Help! Chain not adjusting

[esullivan]

I went to adjust my chain on my Honda NC700. This is the third time I've adjusted it and the first two times went OK, but today I did a turn too many and the chain is tight as a drum, so I tried to loosen it and it won't loosen. The adjusting nuts are completely loose (not even touching the end of the swing arm, but the chain is still very tight. Has anyone heard of this before? What do I do? The wheel doesn't seem to be moving in the swingarm, back or forth.

Edit: Got it. Sorry for the panic. Had to give the wheel a good solid kick or two to move it forward.
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Current: '14 VFR800X Test passed 31/10/12.
Previous: '12 NC700S, '11 CBF 125, '04 SH 125.

[cb1rocket]

Next time loosen the nut on the spindle more!
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Honda H100S2 Rebuild - https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=253852

[esullivan]

[cb1rocket]

Ok, shouldn't need a good kicking. next time the wheel is off make sure the adjuster and spindle are well lubed
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Honda H100S2 Rebuild - https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=253852

[Robby]

If everything is jamming up a bit, it won't hurt to strip the adjusters down, clean them up, and give it all a smear of coper grease. Swingarm adjusters typically suffer from a combination of corrosion, road crap, and initial dry assembly to make adjustment tricky.

[Nobby the Bastard]

Commonly, it's actually the bar that holds the rear brake in position (both drum and disk) that is done up too tight to allow the wheel to move forward if you over-adjust.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[esullivan]

Thanks all. I'm a very unconfident mechanic, so prone to these panics.

I brought the bike over to the dealer for a quick look after I finally seemed to get the tension right (the 1.5 mile ride seemed fine). He said having to kick the wheel to move it forward isn't unusual and that the tension on my chain was still a tad loose (it was about 1.5 inches, when 1 inch is the spec). I took the wife around for lunch in the countryside to test with a pillion, and that seemed fine too.

I was still worried about it (I'm a fretter) and gave it another go, did the same over-tightening mistake again and still had to give a kick. I think you are right, the mechanism is getting a bit gummed up. The next time, I'll loosen the nuts all the way so the end plates come out and grease it up inside, then tighten it up again.

With all the kicking and in/out, I completely lost track of the number of turns on each side and just had to eyeball it with the hash marks. While test riding, I let go of the handlebars and the bike didn't steer to one side or another. I have no idea if that's a good test, though...
____________________
Current: '14 VFR800X Test passed 31/10/12.
Previous: '12 NC700S, '11 CBF 125, '04 SH 125.

[Nobby the Bastard]

A good wy of telling whether the rear wheel is aligned correctly is to get some long (straight) batons of wood.

Put the bike on the centre stand (or as upright as you can get it) and put the batons either side of the rear wheel tight to the tye with the other end by the front wheel.

If the alignment is right, the bits of baton will be equidistant from the front wheel.

I've never bothered with this myself, I tend to look down the chain run and make sure it looks like the chain is in a straight line from the front prokct, down the length to the rear sprocket.
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[esullivan]

Thanks. I eyeballed it from the rear and it seems straight. I asked on an NC700 forum and the adjusters only pull, they don't push, so shoving in the rear wheel is SOP, apparently. It doesn't mention this in the manual, but it makes sense when you look at the mechanism. Well, learned another thing about (my) bike maintenance this weekend, so not all lost.
____________________
Current: '14 VFR800X Test passed 31/10/12.
Previous: '12 NC700S, '11 CBF 125, '04 SH 125.

[YBR Ric]

Assuming the adjusters have sufficient slack and the spindle is loose...
If you ever need another method of moving the rear wheel forward instead of kicking it, just shove an old rolled up flannel or rag between
the lower chain rung and the sprocket and rotate the wheel forwards until all the slack has been taken up and it's ready for another bit of fine adjustment.