skateboard wheel tensioner

[kevinhog]

Well here she is folks, oretty much done except for paint and final details. Rode her around the block a few times and she seems to work pretty well. The carbs seem to be jetted pretty close and the pipes sound bad ass.
The problem; One thing I didn't check while I was building this thing was chain clearance on the bottom of the swingarm. You can see in the pic what I'm talking about. It's so low that under deceleration the chain slaps the bottom of the swing arm. If I tighten it with no slack it would just rub there.
The options as I see it are
1. raise the bike, which would be a BIG hassle requiring many hours of redoing things
2. Let it rub until it clearances itself. This wouild be the lazy way out and if it wasn't for the noise I might actually try it but......no
3. Some kind of tensioner. I have seen quite a few, what looks like, skateboard wheel tensioners of late. I can slide it in on a sturdy bracket maybe with a swinging pivot type mount for adjustability. That way I could get the chain from slapping the swing arm. Has anyone here had any experience with these little wheels??? How long will they last etc??? I can buy a cheap skateboard for 20 bucks and get 4 wheels. Could always carry an extra one with me.
Any data anyone has about this would be appreciated. I still haven't got paperwork on this thing yet, it's sposed to be coming. So I can't really ride it much more than around the neighborhood and annoy the neighbors. Man it pops and spits fire. Those long pipes hold a lot of unburned fuel in em. maybe I should rig up a flame thrower, hmmmmmmmm?

[LB]

Haven't seen the skateboard thing, but I have seen folks take the teflon coated part of a car timing chain bracket and fab it to do the job, its made for high speed chain rubbing so it seems to work pretty good.

[Dinero No Mas]

I like the idea but a $20 skateboard won't have the quality of a $90 skateboard. I'd go visit one of the X-sports stores and see if I could find a better wheel (or two) without having to buy a skateboard. Might do better.

Definitly check these guys out. Affordable, great product and they are cool to deal with.


http://www.topshelftensioners.com



kgdb

get a tensioner for bikes.. a skateboard tensioner QWILL NOT hold up long.. the motocycle tensioners are bad enough for durability, its good to keep a spare handy..

[mordak]

Wicked sweet man. I'm lovin' it so far. Who needs paint.

[kevinhog]

Originally Posted by kgdb

Definitly check these guys out. Affordable, great product and they are cool to deal with.


http://www.topshelftensioners.com



kgdb

At least now I know I'm on the right track. Bought a 20 bucks skateboard last night. Almost bought skates for 8 wheels but it seems such a waste. Anyhow, if my cheap wheels don't hold up I can always buy wheels from this website and my fab work will be all done. I'll keep ya posted. Oh and about the paint, I'd just leave it as is but I need the practice and I want to shoot some flake. So this will be a good bike to practice on. trying to decide if I want to fab up some side covers just to have more to paint. Should probably cut down or get rid of the front fender. I'd like to put a 21" on it. Can I lace a dirt bike wheel to this hub?? That's something I don't know about. Are there a standard amount of spokes?

a dirtbike front well will be pretty skinny. Id look for a 21 hd wheel.


kgdb

you can get a new wheel.. h.d. style.. laced, trued , with bearings.. ready to roll for about 100.00 right now, thru jireh cycles.. these are wide glide wheels.. narrow glide wheels are much higher priced..i usually keep alot of take off stuff i could help out with, but my wheel stock is low right now..like none low..

[kevinhog]

Originally Posted by chopit

you can get a new wheel.. h.d. style.. laced, trued , with bearings.. ready to roll for about 100.00 right now, thru jireh cycles.. these are wide glide wheels.. narrow glide wheels are much higher priced..i usually keep alot of take off stuff i could help out with, but my wheel stock is low right now..like none low..

I want to kkep the stock brake if I can. Just makes life a little easier. I see those aluminum 21" dirt bike wheels on ebay pretty cheap, I just don't know if I can lace them to my hub. Then again the HD wheel and rotor might line up pretty easy, that's a difinite option. I have a wide glide 21" on the bike I built for my Son. I'll have to get him over here so I can do some measuring.