Replacing the tensioner with shims

There might be no worse component to a motorized bicycle than the stock chain tensioner.  It's so unanimously hated because it always has to be modified in some way to get it to function reliably, whether it be through the use of rubber padding, springs, brackets, etc.  It doesn't even come close to working out of the box because you may only get a ride or two before it is loosened by the vibration of the engine.

Mralaska on motoredbikes.com came up with a simple yet elegant solution to this issue: throw it out and adjust the tension with motor mount shims!  It makes perfect sense and leaves much less to go wrong.  Honestly, I think the tensioner itself is far more dangerous than anything that could possibly happen without even having it.

I plan on trying this with my upcoming build because it just seems so right to me.