considered the V85TT I believe they’re a shaft drive?

 

I'm surprised no manufacturer has perfected the idea of a fully enclosed chain like some small cc bikes had years ago. Water and road crap are the main chain killers, washing off the lube and promoting rapid wear of the pins and rollers. A modern chain case could be made from modern composite materials to keep weight down and have a removable section for chain inspection and the infrequent lubing that would be required. You'd get the efficiency of a chain drive and (almost) the low maintenance of a shaft without the weight penalty.

 

Unfortunately fully enclosed chains aren't trendy looking!

I had a couple of old Jawa 350's back in the 70's and 80's and they had an enclosed chain with a casing round the sprocket and rubber tubes over the exposed chain - never looked at the chain.... ever! I could still buy a new one for £5995.... if I was that way inclined..... but I'm not..... I don't think..... but they are still 2-strokes, and we all love a 2-stroke don't we?!





And on the V85 adventure - far too big, I'm a wee, old guy moving down the scale, hence the Speed400 purchase!!

 

Might be a good time to do your own chain maintenance; my new 2023 T120 had about 1 3/4 inches (44mm) slack on delivery (didn't check it till I got to 400miles); so, I fiddled with adjusting it down to 1 1/16 inches (27mm); noticed the measurements change a bit if measuring on the center stand vs side stand.

My T120 did not have marks on the swing arm to help with adjustment so I kept track of the turns on the adjustment screws and then, after locking down, I checked the length of each adjustment screw using a small metal mm ruler to make sure each side had the same length.

I use Lucas aerosol chain lube and like it; foams on the chain and then penetrates and has minimal spin off.

 

With typical swing arm pivot placement, chain slack will change alter after moving the shock preload by one notch.
One reason why it’s best practice to measure your slack with the shocks fully extended with the rear wheel off the ground, it’s easily repeatable.

 

Just checked my 2023 Bonne T120 chain again at 700 miles while on center stand; see my previous post above; chain still semi-wet with Lucas chain oil; saw that the slack had changed to 1 1/2 inches; adjusted it again and wound up with 1 inch slack. Very very marked change in clutch engagement --- now much much smoother