Maybe it's just me, but I love the snail type chain adjusters and absolutely hate the KX style chain adjusters. Why would anyone put these on a trail/dual sport bike? You now need 2 or 3 different wrenches as opposed to one and without some sort of wheel alignment tool, there is really no way to make sure your wheel is straight other than eyeballing it against the marks on the swingarm. I just don't understand, please enlighten me. Some of the greatest trail/dual sport bikes had the snail adjusters like the XR250, XR400, XR650L, DR350, DR650, KDX200, 2007 KLX250s. Why, why, why??? I can adjust a chain in about 30 seconds w/ the snail connectors vs. about 10 frustrating minutes w/ the KX style... Wait, they just changed the swingarm for 2009, could it be that they are now just using one of the KX swingarms and didn't want to re-engineer it to add snail adjusters? I bet that's it...booooooooo

 

I know stupid isn't it!

 

Yea I saw that in the shop the other day and I was like WHAT!!! Those things are notorious for stripping and getting rounded off. The snail adjusters are way better.

 

Oh and CFR welcome to the forums, in case we didn't say so.

 

not knowing what the snail adjusters are/look like, is there a way to swap them over to the new swingarms or no? also, how much of a PITA is it the actually adjust the chains on these things with the KX adjusters?

 

hee hee, just wait a few years until the threads get nice and seized in the swing arms... And those bolt heads get nice and beaten up. KX adjusters on a new bike is stupid yes, but on an old bike is even worse! lol

 

I mean what's next mudflaps on the front fenders?

 

they SAY its because its more adjustable...you can get the chain exactly where you want it. Plus you can remove the wheel and put it exactly back to where it was with no further adjustment.


But seriously....All you gotta do is remember that "my chain was on setting 4". Is that so hard? Plus a chain is an approximate adjustment, not exactly. I'm sure setting 5 or 5 1/2 is more than adequate and in the realm of acceptable limitations. Plus, even if you do have to adjust again, it will take all of 30 seconds like said before.

Another WTF Kawasaki moment.

 

They're great fun to remove when they're seized. And even better still when the screws are bent and seized. It took me almost two hours to remove one screw from my old KX with a pair of vice grips after the head snapped off because the previous owner tightened the screw too much when the wheel was locked in and bent it. Fun times

 

Deej is that Hodaka yours?