03'
 

just found the forum today. purchased the 03' shawk 5 days ago. no owners manual :cry: but i have one on order. that may take a week. i am concerned about chain slack. does anyone have there owners manual handy or remember off hand. i also thought there would be a repair manual readily available(clymer,haynes etc.). no luck. maybe there isnt one available yet? i found dealer manuals but they want about twice as much for those.
thanks

thanks

Personally I like a little extra slack in my chain. I have my rear ride height jacked up, which is part of it. If your chain is in good shape you can run 1"-1.5" without any problems.

the service manual recommends 1.2-1.6.

Ha! And all this time I thought mine said .75"! Oh well...

1 3/8" works for me. I think that is what's on the sticker on the swingarm.

Your sticker is still there? LOL!

i found this article interesting
http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcnuts/chain.html

and this is a little quote from the article

The best way to check chain tension, the one used by many race teams, is too ask two of your biggest friends to sit on the bike and compress the rear suspension to the point where the wheel spindle, swing-arm bearing bolt and the front chain-sprocket centerline are all in line. That is the point of maximum chain tension. Or you can compress the bike's rear end with a ratcheting tie down. Free up and down movement at the middle of the chain's bottom run should be about half an inch (13 mm) with the suspension compressed.

hmmm

may your chain never be broken