Kawasaki Ninja Owners Manual: Chain Slack Inspection

Kawasaki Ninja Owners Manual / Maintenance and adjustment / Drive Chain / Chain Slack Inspection

Set the motorcycle up on its side stand.
Rotate the rear wheel to find the position where the chain is tightest, and measure the maximum chain slack by pulling up and pushing down the chain midway between the engine sprocket and rear wheel sprocket.

A. Chain Slack

If the drive chain is too tight or too loose, adjust it so that the chain slack will be within the standard value.

Drive Chain Slack

Drive Chain

The drive chain slack and lubrication must be checked each day before riding the motorcycle and must be maintained in accordance with the Periodic Maintenance Chart for safety and to prevent exce ...

Chain Slack Adjustment

Remove the cotter pin, and loosen the axle nut. Loosen the left and right chain adjuster locknuts. A. Axle Nut B. Cotter Pin C. Adjuster D. Locknut If the chain is too loose, tu ...

Other materials:

Special Tools and Sealant
Compression Gauge, 20 kgf/cm²: 57001-221 Valve Spring Compressor Assembly: 57001-241 Valve Spring Compressor Adapter, 25: 57001-1019 Valve Seat Cutter, 45° - 27.5: 57001-1114 Valve Seat Cutter, 45° - 32: 57001-1115 Valve Seat Cutter, 32° - 28: 57001-1119 Valve Seat Cutter ...

Spring Preload Adjustment
Remove the rear shock absorber from the frame (see Rear Shock Absorber Removal). Loosen the locknut and turn out the adjusting nut to free the spring. Special Tools - Hook Wrench T=3.2 R37: 57001-1539 Hook Wrench R=35: 57001-1580 To adjust the spring preload, turn in the adjusting n ...

Balancer Adjustment
Remove the left lower fairing (see Lower Fairing Removal in the Frame chapter). Start the engine and warm it up thoroughly. Adjust the balancer gear backlash with the engine idling. The amount of backlash can be changed by turning the balancer shaft which has eccentric journals. St ...