toddy00 Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 Hello everyone, I'm new to this form today, It looks like a terrific resource and many of the experienced and knowledgeable bikers that frequent this forum seem to be incredibly friendly, tolerant and willing to help everyone who comes by into their forums. It would be my ambition to contribute to this site actively myself in the future as it seems like a great community. In this sense I feel bad that my first contribution is actually a request for help, but I could sure use some right now. So I hope a few of you will be kind enough to read on and share some of your wisdom with me. The bike in questions is my Dragstar XVS (2000 model.) I will try to be concise with the facts: Before taking my bike out on a long run during the weekend I noticed that the slack on the chain was beyond the recommended limits. I set about adjusting the slack by following the user guide (I've done this once before by following the manual without any problems.) I'm not sure if it is an identical mechanic for every yamaha bike but for the XVS there are 'drive chain puller locknuts' on each end of the swingarm that are turned clockwise to tighten the chain. I loosened the brake pedal free play adjusting nut, the axle nut, and the drive chain puller locknuts at each end of the swingarm as per the instructions. The next step is to turn the 'Drive chain adjusting nut' on each side clockwise in order to tighten the slack in the chain. I turned each adjusting nut the by the same amount on each side of the swingarm in order to keep the rear wheel aligned, however it looked as though the adjustment was as far back as it was going to get (this would suggest that the chain is stretched out too far and needs replacing) however I foolishly gave a few more turns of the drive chain adjusting nut on the left side of the bike to see if I could get any extra tension out of the chain, it was then I heard a popping sound and knew I had stupidly wrecked something. I have uploaded 4 photos showing the damage I have done to do drive chain adjuster screw on one side of the bike, you can view the photos on imgur here: http://imgur.com/z5HxtbL&vjVoCQH&McSCpoo&Vm5GQdl#0 Please let me know if this is acceptable or if there is a way for me to insert them directly into my post which would be preferable. Image 1 shows the part of the remainder of the adjusting screw that I broke off (circled in green) you can see how remainder of the adjusting screw is held in place by the axel nut allowing the remainder to swing up and down a little (green arrows) Image 2 shows the piece of the adjusting screw that broke off (with drive chain puller locknut and adjusting nut still attached) Image 3 shows how the two pieces should be connected. Image 4 shows the other side of the swingarm that has everything 'as it should be' as I didn't break anything on that side. Due to the adjustment screw being broken there is nothing stopping the rear wheel from becoming misaligned and causing some serious trouble. There is a mechanic I know who could come collect the bike and fix my problems, but to be honest this whole thing (repairing the adjusting screw and fitting a new chain) is something I would really like to learn to do for myself as I hope to be replacing many a bike chain in my life time. I have tried searching for solutions about how to specifically make this repair to the bike but I haven't found anything in the owners manual or anything on the forum about this particular problem, would anyone be kind enough to shed some light on how I go about fixing this issue? Once I get this issue resolved I found a really good guide on how to replace the chain so I am hopeful that part won't be too troublesome, I have a few questions about it but would rather focus on resolving this one issue first. Any insight anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated, and thanks a ton for reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator DirtyDT Posted June 10, 2013 Moderator Share Posted June 10, 2013 Just buy a new chain puller for it. Rear wheel off clear out the old, broken puller Pop the new puller into the swingarm Rear wheel on Adjust the new chain Job done. The rear axle is pushed through a hole in the puller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddy00 Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 Thanks a ton for your reply! I've been looking for a replacement chain puller for my specific motorbike but they seem to be a difficult item find (can't find one on wemoto, ebay etc) Do you think this is something I would have better luck obtaining by ringing around some local dealers and garages to see if they have the part I need? Or is it possible to fit the bike with a different set of compatible chain pullers without causing any trouble? Thanks for all your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator DirtyDT Posted June 10, 2013 Moderator Share Posted June 10, 2013 Something like this? LINKY You will need to do your own checking as to if these will fit as per the full year and model etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neversaydie Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Theres a good chance thats repairable. I reckon the broken piece of stud is screwed into the ali adjusting block. Put the block in the vice, soak the broken stud where it screws in with Plus Gas (releas oil), lock the two nuts aginst each other, and try to screw the stud out. If it resists, try to heat he block up, work the nuts both ways but without shearing it. Try heat then soaking, try it over a few days, be patient. A locla enginnering workshop may be able to help, could even drill it out and put a new stud in. Or if you can get spare, that would save you the trouble. Ring up a Yam agent, get the part number, and ask them to cross reference as they may use the same part on other models Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddy00 Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 Thanks for the replies guys, DirtyDT thanks for that link, clearly I suck at ebay shopping because my search terms didn't yield those results! The product you linked me to is actually my exact year and model of bike which is pretty convenient! I went ahead and bought this chain too. I think all I need now is a chain splitter, was thinking of picking up this one as it looks compatible with the 428 heavy duty drive chain I purchased? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator DirtyDT Posted June 11, 2013 Moderator Share Posted June 11, 2013 Glad the link was what you wanted. Not a bad price and saves a load of grief. When you take the rear wheel off you should be able to either get a pair of pliers on the remaining, snapped, both and pull the rest of it out or use the axle hole to prod the rest out with a screwdriver. I can't comment on the Cain except to say that you should always change the sprockets when you change the chain. If you don't the new chain will wear quicker. The chain splitter you linked to is a low quality one. This is reflected in the price. It may work, it may not. Before you invest in one make sure you don't have a soft link in the chain. If you spin the rear wheel slowly look at all of the links. A soft link will be noticeable by having a clip on the outside of the link. If you have one of these then you can remove the chain by just taking apart the link with some simple hand tools. If you don't have a soft link then you will need to cut the d chain off or use a chain splitter. The next thing to think about is how the new chain is going to be joined. There are 2 methods1 use a soft link2 pein the link that comes with the chainI always buy a soft link or 2 and use those. If you decide to pein the link then this is just a simple knocking over of the link pins once the chain is on. You will need to put come thing solid the opposite side of the chain to make sure you don't stretch the chain sideways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddy00 Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 Thanks for the feedback DirtyDT I ended up buying a chain tool 4 times the price of the one I linked to but it looks like a much better product for breaking old chains and sorting the new ones. Also picked myself up a paddock stand for the rear wheel as the dragstar doesn't come with a centre stand unfortunately. New chain has already arrived, so have the chain pullers - they're exactly what I needed Had a look at my current chain and it does indeed have a soft link. All I need now is for the other pieces of kit to arrive and I can get cracking on getting the bike back on the road, unfortunately all the sunshine we had last week here in Northern Ireland has gone away, but hopefully it will return in time for me to get the bike out for a spin in it! Thanks a lot for all your help guys, will update this thread with a nice photo of the bike in working order! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddy00 Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share Posted June 21, 2013 Hey guys,popping in with an update. I was able to successfully replace the broken chain puller and now have the back wheel refitted. I broke the old, stretched out chain and was hoping to fit my new chain today... Only problem is the chain is too short! I have the wheel pushed as far forward as it can go but I am still about 5/6 links too short, this is quite frustrating as the chain I bought from ebay advertises this chain as suitable for the 2000 XVS Dragstar... In fact the seller says it's likely you will have to remove links to get it to fit. So my options are to either buy a brand new, longer chain (current chain I bought is 140 links so I guess I'll look for 150) The only other thing I was considering was potentially fitting 5 of the links from my old chain on to the new one that is too short? I would be wary about doing this though as I feel like it might wear down the sprockets faster? But I thought I would check with you guys if it is feasible / wise to do this? Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddy00 Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share Posted June 21, 2013 Was able to source a 146 link chain from one of the local yamaha dealers so I'm picking that up tomorrow to be on the safe side! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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