Proficat laser chain alignment tool feedback?

Relax

Relax

Well-known member
Anyone have the profitcat laser, and does it actually work the way they show in the videos? Thinking of biting the bullet and getting one for my sanity.

I already have the Motion Pro alignment tool with the rod, but it doesn't seem to do much - it always looks either straight or crooked depending on how I look at it, and then adjusting one side of the swingarm doesn't seem to make any difference even though I can see the chain slack changing. Parallax has always been an issue for my eyes/brain, so not sure if that's the problem.
 
I too have been wondering about that thing since I saw it
 
I've considered it. But half of my bikes currently have heavily contoured rear sprockets (the outer edge is thicker than the middle), and I'm not sure if there's enough room for the thing to sit flat and have the magnets hold.

With the motion pro tool I find it helps to turn one chain adjuster so that things are intentionally misaligned when I start, so that my brain knows what "bad" looks like. Then I close one eye, get my head as low as possible behind the bike and look towards the front sprocket, rather than looking directly at the rod, and keep that sight picture stable while turning the other adjuster until the rod aligns.

The Profi laser would definitely be more convenient though.
 
Ash said:
But half of my bikes currently have heavily contoured rear sprockets (the outer edge is thicker than the middle), and I'm not sure if there's enough room for the thing to sit flat and have the magnets hold.
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This is my main concern as well. Hoping people who have/used one can comment on this.
 
I don't know if that laser can do it or if you'd need to roll your own with a 3d printer and laser pointer but it would be much easier if the laser beam was on the top of the chain and not the outside. It looks like it may depend on the bike where the laser hits. You should try to get the laser as close to the sprocket as possible. The problem with using the outside for alignment is the sprocket end of the chain can block some light and confuse you. It would be much easier if the laser hit the top of every link plate.

If the goal is the chain line perpendicular to the axle, Two 24" rods, one on (or in) the axle and one forward (swingarm mount?) and measure between them should be good with no parallax issues (assuming the rods are a good fit, may require a lathe to make them).
 
ljtenkor said:
Makerworld and thingiverse (and maybe others) have printable parts to put replace the rod of the Motion Pro tool with a laser, like @GreyGhost mentioned https://makerworld.com/en/models/2526108-motorcycle-laser-chain-alignment-tool#profileId-2779563
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I guess you'd need to align it manually with a square every time before use, in case it ever got bumped?

I kind of like the solid metal one-piece design of the Proficat that appears to minimize the chance of misalignment. Also like that it projects a line instead of just a dot to make the job quicker. But it costs more than half of what I paid for my 3D printer.
 
Relax said:
I guess you'd need to align it manually with a square every time before use, in case it ever got bumped?

I kind of like the solid metal one-piece design of the Proficat that appears to minimize the chance of misalignment. Also like that it projects a line instead of just a dot to make the job quicker. But it costs more than half of what I paid for my 3D printer.
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If I was doing it, I would try to rely on the fits between the printed part, existing chain tool, and laser, and the accuracy of the printer to minimize misalignment. Making it adjustable probably makes it too much of a pain to use. Personally, I would just draw it from scratch to make fit tuning easy, maybe after seeing how one of the ones out there fits the parts I have.
 
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