How to Install a Cycle Chain
- 1). Remove the old chain. If working on a motorcycle, remove the front sprocket guard with a screwdriver.
- 2). Locate the master link. Insert a flat head screwdriver into the horizontal slot on the front of master link-clip. Twist the screwdriver until the link-clip pops off the link. Remove the front link plate with your fingers or the tip of the screwdriver. Use a chain removal tool if the chain does not have a master link. Align the plunger on the chain removal tool with one of the pins on any chain link. Turn the handle on the tool until the plunger pushes the pin out of the link.
- 3). Work the free link out of the chain with your fingers. If the link sticks, insert the tip of the screwdriver down into the back of the link, from the top of the chain, and gently pry the link loose. Remove the chain from the bike.
- 4). Rub a very light coating of lithium grease well into all the links of the chain with your fingers. Wrap the new chain around the top of the front and rear sprockets so the ends of the chain hang down over the outside sprockets. If working on a multiple speed bicycle, wrap the chain around the smallest sprockets on both the front and rear hubs and then thread the chain through the derailleur. Pull the derailleur down with the thumb of your non-dominant hand. Thread the chain in a backwards S-pattern down and around the back of the top sprocket of the derailleur, and then up and over the bottom sprocket.
- 5). Adjust the chain tensioner - which actually moves the axle - on a motorcycle or a single speed bicycle. No adjustment is necessary on multiple speed bicycles as the spring on the derailleur is self-adjusting.
- 6). Locate the adjustment bolts on the sides of the rear axle. Chain tension adjustment design will vary between make and model of motorcycle, but always consists of two bolts, one on each side of the rear wheel. As the bolts are turned in or out, the rear axle is moved forward or backwards respectively. On some motorcycles, the adjustment bolts run parallel to the chain, whereas on other motorcycles the adjustment bolts are set into brackets and run parallel to the axle. On single speed bicycles, the adjustment bolts will run parallel to the chain.
- 7). Loosen the real axle nuts with a wrench. Turn the chain adjustment bolts with a wrench, 1/4 turn at a time, alternating between the left and right side bolts. Adjust the bolts until there is enough slack in the chain for the loose ends of the chain to almost touch.
- 8). From the back side of the chain, slip the pins of the new master link into the chain. Place the front link plate over the link pins. Orient the master link-clip of the new master link so that the open end is facing the rear of the bike. Slide the link-clip towards the rear sprocket until the clip engages the groove in the first pin on the master link.
- 9). Insert the tip of the flathead screwdriver into the slot on the master link. Twist the handle of the screwdriver slightly to open the gap in the plate. Push the link-clip over the link pins with your fingers until the clip "clicks" into place.
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Tighten the chain on a motorcycle and single speed bikes. Pinch the top and bottom sections of the chain together with your fingers at the half-way point between the front and rear sprockets. Turn the adjustment bolts with a wrench, 1/4 turn at a time, until the chain has 1 inch of play between the top and bottom sections as measured with a tape measure. - 11
Confirm the rear wheel is in proper alignment. Measure the distance from the outside edges of the rim of the rear wheel to the inside edges of the bike's frame. Turn the chain tension adjustment bolts 1/8 turn at a time until the measurement on the left and right sided of the wheel is identical - 12
Re-tighten the axle bolts with a wrench.
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