In Over My Head

Ok so I am changing my sprockets and chain. I got a endless chain so I have to remove my swingarm and I cant get it. I have worked on cars and trucks most of my life and have rode bikes most of my life but I've never worked on them. I always took my bikes to the shop. I have read through the haynes manual on how to do this but I cant figure it out.. I feel really dumb right now.

 

The swing are has two threaded pins on each side with a locknut. You will have to remove them to get the swingarm out. Or trade the chain for one with a master link.

 

I took the nut off of the left side and the other side is flat. I cant find anything else that would hold it in

 

(assuming you have a Seca II... You might wanna put your bike info in your signature -- my account/my profile information)

by the looks of it, you have a bolt that goes all the way through which you will probably have to drive out.

[diagram]

you can also purchase a master link for your chain, which would make the job a lot easier...

 

yea i have a seca 2. I disconnected the shock from the swing arm but still cant get the swing arm bolt out.. i have a punch and a hammer that im going to try to use when my father in law gets here.. I took the swing arm nut off but is that the only bolt thats holding it in? im afraid to drive the bolt out right now bc i dont know if i have everything off that needs to be off.

 

Exchange your chain for one with a master link. Dennis Kirk should have them in stock. That way, you won't have to pull the swingarm every time you need to pull the chain. Just my .02

 

ok so I got the chain and sprockets all changed and chain is tight and wheel is strait. So I go to see my gma who lives 45 mins away and im about 5 mins from my house and I lose all power. Had my father in law come and give me a jump.. My battery was dead. Got it on the charger now. Anyone know where I can get a cheap decent batter? Im not made of money right now with buying the bike and then the chain and sprockets..

 

Make sure the charging circuit is working. A quick test is to turn the lights on when the bike is idling, then rev the engine to about 2000 rpm. the lights should get brighter.

I had a battery problem on my pre - divvy (Seca2) and the cells were pretty dry. They did come back to life, though.

I beleive there are several cheap options in the US although I read a post which said "Avoid the walmart junker..."

Failing that, try the internet.

 

the problem is that if you go to the stealership, you will pay... and I mean PAY for that battery.
if you want something to get you through the riding season, go the el-cheapo wal-mart route.


moreover, if you lost ALL power, it's not gonna be your battery more than likely unless the battery shorted out.
get the battery tested before you stick money in something you may not need.
second, check the fusebox. if you have the stock box, they tend to fail after 25 or 30 years of riding. there are some great threads here on how to convert them to a new box or inline fuse links.

 

well what happened is I was going about 55 and it started lugging and I lost power and when i pulled over it died.. my father in law came and gave me a jump and it started and I got it home and put it on the charger for a few and I just got back from about a hour and a half ride and its fine.. so i dont know whats up

 

Check your regulator/rectifier. I had a similar problem, connection was loose which caused it to spark and literally burned the plastic connector. It's right under the left fairing. If not that it sounds like your stator isn't charging and you can take a look at that to see if it's visibly damaged. Its also on the left under a circular side cover up and to the right of the crank cover. BTW I have the same bike as you

 

well my bike is running fine now.. I hadnt had it started for a few days and didnt start it.. I dont think the battery is very good. I put it on charge earlier for about an hour and now its good to go.. took my wife and niece for a lil ride earlier after the bike had been sitting for about 4 hours.. Im going to try and find a battery online so i dont have to get one from the dealership bc i know they are going to be expensive

 

I know you are past this point. But I just thought I would point out that most people don't remove their swingarms to work on endless chains. They use a chain tool. You can get them fairly cheaply, around $50, and I saw a really cheap one at Harbor Freight the other day for about $10.

As far as the battery is concerned. If you do need a new one, just go to Autozone or the local mom and pop motorcycle shop. If you find a battery on-line you are still going to have to go local for battery acid. By the time you figure in shopping around, and driving around to get the acid, you aren't really saving that much. As long as you keep it topped off, and put it on a battery tender when you aren't riding the bike, just about any battery should last you a while.

Which makes me think of something else. Check BatteriesPlus for your replacement battery. Pick up a Deltran BatteryTender while you are there. The oldest battery I have is eight years old, and I attribute that to always being put on the battery tender when not in use. During the riding season, it isn't really necessary as long as you ride the bike at least once a week or so. But during the winter or extended periods of non-riding, make sure you throw the battery tender on it.

 

Well the chain I bought had been recently rivited by the previous owner. And I am doing to call Autozone and Oriellys tomorrow and see what they got.. I still need to get a battery tender.. Any good ones out there?

 

The chain tool allows you to rivet and unrivet, sometimes with the help of a grinding tool. A Dremel tool works fine.

I have only used Deltran BatteryTenders. If I am not mistaken, they are the original battery tender manufacturer, and I have never had a problem with mine. Don't confuse a true battery tender with a trickle charger. A trickle charge can burn your battery up. A battery tender has a computer chip that cycles the charger on and off as needed.

That is why I recommended BatteriesPlus. I know they carry Deltran.