Chain replacement only?

[maintman75]

I have an 04 and my sprockets r in really good shape but my chain is stretched out really badly i dont see any adjustment because of the single sided swing arm.....should i change the chain and sprockets or can i just get a new chain, will it make any difference???? Thanx Mark

[RVFR]

change em anyway..

[bitterpil]

You have a spanner wrench under your eat it fits an adjustment wheel on the sprocket side of the wheel... you have to loosen the pinch bolt then you can adjust it.
Search here for chain adjustment and or youtube for a VFR.

[powderrecon]

If your replacing the chain, always replace sprockets also.

[FJ12rydertoo]

If the chain is stretched out really badly it has probably damaged the sprockets enough to cause a new chain to wear out pretty rapidly. How many miles are we talking about? And has it been lubed religiously?

[Rat]

If the chain is stretched out really badly it has probably damaged the sprockets enough to cause a new chain to wear out pretty rapidly. How many miles are we talking about? And has it been lubed religiously?

Well said.

Replace all as a set.
Worn sprockets will cause exaggerated wear of the new chain.
If the chain is toast, expect that the sprockets are as well, even if they look OK to the eye.

The chain is the expensive part.
Sprockets are comparatively cheap - not worth destroying the chain.

The SS swingarm has an adjusting "cog" in the narrow space between the right edge of the swingarm and the left side of the wheel.
Look for the 17mm bolt at the back of the swingarm - the adjuster is just to the right of the bolt, sandwiched in a narrow gap.
It can be hard to see if dirty.
Your MOM has diagrams (downloadable from the interweb as a PDF if you don't have an OM), and as previously stated, your tool pouch has the correct spanner wrench (looks like a big crescent with a little tab/hook on the tip).
Loosen the big bolt, then rotate the adjuster clockwise with the spanner to remove slack - you can also tap lightly with a flat screwdriver if you don't have the spanner.

I adjust my chain with the bike up on the centerstand, with just enough tension so that I cannot make the bottom run of the chain contact the bottom of the swingarm - about 1 1/2" on the bottom run, midway between the sprockets.
Needn't be exact, but a little on the loose side is better than too tight.
A bit of extra slack allows full suspension movement; too tight will prematurely wear out the chain and sprockets.

As previously mentioned - lube the chain regularly, and wipe it down from excess sludge and after a rain ride.

[Rat]

Correction:

The chain adjuster cog is to the LEFT side of the swingarm, sandwiched behind the sprocket carrier.
You can barely see it if it's dirty.


*My memory seemed "not quite right", so I went and looked at my bike.

[reg71]

I have an 04 and my sprockets r in really good shape but my chain is stretched out really badly i dont see any adjustment because of the single sided swing arm.....should i change the chain and sprockets or can i just get a new chain, will it make any difference???? Thanx Mark

most people say to do them both, but mine were in really good shape last time so I just changed the chain. So far so good. I haven't noticed a lick of difference but it hasn't been too many miles yet... I just didn't want to fork over the extra dough at that time...

[Y2Kviffer]

most people say to do them both, but mine were in really good shape last time so I just changed the chain. So far so good. I haven't noticed a lick of difference but it hasn't been too many miles yet... I just didn't want to fork over the extra dough at that time...

+1 my sprockets looked great so I did a chain only.

[SLOVFR]

chain only for me past 2 time. Stock sprockets 26k miles

[Joey_Dude]

+1 on only replacing chain. I did this with my current chain. The sprocket teeth aren't pointy and sharp so they looked good to me.