Chain length for 1100F swingarm conversion to 80 CBX

[NobleHops]

Nils:
I counted the chain pins on the '80 I have here. I get 104. It has the 1100F swingarm and stock '80 gearing (18/42). With a new chain this put the adjusters near the middle of the range. Maybe Don can count his to be sure, but I counted twice and thats what I get.

Dave

Thanks a bunch Dave. I was going to order it to length but now I've got a 120-link chain inbound, and a borrowed chain tool. I'll put the axle in the center of the adjustment and that should make it a no-brainer. I'll confirm what I use.

BTW Service Honda accepted my order for a new chrome OEM chain case for ~$100, so it appears that the stock CR1100F chain case is is indeed still available form Honda. Bonus! I think I will like a little chrome back there.

N.

OK, here's a somewhat rueful post-mortem on this discussion. Let me just say up front that in yet another instance, if I had just taken Dave McMunn's advice and not insisted on figuring it out the hard way my life would have been better.

When my chain arrived, I set the axle in the center of the adjustment range of the 1100F swingarm and sized the chain to fit. 106 links, and not the 104 that Dave suggested. This sounds rational, right, center of the adjustment range? No, if anything, I should have run the axle nearly as far forward as possible and then sized the chain. Chain's gonna stretch a little over its life right? and besides, it would be closer to the as-designed wheelbase. Here's what happens when you put it in the middle of its adjustment range on the 1100F swingarm, with stock wheels and tires:



(sorry for the dingy camera phone pic)

If you do this mod and keep the stock wheels, 104 is probably the perfect number of links on your 530 chain. Position the axle closer to the front of the adjustment range, so the wheel's travel through the suspension arc does not let it contact your newly restored fender, trashing it.

I'm gonna pull out the jigsaw and see if I can bob this fender cleanly, as I have nothing to lose at this point. I'll post the results for your entertainment at worst. I may also take Dave's advice, belatedly, and shorten that chain to 104 links as soon as I can get a new master link.

N.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

Nils, what rear shocks are you using?
That is a lot of wheel travel even with the chain at its longest.

[daves79x]

Nils:
That, too, was my question. I put a Pro-Link swingarm on an '80, which is longer even than the 1100F (108 link chain) with 1100F shocks and I never contacted the fender. If you look at the pictures closely of the bike, the tire is back pretty close to the fender, but never touched it while riding.

Dave

[NobleHops]

Nils, what rear shocks are you using?
That is a lot of wheel travel even with the chain at its longest.

Progressive Shocks, sourced from Tim's, but with heavier springs, I measured the length at about 14 3/8 inches (bolt center to bolt center), identical to the crappy set I took off and the cheap eBay set I bought. The shocks look to be standard fare.

Nils:
That, too, was my question. I put a Pro-Link swingarm on an '80, which is longer even than the 1100F (108 link chain) with 1100F shocks and I never contacted the fender. If you look at the pictures closely of the bike, the tire is back pretty close to the fender, but never touched it while riding.
Dave

Well that is a mystery to me Dave, I can't see how that could be the case at 108 links. Using very rough numbers, a link is close to an inch in length, and stock chain length is 102 links, right? So my 106 link chain is pretty close to 2 inches longer in wheelbase than stock, a lot in my book. It's at least a half-inch too long, judging by the damage where it ground through the fender.

I bobbed my fender pretty cleanly, and I will shorten the chain to 104 links as soon as I get my hands on a new master link.

Here's a photo of the bobbed fender - I removed it from the bike, traced the contour on a kraft paper template, cut it, then traced it onto masking tape an inch and a half up on the fender. I then cut it with my jigsaw and touched it up with sandpaper. It came out pretty well, and I might even prefer it to stock

_MG_3309.JPG

Done!

_MG_3310.JPG

N.

[daves79x]

Nils:
Great looking fix! That's the nice thing about plastic. You can use your chain the way it is, looks like. Hope to see the whole bike in person some day.

Dave