helrich Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Am a little puzzled by the tensioner on my 2004 290. I read that the block is supposed to be 3cm away from the swingarm, but tightening the bolt seems to have no effect on its adjustment. Below is a photo of the various pieces: tensioner bits From looking at the spare parts catalog, it does not appear that I am missing anything, but with the bolt tight, the whole thing swings freely without friction. Could the spacer be too wide? Or am I being brain-dead somewhere? Many thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan bechard Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Not sure where to go with this, but will try at face value. Yes, you have everything. Now comes the fun part of getting it together, NO, there is no "EASY" way. It is supposed to swing freely up and down, well, actually the spring should hold it up against the swingarm with no chain in place. After you install it with the spring holding it in place against the swingarm, then put the chain through it, as you tighten and loosen the chain, the chain will want to go in a straight line, which will pull the chain tensioner down away from the rear swingarm. I use the rule of thumb,,, that with a properly tensioned chain, you should just be able to insert your thumb between the top of the tensioner rubbing block and the swingarm. The chain tension is adjusted by the two snails at mounted on the rear axle. In Gainsville, I cannot remember the guys name, I want to say Hamm,, but not positive, but he runs / owns a Lawncare equipment shop over on the east side of town. I think it is Tony Hamm,,,,, man, I may be way off here, anyway, see if you can reach him and run by with your bike. If you are being straight up, after you see how this work you will have a Homer Simpson moment... And yes, it is a pain to get that tensioner back on........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helrich Posted January 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 you will have a Homer Simpson moment... DOH!!! The EMT's showed up just in time to use the Jaws Of Life to pull my head out of my... let's just say it wasn't pretty. Once I realized the previous owner, (I am #3), had the chain extremely floppy loose it all made sense. Getting the tensioner/spring back on was a pain at first until I found the right spots to pull on, and then it was ridiculously easy. I also have a burly exhaust spring tool which helped a lot- much easier than pliers. Many thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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