Chain Question

[Katana600Tao]

I'm sure this is a stupid question, but I replaced my chain and sprockets about ... six months ago. How long is a chain suppose to last? It's already starting to stretch quite a bit and now the chain has ... for lack of a better term ... kinks in it. About every 500 to 1000 miles I'll clean and lube it with some chain cleaner and Chain Wax. I'm thinking I got a piece of crap chain, but need confirmation.

[Black_peter]

I'm sure this is a stupid question,

No such thing!!!

Kinks?!?!?!?!

Do you mean tight links?
That is kind of a bad sign..
A chain should last a few years at least..
Some advise lubing every ride..
Do a search I think Md86 just did a write up in lubing chains...

[trinc]

if by kinks you mean ( in the slack of the chain ) that the links don't all line up the same, thats ok - the seals, o,x,z rings can keep them from all being straight.

you would looking for links that don't rotate, or are hard ( you would normally hear it as you ride.

wear differs by cleaning, lube, and HP & how hard you ride.

tim

[Katana600Tao]

if by kinks you mean ( in the slack of the chain ) that the links don't all line up the same, thats ok - the seals, o,x,z rings can keep them from all being straight.

you would looking for links that don't rotate, or are hard ( you would normally hear it as you ride.

wear differs by cleaning, lube, and HP & how hard you ride.

tim

Yeah I can hear it when I ride, I'm thinking it's time to invest in a new chain.

[Mojoe]

when i bought my 93 from the guy i bought it from, he said he had it 6 years and never changed the chain or sprockets. i have had it 3 summers and never changed them either. i am good for next summer as well. there is at least 25k kms on that chain.

[md86]

Do a search I think Md86 just did a write up in lubing chains...

I did ? : Huh , I don't remember that .
I think I posted a link to an article with some head-honcho at PJ1 or something , though :-k .
Yeah , chains SHOULD last for like 12k miles at least . I never have that much luck with them personally (probably because I could never be sure of the alignment ) , and usually I put on the master link a little too tight . But as long as you take good care of it , it should last a while .

[Katana600Tao]

I had my chain put on professionally, and these guys have been pretty good to me. I'm wondering if I just got a lousy chain.

[letsride]

how do you ride do you shift and release hard. and are you sure it is the chain did you tighten the wheel to the spec tourqe

[The CyberPoet]

Sprocket choices, maintenance levels, and shift-points are the three main deciders of how long a chain lasts...

Anytime the sprockets wear, the chain has to wear with it because of the interaction. Putting a new chain on old sprockets is a fast wear to ruin a chain. Aluminum sprockets wear faster than steel, so chains running on aluminum tend to wear faster as well (and since oil doesn't polar-bond to aluminum nor can it soak the metal, aluminum needs lube more often to get the same protection levels).

Maintenance: lube a lot. You generally can't over-lube. Clean every 600 miles by the book (more often if you ride through rain, sludge, dusty environments), lube every gas tankful or anytime you ride through rain, stranding water, puddles or dust areas. Oils outperform waxes in terms of protection in places with sand or hard dusts (clay dust, etc); waxes are good only if the area only has organics (dark soils, leaves/grass clipping/etc). Oils fling off, carrying debris along; waxes hold everything in place. Lately, there has been a lot of mislabelling in the oil/wax realms, so that oils that act like waxes (or have high-parafin contents) are not labelled waxes even when they act like it.

Finally, shift points. Chains and sprockets get worked aggressively by torque. The more torque you put on, the harder it is on the combo. High RPM's in first gear and slightly less for second gear are the real killers, because the maximum amount of torque is being forced through chain. As you go up the gears, the amount of torque being effectively transmitted is being reduced by the gear ratios, lessening the strain on the materials.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Katana600Tao]

Thanks CyberPoet, I don't usually take off like a bat out of hell, I'm pretty good to my bike. When I had the chain replaced I replaced the sprockets too. Hopefully it'll last a little longer so I can earn the $$ to fix it. Right now that bike is my ONLY transportation.

[The CyberPoet]

Thanks CyberPoet, I don't usually take off like a bat out of hell, I'm pretty good to my bike. When I had the chain replaced I replaced the sprockets too. Hopefully it'll last a little longer so I can earn the $$ to fix it. Right now that bike is my ONLY transportation.

Clean it well, keep it lubed up (add a little amount of oil the chain every time you gas up), and keep it on the loose side -- about 1.0 to 1.1 inches. Overtightening it is the other way people tend to over-stress their chains prematurely.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[md86]

But aren't the pre 98's supposed to be a little more loose then that ? :-k I believe my book (750 , maybe the 600 was different )said 1.2-1.5" of slack ...