Removing Chain from Bike

[KeLL]

Hi Guys and gals,
I had to replace my clutch tonight, but while I had all of the clutch area pulled apart, I decided I wanted to take the chain off and clean it.

1. I have removed the clip from the rear axel, but I cannot find anything big enough to losen the nut. What size socket do i need? (My adjustable wrench is too small).

2. How do I lower the swing arm? (The clymer manual is very vague with this process)

3. Do I need to remove the chain guard?

4. After lowering the swing arm, will the chain seperate from the bike?

5. Some people recommend wd40 to soak the chain in, others dont. Will wd40 harm the o-ring chain?

Thanks for your help

Pictures appreciated  

KeLL, Canada (snow is coming around the corner!!!! *pout*)

[jiggersplat]

totally not worth it to take it off and clean it.  it's way too much work.  just clean it on the bike or buy a new chain.  you could just losen up the rear axel, and pull the chain off the sprockets.  you could give half of it a good soak, and then switch and save yourself some trouble.

if you MUST, you will have to remove the swingarm.  you'll probably want to losen the rear axel first to give you some slack in the chain.  you found the big nut on the axel, you'll have to take that and get the axel out.  on top of that, you'll have to unbolt the rear suspension. put the bike up on the center stand.  once you have everything unbolted, the swingarm should more or less fall out, if memory serves.

dan

[Kerry]

Hiya KeLL!

LOOONG time no see -- 11 months!  You get my vote for "Greatest Comeback".

I'm with jiggersplat; it's not worth it to remove the chain just to clean it.  If you can find some kerosene, just work on one section of the chain at a time - while it's still on the bike.  Put on some rubber gloves if you like, then get an old rag fairly soaked with the kerosene and rub it along the chain.  That will get the side plates and other visible parts pretty clean.

If you're really serious about cleaning out the nooks and crannies you can go at it with an old toothbrush.  But I'll warn ya - wear something that you only use for motorcycle maintenance.  I used this method the first time I cleaned my chain, and the shirt I was wearing STILL has dirty-looking spots all over it from the brush flicking kerosene/lube/dirt everywhere.

This wouldn't be a "real" Kerry post without some links, so here ya go:

Chain cleaning question?

Built a Chain Scrubber[/list:u][We're still waiting for those pictures, EDub!]

[KeLL]

Hi Kerry!

11 months because i have been 11 months without problems!!

One small niggling problem is that I'm looking for a sealed battery and I can't seem to find a sealed battery in canada! not even at walmart..

If anyone's interested in shipping me one by ground mail, let me know!

So back to the topic, if I keep the chain on the bike and half dip it in wd40...hmmmm... I could do that.

Soon Im going to run out of things to fix on my bike, then i will have to get another one hahahah

Cheers,

Kellie, Canada

[MarkusN]

1. I have removed the clip from the rear axel, but I cannot find anything big enough to losen the nut. What size socket do i need? (My adjustable wrench is too small).

Don't mess on the bike with an adjustable wrench if you can help it. Those beast do more harm than good.

The swing arm nut is 19 mm if memory serves (one of the points where even bike producers did use a standard hex nut size).

[Kerry]

The swing arm nut is 19 mm if memory serves

Yep!  Here is a small portion of the notes I took when I was looking to buy an "ideal" set of wrenches a few years ago:

* Front axle NUT: 19mm
* Front axle BOLT: 17mm

* Rear axle NUT: 22 mm
* Rear axle BOLT: 17mm

* Swingarm pivot NUT: 19mm
* Swingarm pivot BOLT: 17mm[/list:u]

[MarkusN]

Re ideal set of wrenches:

General metric:

Code Select Expand

5.5 mm  (M3)
7 mm    (M4)
8 mm    (M5)
10 mm   (M6)
13 mm   (M8)
17 mm   (M10)
19 mm   (M12)
24 mm   (M16)

Bike metric

Code Select Expand

5.5 mm  (M3)
7 mm    (M4)
8 mm    (M5)
10 mm   (M6)
12 mm   (M8)
14 mm   (M10 x 1)
17 mm
19 mm
22 mm

For whatever reason M10 on bikes typically has 1 mm pitch, while on standard fasteners it would be 1.5 mm. Could be they do this because of the better self locking properties. Makes it fun to buy nuts that fit bike fasteners. They don't.

[Kerry]

Thanks for the chart!

For the "trivia pile", my notes include the following entries

* Horn mounting nut:

11mm

* Rear caliper lower bolts: 13mm[/list:u]:dunno:

[MarkusN]

Thanks for the chart!

For the "trivia pile", my notes include the following entries

* Horn mounting nut:

11mm

* Rear caliper lower bolts: 13mm[/list:u]:dunno:

And for that I could smack designers of any vehicle I have ever owned. "Standard" is a concept foreign to them.

[Jabba]

quote]
The swing arm nut is 19 mm if memory serves (one of the points where even bike producers did use a standard hex nut size).

mine is actually a 24

[tmckay]

Just for the record, I had a hard time finding a 22mm socket.  Seems its an odd size.  But, as always, Sears came through.  They had a decent selection of torque wrenches too, which you really need to use where the manual specifies.

 I have found what I'm looking for more times at Sears than I have at Home Depot or an auto-parts store, no kidding.

Sears rules.

T

[KeLL]

Jabba,

I had to look twice at your picture before I worked out what it was!

!!!!!!!

Kellie

[The Buddha]

I though mine was 22 or 24 too, and the damn oil drain bolt was a 21... weird size... I ahve a different 17mm in it after tearing the head  :x  off my stock drain bolt... Same threads, smaller head.
Cool.
Srinath.

[The Antibody]

A friend of mine told me Not to use Kerosene, he didn't say why, I caught him with the question as he was leaving, but he was a Suzuki motorcyclke mechanic for 3 years, so I trust him. Oh well.
 
 -Anti

[Kerry]

I realize that it's not exactly the Suzuki factory manual, but according to Haynes just about everybody is right:



Kerosene is the cleaner of choice.

If it's really bad, take the chain off and soak it in the kerosene.

Even kerosene can be bad for the chain if it's soaked for more than 10 minutes.

[KeLL]

Well I cleaned the chain while it was on with alot of paper towel and wd40.. so what is done is done.. i didnt soak it ..

The bike runs so much smoother since the oil change...ahhh

Before I took the chain off I thought i had to adjust to make it tighter but now since I put it back on the sprockets, it doesn't seem so slack, maybe I will wait a couple of days and see if it gets slacker.

Kerry, I really wanted one of those rear bag racks you mentioned on your website (was it fivestar??) but it doesn't seem to be offered on the website anymore.

Kellie, Canada