Adjusting the chain- Maybe

Hi all,

Just bought a 2001 KZP with 25K on it.
The chain seems to have quite a bit of play in it, to the point that when coasting it sounds like the chain in rubbing on the guide- sounds wrong. My last bike had a belt, so no knowledge of tightening chains and my manual has yet to arrive in the mail.

Is it easy to take the play out of the chain? Thanks,

Wes

You must allow about 1 inch up total up and down slack in the chain with the bike on the center stand,and be sure to adjust the adjusters evenly on both sides of the swingarm. Slack should be measured midway between the sprockets and at the tightest portion of the chain. As you turn the wheel you may notice some parts of the chain are tighter than others, especially on a used chain.

The reason for the slack is the geometry of the bike. Because the engine sprocket is located forward of the swing arm pivot the chain will tighten as the rear wheel is raised until the engine sprocket, swing arm pivot, and rear axle are all aligned. Consequently, much of the slack will be taken up when the rider sits on the bike with it off the center stand. Even more slack will be taken up when the bike accelerates, and even more when it hits a bump. Again, the chain will be at its tightest when the engine sprocket, swing arm pivot, and rear axle are all aligned.

If too little slack is left in the chain when it is adjusted it will be placed under enormous stress when the bike is ridden and will wear out (along with the sprockets) prematurely. BTW, I learned this lesson the hard way on my old BSA. Ed

Adjusting the chain is fairly straightforward. There's a KZ1000 P operator's manual on the KZR home page: it should have the exact procedure. As it says, find the tightest spot in the chain. do so by spinning the rear wheel & pushing up on the middle of the chain. Then adjust to 1.2 to 1.4 inches of slack. I would adjust to 1.25" as 1-1/4" would be marked on a ruler & would also allow for a little user error. Check the slack before doing anything.

I use a folding carpenter's ruler taped to a block of wood to free up both hands. I also painted a couple of marks on the chain using red Testors model kit paint. I counted the number of links so that they were exactly opposite from each other. a single paint mark on one link & a double paint mark on another. The marks help in finding the tight spot & also for lubricating the chain, quickening the job.

Kawasaki service manual. on the home page is the 81-83 KZ1000/1100 chain drive FSM. I believe you would use that as the base manual for any 1000P. then get a supplement manual on eebbaayy for your 2001 1000-P20.
note: the 1000P was pretty much unchanged thru the entire model run. 82-2005.
the earlier 1000C police bikes are almost completely different.

Thanks fellas for all the info. I will be sure to follow all the advice!

Below is a police supplement manaul. I guess it's correct for your bike. not sure. The back cover only says KZ1000-P5.
There are other manuals similarly listed that have the same part number (99963-0060-01).
I would check other police manuals up to 2005 to see what models they cover.

eebbaayy search = KZ1000 police supplement manual 2001
Other searches will yield more results.

1986-2001 Kawasaki KZ1000P5 Police Service Manual Supplement : 99963-0060-01