TT250 Chain Adjustment and Wheel Alignment

This maintenance tutorial addresses adjusting the TT250 motorcycle’s chain and aligning the rear wheel.  You will need 13mm, 18mm, and 19mm wrenches, and a screwdriver for this maintenance activity.

You don’t have to get the rear wheel off the ground to adjust the TT250’s chain.   We had the rear wheel elevated in this tutorial to make the photography easier.  We do chain adjustments all the time with the motorcycles on their sidestands.

When the chain is properly adjusted, it should have about 15mm (or 3/5 of an inch) slack at its midpoint.

You can check this adjustment easily, and you should perform this check on a regular basis.   On long rides, we check and lube our chains every day when we are out on the road.  After you’ve done this a few times, you can adjust your chain in about 3 minutes.  A lubricated chain will require adjustment every 500 to 1000 miles once the motorcycle is broken in.

Adjusting the chain involves loosening (but not removing) the rear axle, loosening the adjustor nuts and lockuts, using a screwdriver between the chain and the rear sprocket to remove all kinks, aligning the rear wheel, tightening the rear axle, and tightening the adjustor nuts and locknuts.

The rear axle is loosed by loosening the rear axle bolt and nut.  The rear axle bolt head on the right side of the motorcycle takes an 18mm wrench; the rear axle nut on the left side of the motorcycle takes a 19mm wrench.  If your chain requires adjustment, loosen the rear axle.

Here’s the left side of the rear axle.

The rear axle adjustor nuts and locknuts are located behind the adjustor plate on both sides of the swingarm.  These are 13mm nuts.   Loosen both nuts on both sides of the swingarm.

The intent is to position and align the rear wheel such that the chain has 3/5 of an inch slack at its midpoint.   This is the amount of slack the chain should have with the motorcycle on the ground and the rider on the bike.   If the bike is on a lift such that the rear wheel is off the ground, you should increase the amount of slack when you adjust the chain such that when you are on the bike, the slack is 3/5 of an inch.

If the rear wheel must move forward to increase chain slack, back off on the adjustor nuts and locknuts and manually push the rear wheel forward.  If the rear wheel must move rearward to decrease chain slack, tighten the inner nuts as required on both sides of the swingarm to move the axle to the rear.

After moving the rear wheel, put a screwdriver between the chain and the rear wheel sprocket (as shown below) and sharply rotate the rear wheel.  This will remove any kinks in the chain.

Check the alignment of the rear wheel by comparing the scribe marks on the rear axle adjustors with the scribe marks on the swingarm.  You can see these in the photos below.

When we adjust the chain, we don’t fully unbolt the rear axle.  We just loosen it and use the adjustor nuts to drag the wheel to its required location.

When the rear wheel is aligned and the chain slack is correct, tighten the rear axle to 35 ft-lb.   Tighten the rear axle adjustors’ 13mm positioning nuts, and then tighten the rear axle adjustors’ locknuts (the outer 13mm nuts) to lock the adjustors in place.

We always lube the chain every time we adjust it.  You can use either a wax-based or an oil-based chain lube; we stock both types.  You can call us at 909 445 0900 if you need chain lube.

That’s it.   You are ready to ride!