Is this chain going to get me killed?

[RossW]

I know nothing about the history of this chain, it was on the bike when I bought it (bike has ~30k miles, I'm betting chain is at ~15k). The bike sat outside for 3 years before I got it running. Needless to say the chain was a bit rusty and dirty. I cleaned it off real good and then coated it in 30wt oil. I made sure all the links moved freely (they all did except for one which freed up after some wiggling). After each of the first 4 or so rides I wiped off and heavily oiled the chain again before switching to a once a month schedule. This was last summer (~800 miles ago).

When I was getting the bike ready for this summer I noticed that all the rollers had some play (~0.25mm radially and ~0.5mm axially). With the tension adjusted properly I can pull the chain off the back of the rear sprocket by ~1mm. I know none of this is good, in fact I realize it means that the roller bearings are shot. I'm going to be ordering a new chain and sprockets (I'm thinking 14/48) but I really don't have the cash to pay a shop to install it. I probably won't have a chance to drive to my parent's house and use their garage for at least a month. I'm pretty easy on my bike, I mostly commute on it and take some fun rides on weekends. Is putting another couple hundred miles on my current chain really asking for trouble?

[diavolo]

As long as you still have some adjustment range, you should be okay. Once you reach the limits of the adjusters and have too much slack in the the chain will you invoke the wrath of the chain gods.

[teddy]

It may not get you killed, but it certainly isn't doing you any favors either. I'd suggest getting it swapped out ASAP.

[RossW]

It's only about halfway on the adjusters.

[CenCalKat]

Just take it easy until you can get a new one. And spend a little money and buy a good chain, it is not an area where you want to go too cheap.

[bustedpaintball]

If you are worried then replace it.
Better safe than sorry.
They are not that expensive compared it failing and doing damage to the Kat or yourself.

[thetable]

If in doubt replace the chain and the sprockets.

I wouldn't want to give any advice other than that over the internet without at least seeing pictures, or better still seeing it in person.

[RossW]

How's this for a replacement?

http://www.sprocketcenter.com/p/395445/rk-530-xso-series-chain-steel-sprocket-kit---suzuki.html

I'd be getting 14/48 sprockets with a steel rear.

[Stinger02]

i felt the wraith today

[CenCalKat]

Thats a good choice right there.

[VifferJim]

Absolutely - you're better off just replacing wear-n-tear parts with new. Me personally, I'd go Vortex/RK or DiD.

Seriously, even if there's nothing actually wrong with your chain, do you want the distraction that comes with worrying about an old chain that may or may not blow itself apart and wrap around your rear axle, locking up the rear and sending you flyin'-n-dyin'??

Yeah, I didn't think so...

[The CyberPoet]

OK, let's talk about the actual physics of what's going on with your current chain -- and then how to make it last until you can afford to replace it.

If it's like 85% of the chains on the market, the roller interface is actually held up off the pin by the presence of a gel-style lubricant (not any form of actual bearings nor bushings), which is typically a red-colored PAO oil in a red clay-powder base. The only thing keeping this stuff from migrating out is the seals (the O-rings, X-rings, etc) at the interface between the roller and the side-plates (depending on the design, the roller & sideplate, the inner & outer sideplates, etc.).

When the seals give out, the clay and lube migrate. A lot of people mistake this as rust, because of the color (see example pic below showing the red clay base):


With the loss of this pressure, the roller tube is now free to move around freely on the pin, constricted only by whatever is left between it and the pin (a nylon bushing, a roller, left-over clay that hasn't migrated out yet, etc.). The penalty here is that these sloppy roller tubes transmit power very poorly AND eat up the sprockets in a very aggressive manner -- there's pretty much little you can do to stop this behavior once a number of seals are compromised... In a worst-case scenario, they can also make direct contact with the pin and transmit the entire force of that instant to a single sprocket tooth/pin combination, snapping the pin and causing the chain to split (with lots of bad repercussions imaginable, such as wrapping the front sprocket and breaking the engine case as a result). Fortunately, this worst-case scenario is rather rare, unless you really "ignore" a chain that is far past it's prime...

SO, HOW DO YOU AVOID THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO?
You treat it like a non-sealed chain. You lube the living crap out of it constantly (soaking it in a pan of the heaviest gear oil or in a jiffy-pop container of heated grease is ideal, if you can readily remove it from the bike to do so).
You also clean out any grunge under the front sprocket cover and off the front sprocket, and then lube the outside of both the chain and the sprockets like there's no tomorrow as well, with a light oil (30 weight for example -- used motorcycle motor oil works great for this), so that if it does split, it'll drop to the ground instead of trying to wrap the front sprocket. You literally reapply oil daily, and have enough that it's dripping. Careful when you ride off because of the oil on your tires/on the ground where your tires travel when you first ride off.

These aren't the prettiest of solutions, but they are ones designed to get you through until you can actually afford a new chain and sprockets, while minimizing the potential damages to your own health and to the bike.

As for replacements, personally, I always used (and was very happy with) the RK WXO-chain + Vortex steel sprocket combo's, which come with a 20k mile warrantee... The link someone else slapped up with the OEM sprockets and the chain sounds OK, but it kind of scares me that they show an RK chain and list an DID chain...

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet