Plastic Chain Guard Necessary?

[nikitino]

I will be putting a new chain back on my country 500 soon using the gaitors. I'll let u know if the setup looks similiar to yours. Also, per the manual for chain adjustment: With both wheels on the ground and rider seated on bike, check midway of the upper chain guard which should have a 10-15mm (.4 to .6 in) distance to the swing fork (swing arm) tube when pressed down.

[95SaxonTour]

That looks good. those gaps in the gaiter are okay. Mine has the
same and works fine. Every once and a while I pull the accordion
back at the sprocket cover and shoot some chain lube in there. Grease
works pretty well too. my bottom gaiter moves a little too. No worries
tho. I guess they wouldn't have put the accordion bends in it if it werent
suppose to move a little, lol!

From the picture, it looks as though you have it lined up okay you just
dont want the top gaiter to droop and have the top of the chain chew
a nice hole in your gaiters like I did.. doh!

Ryan

[comanche91]

Thanks guys. I adjusted the chain as per the manual; about 1/2" from the swingarm when I push down the upper gaiter. The sound of the chain running through the gaiter is hard to get used to since I've never heard it before. Kind of like a turbo spooling up and down.

[nikitino]

Hey where did you get the original O-ring chain.......i might be needing one myself and not sure what to get.....

[comanche91]

I got it on the Miami parts run. It's a Renolds 520 102-link o-ring chain. The one I took off my bike was the same, so I ASSume I still had the original chain on mine. -Don

[nikitino]

I just got my new chain on with the gaiters and the rear sprocket cover ended up being kind of angled upwards a little like yours in the picture. I also have the gap where upper tube connects to front cover.......has this set up been working ok for you.....i guess i'll take a ride and check for any heat being generated in the tubes......

[comanche91]

I just got my new chain on with the gaiters and the rear sprocket cover ended up being kind of angled upwards a little like yours in the picture. I also have the gap where upper tube connects to front cover.......has this set up been working ok for you.....i guess i'll take a ride and check for any heat being generated in the tubes......

Yep, working just fine. I've put about 300 miles on it since, and just today peeled back the upper gaiter to check the chain grease - all is well. For the first 50 miles or so, the chain running thru the new gaiters howled like a turbine (my bike never had gaiters since I got it); now there's no appreciable noise. Assume the gaiters had to get "bored out" first. No heat was ever generated as I checked frequently. Chain tension is still okay too. Recommend using a quality lithium based grease liberally, not an aerosol. Guru Fred Rodgers in the UK advised me frankly to do this.

[nikitino]

Thanks......I used grease on my chain also and applied liberally.......will be taking a test ride this weekend.