Thanks so much for this video! I changed out my chain and sprockets yesterday and it was pretty much clockwork after watching your video. You saved me time and aggravation, showed what tools i needed to pick up, and the procedures were concise. You probably also saved my neighbors from a barrage of foul language as well. Kudos!
Awesome! This is the most complicated thing I've done on my bike by myself and couldn't have done it without this video which was super detailed and easy to follow. Thanks for the help!
Hello Aaron, Great viedo, just what I was looking for. After days trying to find a video of changing the Versys chain in Spanish, without success, I tried to do it with a video in English and yours is great. Complete and easy to understand ... well, everything a Spanish speaker can do. :-) In a few days I get the new chain and I'll tell you how it went. Thank you.
Awesome! I'm glad it helped you. You might try turning on the closed captions, if you need it translated into Spanish. You hit the little CC button down at the bottom, and then click on the gear icon, and select "auto translate" in the subtitle menu. I used this just the other day on a video that was originally done in Russian, and it was super helpful.
Thank you Aaron! Great video and easy to follow instructions. I was looking for rear wheel alignment and chain tension for my 2018 Versys 1000 and found your awesome video. Thank you for your help!
Great video &well explained. Just one tip. When you have the old sprockets off lay the new ones side by side & on top of the new ones for a visual comparison.
Great video. I laughed at the difficulty of getting the front sprocket nut off. The rubber squash pads on the rear wheel drive links are pretty soft, and they absorb the force applied to the sprocket nut. There's actually not that much torque on it, but you've got to max out those rubber pads first before anything will move. I think your impact gun just had a sharp enough impulse to free the nut with inertia alone. On my versys, I've typically placed a metal object of some kind (usually a sprocket or something similar) between the frame pivot and one of the teeth on the front sprocket, so that the force I apply to the nut is transferred to the frame rather than to the wheel/brake via the rubber pads. Again, great video. Thanks!
As I recall, you need the following: 1. 8, 10, 12, 14, 19, 24 and 27mm sockets 2. Impact gun or monster breaker bar 3. Punch and hammer 4. 5mm hex bit or allen key 5. angle grinder 6. chain breaker tool 7. rear swingarm stand 8. Whatever rear wheel alignment tool you prefer. 9. A friend
Couple of points - you didn’t add grease to the outside X rings. You also didn’t measure the width of the existing chain links and ensure the master link is the same width!
Would the Kawasaki center stand work? What do you think of the overall serviceability of the Versys 650? A pain? Do you think some kind of anti seize compound should be used on bolts? Without having the service manual or mileage, I'd think the bearings may need to be cleaned and greased. I love these types of videos. I wish there was a complete set for all bikes, for all repairs 🙂👍
I don't think this Versys had a center stand, but if yours does, then yes, it should work fine. You just need to get the bike's weight off the rear wheel, so you can remove it. Generally speaking, you don't clean or just grease wheel bearings. If they've gotten contaminated with FOD, they should be replaced. The bearings are designed as replaceable cartridges for this reason. If you have the wheel out, it's not especially difficult to do, although there is a special tool you need to drive them out of the wheel. I wouldn't go using anti-seize on fasteners that are not meant to have it applied. I don't recall the service manual specifying it for any of the fasteners I had to touch here. Especially in cases where the fastener holds on something safety-critical, the torque spec is important, and it won't be accurate if you apply anything to the threads that isn't called out in the manual. The Versys is a great bike. It's simple and easy to maintain, but not terribly exciting. The inverted forks are kind of a pain to service in comparison to conventional forks, so if ease of maintenance is big thing for you, maybe consider the Ninja 650 or the new naked version they came out with recently, which have conventional forks. The Versys service manual exists in a PDF form on the internet, FYI. I can't share it here, but I bet you'll find it with a little sleuthing.
It's a pretty easy job if you have the right tools. The only truly special tool you need is the chain breaker. The change interval varies a lot from bike to bike, depending primarily on how well the chain got maintained, and where it got ridden. For a normal roadgoing bike that gets cleaned and lubed well, 10-20K miles is pretty common.
Hi, very nice tutorial, thanks. My chain was adjusted to 2cm (0.8 inch) at Kawasaki dealer, should I return or worry about it? I alrdeady did 300km with it and no strange feelings so far (maybe gear change from 1st to 2nd a little bit harder).
Technically yes, but I like to do it this way, as it's way easier to do, and the difference isn't very big unless you're working on a bike with huge suspension travel, like a dirt bike or something.
The torque values are all listed in the service manual, which can be found with a bit of Googling. If you're referring to the 8mm bolts that hold the alternator ("stator") cover on, on the left side of the bike, the torque spec is 87 in-lbs, which is about 6.5 ft-lbs. I like to refer to that as "snug, one ugh," and I don't usually bother with using a torque wrench on them. If you really mean the timing inspection cover cap, on the right side, which is used to access the nose of the crankshaft, you just use a coin or large washer to put it back on hand tight.
littlefrank90 the rivet type master links are removed by grinding off the heads of the rivets with an angle grinder or Dremel. I made a video with my SV650 where I demonstrated this.
Thanks so much for this video! I changed out my chain and sprockets yesterday and it was pretty much clockwork after watching your video. You saved me time and aggravation, showed what tools i needed to pick up, and the procedures were concise. You probably also saved my neighbors from a barrage of foul language as well. Kudos!
7th of 5 t wdwd4
Thank you thank you than you. This video is the best maintenance, not just chain replace, videos so far I have ever watched.
Awesome! This is the most complicated thing I've done on my bike by myself and couldn't have done it without this video which was super detailed and easy to follow. Thanks for the help!
Great video! Thanks for taking the time to make. Very helpful and very appreciated.
Hello Aaron,
Great viedo, just what I was looking for.
After days trying to find a video of changing the Versys chain in Spanish, without success, I tried to do it with a video in English and yours is great.
Complete and easy to understand ... well, everything a Spanish speaker can do. :-)
In a few days I get the new chain and I'll tell you how it went.
Thank you.
Awesome! I'm glad it helped you. You might try turning on the closed captions, if you need it translated into Spanish. You hit the little CC button down at the bottom, and then click on the gear icon, and select "auto translate" in the subtitle menu. I used this just the other day on a video that was originally done in Russian, and it was super helpful.
Excellent info, and your presentation skills are fantastic! Thank you, Aaron!
Thank you Aaron! Great video and easy to follow instructions. I was looking for rear wheel alignment and chain tension for my 2018 Versys 1000 and found your awesome video. Thank you for your help!
Very useful, mate.Thanks. (Hi from Thaialnd)
Great video &well explained. Just one tip. When you have the old sprockets off lay the new ones side by side & on top of the new ones for a visual comparison.
Bill Denton Thanks, that is a good idea!
Great video. I laughed at the difficulty of getting the front sprocket nut off. The rubber squash pads on the rear wheel drive links are pretty soft, and they absorb the force applied to the sprocket nut. There's actually not that much torque on it, but you've got to max out those rubber pads first before anything will move. I think your impact gun just had a sharp enough impulse to free the nut with inertia alone.
On my versys, I've typically placed a metal object of some kind (usually a sprocket or something similar) between the frame pivot and one of the teeth on the front sprocket, so that the force I apply to the nut is transferred to the frame rather than to the wheel/brake via the rubber pads.
Again, great video. Thanks!
Dude. Well done. Thank you!
Good job on the video, will be using it for my first chain and sprocket change. ✌🏻
Fantastic tutorial! You are a good friend!
That was straightforward chain replacement
I would change the size of front and back sprockets while apart to get better speed out of first gear.
A real good video. So much better then all those asians trying to speak english and work with crappy cameras
Ok !good !!!! merci pour ce merveilleux montage et démontage , cela me servira très bien pour ma kawasaki versys . Chao Linou France Normandie Caen
Thanks Aaron. This was more than helpful. Could you please send me a list of tools needed so that I can do it myself.
As I recall, you need the following:
1. 8, 10, 12, 14, 19, 24 and 27mm sockets
2. Impact gun or monster breaker bar
3. Punch and hammer
4. 5mm hex bit or allen key
5. angle grinder
6. chain breaker tool
7. rear swingarm stand
8. Whatever rear wheel alignment tool you prefer.
9. A friend
Couple of points - you didn’t add grease to the outside X rings. You also didn’t measure the width of the existing chain links and ensure the master link is the same width!
You sound so much like Jefferey Gundlach it is crazy...
Would the Kawasaki center stand work? What do you think of the overall serviceability of the Versys 650? A pain? Do you think some kind of anti seize compound should be used on bolts? Without having the service manual or mileage, I'd think the bearings may need to be cleaned and greased. I love these types of videos. I wish there was a complete set for all bikes, for all repairs 🙂👍
I don't think this Versys had a center stand, but if yours does, then yes, it should work fine. You just need to get the bike's weight off the rear wheel, so you can remove it.
Generally speaking, you don't clean or just grease wheel bearings. If they've gotten contaminated with FOD, they should be replaced. The bearings are designed as replaceable cartridges for this reason. If you have the wheel out, it's not especially difficult to do, although there is a special tool you need to drive them out of the wheel.
I wouldn't go using anti-seize on fasteners that are not meant to have it applied. I don't recall the service manual specifying it for any of the fasteners I had to touch here. Especially in cases where the fastener holds on something safety-critical, the torque spec is important, and it won't be accurate if you apply anything to the threads that isn't called out in the manual.
The Versys is a great bike. It's simple and easy to maintain, but not terribly exciting. The inverted forks are kind of a pain to service in comparison to conventional forks, so if ease of maintenance is big thing for you, maybe consider the Ninja 650 or the new naked version they came out with recently, which have conventional forks. The Versys service manual exists in a PDF form on the internet, FYI. I can't share it here, but I bet you'll find it with a little sleuthing.
These are way too good for how little views you have 👍
Thanks, Gary! My horribly crummy day is made brighter knowing it helped you out.
It didn’t matter with my oem chain. Every 500 miles I religiously cleaned and used chain wax. I absolutely could not keep rust off it.
First view of your channel and SUBBED. Excellent instruction.
Awesome, thank you!
That was really helpful, thank you.
Glad to hear it!
Thanks - Great video!
excellent video..
Fastastic video; thank you!
I like that chain alignment tool. Where did you get that?
Amazon, I think. Look for “motion pro chain alignment tool.”
You make this look easy! You also have all the needed tools. How often should one need to replace the chain on a Versys?
It's a pretty easy job if you have the right tools. The only truly special tool you need is the chain breaker.
The change interval varies a lot from bike to bike, depending primarily on how well the chain got maintained, and where it got ridden. For a normal roadgoing bike that gets cleaned and lubed well, 10-20K miles is pretty common.
Hi, very nice tutorial, thanks. My chain was adjusted to 2cm (0.8 inch) at Kawasaki dealer, should I return or worry about it? I alrdeady did 300km with it and no strange feelings so far (maybe gear change from 1st to 2nd a little bit harder).
The measurement can be tricky to do correctly; If you're not seeing any odd behaviors, I'd just leave it.
@@AaronAverett thank you!
Just stick a 2x2 or something like that through the rear wheel and no one needs to hold the brake.
Shouldn't you measure chain play/slack while the bike is off standard, on its wheels?
Technically yes, but I like to do it this way, as it's way easier to do, and the difference isn't very big unless you're working on a bike with huge suspension travel, like a dirt bike or something.
Where can I get the torque for each bolt? Could you provide me with that information for the stator cap? Thanks. Claudio, from Chile.
The torque values are all listed in the service manual, which can be found with a bit of Googling. If you're referring to the 8mm bolts that hold the alternator ("stator") cover on, on the left side of the bike, the torque spec is 87 in-lbs, which is about 6.5 ft-lbs. I like to refer to that as "snug, one ugh," and I don't usually bother with using a torque wrench on them.
If you really mean the timing inspection cover cap, on the right side, which is used to access the nose of the crankshaft, you just use a coin or large washer to put it back on hand tight.
But how do I remove the rivet pins when I have to change the next chain??
littlefrank90 the rivet type master links are removed by grinding off the heads of the rivets with an angle grinder or Dremel. I made a video with my SV650 where I demonstrated this.
I found it's cheaper to buy chain and sprockets cheaper