Straight is universally regarded as a fine thing

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STRAIGHT?
This is one of those rare occasions where being straight is universally regarded as a fine thing. Having both ends of the motorcycle talking to each other makes cornering more predictable and makes for less wear and tear.

If the bike is so far out of whack that you can't adjust it back, you need to decide whether it's worth getting fixed. We suggest an assessment from a frame expert, who should also be able to quote on what needs to be done to put things right.

Something worth knowing, though, is that a machine with shot wheel, steering head and swingarm bearings will be impossible to get right as each of them will alter alignment. So make sure those basics are okay before you attack the frame itself. Happy aligning...

Guy Allen

What is The Best Trick To Do Wheel Alignment?

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TRICKS
The trick is to get a ball of twine, or you can do this exercise if you can somehow find two straight edges that are longer than the bike. The latter is a big call, so we'll stick with the string method - yep, this is ye olde "stringlining", of which you may have heard your mates speak.

Usually this is easiest with the bike on the sidestand (the centrestand usually gets in the way) and propped up as close as possible to vertical. A race stand is often a good option.

Wrap the string around the front of the front wheel, as high as possible without snagging fairings and associated under-bike hardware when you run each end of the twine under the machine. The pics will give you the idea.

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From there the plan is to get the front wheel straight, and then the rear wheel adjusted so it is too. What you want to end up with is what we've shown in the main diagram - where the distances "A" (the gap between the string and the edge of the tyre) and "B" (ditto) on the trailing edge of the front wheel are equal to each other; And the distances "A" and "B" on the trailing edge of the back wheel are equal to each other. (Note: the A/B up front does not have to match A/B on the back.)

This is often best done with two people, one working on each end of the bike. It is a great help to have oil cans/bricks/jackstands to hold the loose ends of the string for you while you fiddle.

Getting it all lined up will be a bit of a fiddle, but simple enough assuming the bike is straight. The exact method isn't critical, so long as you end up with a result that looks like our diagram.

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If you cannot get them to align, it is likely the frame isn't straight, or the bike might even have been designed with the rear wheel offset from the front. (Chassis experts at Bob Martin Engineering tell us that some BMW GS models have an offset.)

BIKE SETUP - alignment with the simple device

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WHICH BIKES?
We'll talk mostly about chain/belt drive bikes with twin-sided swingarms for this exercise, as you can alter their alignment with the simple device of altering the position of the chain adjusters.

The position of shaft drive bikes tends to be fixed, although some models (for example early K-series Bimmers) will allow adjustment via hub shims.

As for single-sided swingarm bikes, they too generally have a fixed alignment, which should be okay so long as it hasn't been crashed heavily, and the swingarm and wheel bearings are in good nick.

If you have a squiz at your conventional chain-drive bike, you'll see the back wheel's position can be altered with the adjusters. Whenever you tension the chain or move the wheel for any reason, you generally just line it up against the alignment marks stamped on the swingarm. If the axle is back three-and-half notches on one side, you make sure it's back three-and-a-half on the other. Simple.

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As we mentioned, this is probably fine for a late-model machine that hasn't been decked. But if you're fussy, you can double check it.

BIKE SETUP - Wheel Alignment

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All you'll ever need to know about keeping those wheels traveling in the same direction, from the pages of Australian Motorcycle Trader.

Now the drum here is that in an ideal world, both your bike wheels will, when travelling in a straight line, be heading in the same direction. If they're not, the machine is likely to be pulling to one side - or steering in one direction easier than the other. This makes the handling a bit ordinary and will reduce tyre life.

According to the folk at Sharptune, and some others we spoke to, it's relatively rare for people to do a wheel alignment on newer bikes these days mostly because the production tolerances have improved over time and the bike is likely to be pretty straight.

This wasn't always the case. Machines built up to even the mid-eighties were often not straight out of the crate.

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How often should you adjust and lube the chain?

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HOW OFTEN?
How often should you adjust and lube the chain? That depends entirely on your riding. Hard riding, unsealed and wet roads all punish a chain.

So does a lot of horsepower and a heavy bike. A weekly check is a good place to start if you ride most days.

On longer runs, take a can of spray with you - you can get them in mini sizes - and apply it at the end of the day. Looked after, a chain and sprocket set should do 20,000km and anything up to double that.

A useful source of info is Regina's site at www.regina.it/oldregin/products/choose.htm, which is the best chain maintenance resource we've come across on the internet.

Guy Allen

Lubricate The Chain

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LUBE
The ideal environment is one that's free of dirt with a constant and minuscule supply of oil - the direct opposite of what chains experience. Most bikes run O-ring chains these days, with the links having lubrication trapped inside the link behind O-rings. That lengthens the life considerably, though they need some help. Even an O-ring appreciates some external lube to cut down the friction on the sprocket and therefore keep the running temperature down.

For most the practical option is spray lube. Generally you should apply it while the chain is warm (just after a ride) and allow ten minutes of so for the carrier liquids to evaporate.

You apply it to the inside of the chain (spray it on top of the lower run, forward of the rear sprocket) and remember a little goes a long way.

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Some bikes over the years have had a drip feed to the chain, while others have successfully used fully-enclosed chain systems. The best alternative around at the moment is an automatic oiling gizmo by Scottoiler (www.scottoiler.co.uk).

Regardless of what you're using, it pays to clean the chain occasionally. All you need to do is get a rag soaked in kerosene (not petrol, which will damage the O-rings and dilute the lubricant inside) and wipe the chain.

Do not, under any circumstances, be tempted to prop the bike on the centrestand, start the engine, put it in gear, and then let the chain run through the rag. There are gruesome cases of people watching the rag get caught in the chain, and then their hand...

DOUBLE CHECK Your Chain Setup

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DOUBLE CHECK
Once you have the tension right, nip up all the bolts again. Axle bolts and axle clamps generally require a lot of force - the amount required to undo them is often a guide.

However, adjuster screws and the like need to be treated more gently. If you're unsure, get someone with a little more experience to show you. What is critical is that you double-check that everything is back where it should be.

HOW To Adjust The Chain

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HOW?
Check your owners manual. In general, the only bolts you should have to touch are the rear axle in some cases or the bolts holding the axle clamps, plus the adjuster bolts themselves (if there are any). On bikes like the late-model VFRs with Pro-arm, you loosen a clamp and use a C-spanner to make the adjustment.

Older series Hinckley Triumphs, for example, use an eccentric in a double-sided swingarm, where you loosen two clamps at the end of the swingarm and roll the axle to the desired position with an oversized Allen key. Current Blackbirds, as another example, are more conventional, requiring you to loosen the axle and then turn a couple of adjuster screws. This system is also the most common on older machinery.

Okay, so we've checked the tension - it's too loose - and we now have the relevant axles/clamps loosened. Move the rear wheel back gradually - a millimetre or two at a time - and recheck the tension. A small amount of rear wheel movement will make a big difference.

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Hopefully you'll be able to leave everything loose, sit on the bike (or get a friend to do it) and check the tension. Some bikes running eccentrics may not allow this - you might have to nip up the clamps quickly while you double-check.

If you don't like the idea of doing it on the wheels, you can take an educated guess (usually leaving a little extra slack) and do it on the centrestand. But you need to check it isn't too tight - on the wheels - once you're done.

You are also aiming to move both sides evenly. The swingarm will have markings near the axle to act as a guide and the general idea is to keep them even. If it's back, say, four notches plus a mil on one side, make sure it is on the other. (This obviously doesn't apply to single-side swingarms.)

The only catch is that markings often aren't accurate and you may end up with a slightly misaligned wheel. Wheel alignment is explained in another article in this section.

MOTORBIKE RIDING TIPS - Chain Adjustment

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Ever wondered how it should be done? Here's Australian Motorcycle Trader's guide to getting it right.

It's a grubby job and it has to be done - adjusting and lubricating the chain that is. The good news is that it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes once you have a handle on exactly what to do.

How you go about it will depend on the type of bike you own. Some use snail cam adjusters at the rear (so named because of their shape), others eccentrics (because of how they run in the swingarm), then there's the plain old screw adjuster in the end of the swingarm and finally you'll come across some single-sided variations on bikes such as VFR Hondas, T955 Triumphs and Ducati 916s.

In any case, the general principle remains the same: you want to take the excess slack out of the chain, without overdoing it, and make sure the back wheel remains more or less straight in the process. You also want to keep the chain lightly oiled, again without drowning it.

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MAX EXTENSION
You should check the chain tension with the bike on its wheels and preferably with someone sitting on it. You want the chain at maximum extension - or with the front sprocket, swingarm and rear sprocket all in line with each other.

It probably won't be lined up perfectly, but plonking yourself in the saddle and using your own weight (or that of a friend) is a good start. Wiggle the lower run of the chain as close as possible to the middle. You should have about 15-20mm of slack up and down.

Less and it's probably too tight; more and it's too loose.

WHY BOTHER?
Good question. A tight chain will place a lot of unnecessary strain on itself, the sprockets and even gearbox bearings. Keep running chains too tight and you can do a lot of expensive damage.

Have it too loose and you risk the chain thrashing around and causing increased sprocket wear or, in a worst case, throwing itself off the sprockets altogether and causing a crash.

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A well adjusted and lubricated chain transmits the power smoothly (you can actually see the difference on a dyno), lengthens the service life, smooths out your gear changes and makes the bike feel better to ride.