How many miles are you all getting from your chain and sprockets with conservative riding. I am a little heavy handed at times, but most of my miles are commuter (a damn shame if I must admit for such a capable bike). Anyway, a 2003 Tuono, stock gears and I am assuming stock sprockets. Bought with 4300 miles and currently closing in on 13K. Go through bikes so often that I never get a chance to buy a new chain and last two bikes were belt driven! Thanks!
If taken care of they can easily go 20,000 miles and more.
i think mine was put on about 7k and bike now has 23k on it. i put a scott oiler on when i bought it and just changed the sprockets last month. original owner put one of those renthal alloy rears on, super light but i dont think it would last as long as the chain anyway. i'll be changing the chain soon though, starting to get a bit of side to side action more than stretch. adjusted it once last year, only took a quarter turn.
Yeah I clean with diesel and regrease every 300-400 miles. Give or take. Good to hear because I would do the whole shebang (chain and gears) but everything seems fine to me right now.
Chains are one of those weird subjects like 'oils' aren't they.
Some years ago a bloke I respect for his experience pointed out to me that O ring chains really don't need much outer lubrication, being sealed units. He also pointed out that products like 'chain wax', being sticky as fuck, will hold grit and metal swarf from wear and become a 'grinding paste' and that this is not stuff you want on your chain and sprockets. I was getting around the 20,000km mark from a chain on my Triumph triple at the time.
I bit the bullet and stopped using sprays. I clean the chain when it looks dirty with kero (don't use WD40 or a penetrating oil as it gets past the O rings and thins the grease, washing it out), then I soak a rag in clean engine oil and run the chain through it. Then I wipe off the excess with a clean rag, just leaving a film. This is enough to keep the metal and O rings protected on the outside.
I carry a small rag soaked in clean oil in a zip bag under the seat on trips.
Result: No more grease packed mess under the countershaft sprocket cover. No black build up around sprocket teeth, ever. No fling off. 80,000+ kms out of a new Regina chain, and the same on the next Triumph. Original sprockets, except for a smaller front half way through for more zip, but the original sprocket was fine.
So win/ win. Much longer chain and sprocket life, less mess, and less money wasted on stupid chain wax.
I haven't had the Tuono long enought to know if it will be as good on chains, but I don't see any reason why not.
[QUOTE=madart;3093269]bit the bullet and stopped using sprays. I clean the chain when it looks dirty with kero (don't use WD40 or a penetrating oil as it gets past the O rings and thins the grease, washing it out), then I soak a rag in clean engine oil and run the chain through it. Then I wipe off the excess with a clean rag, just leaving a film. This is enough to keep the metal and O rings protected on the outside.[QUOTE]
I use just wd40, which from the sound of it is not good. Never heard of kero will look into it. So dont use wd40? anyone else want to chime in that this is not a good idea to use wd40? I may say i love the look of chains.
Last edited by MaxGordon7; 04-19-2012 at 08:42 AM. Reason: Quote is not working right!
The O-rings seal the pins and bushings but the rollers are not sealed. All O-ring chains need regular lubrication to lubricate the rollers.Originally Posted by madart
WD40 is not that great a chain lube but enough people have used it to prove that it will not harm the O-rings.
Sorry, but I hace to disagree.
quote
"Chain manufacturers began to include this feature in 1971 after the application was invented by Joseph Montano while working for Whitney Chain of Hartford, Connecticut. O-rings were included as a way to improve lubrication to the links of power transmission chains, a service that is vitally important to extending their working life. These rubber fixtures form a barrier that holds factory applied lubricating grease inside of the pin and bushing wear areas. Further, the rubber o-rings prevent dirt and other contaminants from entering the inside of the chain linkages, where such particles would otherwise cause significant wear."
Disagree with what exactly?
I go through a chain every 12-15K. It requires little adjustment for the first 80% of it's life. As soon as I start adjusting it, I know it is not long for this world. I do lube the chain fairly often, moreso to keep it less abrasive to extend the life of the sprocket. I always change chain and both sprokets at the same time. The short life on my chain may have something to do with my 270# body weight and my right wrist.
that the O rings don't protect the rollers. The grease is sealed into the rollers by pressure from the O rings. A penetrarting oil like WD is thin enough to get by the seal and thin and wash out the grease. Once it's depleted there's no way of getting lubricant back in the rollers. The only lubrication necessary on the outside of the chain is to protect against oxidation.
For those who use chain grease or wax, and haven't cleaned it for a while, go and have a look at your chain, If there's not a built up 'shoulder' of black sticky deposit (which holds grit) around your sprockets just below the chain run, and filling the space between the plates where the O rings are, I'd be very much surprised.
Ask yourself if there's any other part of your bike where you think this sort of shit would be acceptable where there is metal to metal contact.
I'm not saying don't lube your chain at all, Sctoilers and the like are pretty well proven to improve chain life, especially over chain waxes, but in my opinion they are a bit excessive. You just don't need all that oil on the ouside of your chain.
Not trying to preach here, a question was asked and this has been my experience. I do live in a hot climate, and many of the roads here are dusty, which makes the chain wax even less desirable, but it also makes the method I now use and the life I'm getting from chains more impressive than if I rode in a clean(ish) urban environment.
The current DID ZVRM2 has 27K on it and looks like another 7-8K easy. I do change the front sprocket at 15K or so because it begins to wear unusually. Lube with this every tank or two of gas. Rarely clean it.
We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity
is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the
handle.
-- Winston Churchill
Maybe you should examine a chain someday. Find an old one and take a link apart. There are no motorcycle chains made that have O-rings sealing the rollers. The O-rings are between the inner and outer plates only. They seal the grease between the pins and bushings. The rollers are not sealed and need regular lubrication. Ask any chain manufacturer.
Here is info from DID that says the same thing:
http://www.didchain.com/chainMaintenance.html
Maybe this will help. #1 is pins/bushings,#2 rollers.
We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity
is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the
handle.
-- Winston Churchill
I would like to see someone come up with a chain that does have a seal between the roller and pin bush. Then there would be no need to lube.
m2cw.
Who said you get slower as you get older!
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