A Question of Chain & Sprocket Life

[cynr1023]

I just took my bonnie in to get the cam seal replaced. The shop advised me to swap out my chain & sprockets before too long. As I am riding to Texas from Georgia in less than two weeks I had them do it there. I had just under 19,000 on the original chain & sprockets. Now, I'm curious as to how many miles some of you guys are getting and what level of attention are you giving it in your "everyday" maintenance plan? I think I may have lubed mine six times in it's entire life.

 

[uzidzit]

you

got what you should have, clean mine 3-4 times a year, lube every 400-600 miles, about 1-2x a week.

 

[normandy]

These "new" O-ring chains are wonderful. Keep the o-rings from drying out and lube/clean as in relation to the conditions you ride in. If it looks dry, shoot some wax on it. If it's gunked up, youre likely using too much lube.The life of the chain is quite personal depending on how hard you ride (wheelies and burnouts are hard on drive components). I am at 30,000+ K's and have only done 3 small adjustments and chain/sprockets look great but mostly ideal weather riding and few gravel or dirt roads.

 

[Goin-Commando]

Quote:
got what you should have, clean mine 3-4 times a year, lube every 400-600 miles, about 1-2x a week.


At 8500 miles, my front sprocket and chain are doin fine. But the aluminum rear sprocket that I bought from New Bonneville is worn the fuck out already after about 4000 miles. I lube about once every 2 weeks.

 

[MES]

23K miles out of my chain.
Going against convention, I'm still using the orignal stock sprockets front and rear. They are holding up very well.
A very good cleaning every 3 months or so. A quick wipe with WD40 to get the gross stuff off the chain then chain lube every other week (500-1,000 miles).

 

[agro]

Now, I'm curious as to how many miles some of you guys are getting and what level of attention are you giving it in your "everyday" maintenance plan?

My original chain lasted 20,000 km/12,400 miles, had a tight spot from new from factory, it was stuffed from new, replacement chain is now at 45,000km/29,000 miles and still going strong, stock rear sprocket and aftermarket 19 tooth front are about 65,000 km/40,400 miles and will probably be used again when I need a new chain.

Maintenance; clean and lube chain weekly, turn sprockets around every 10,000 kilometers.

 

[CAPTDON]

Chain

Shame on you Trav!!! Chain needs TLC like everything else. I think IF you toroughly clean & wax/ lube it , you should be ok? Check your side play- it will give you some idea how much it suffered from lack of love! If side play is minimal- its still servicable. How are the sprockets?? Enjoy the trip!! I was - still may do one up north. Med stuff & dr appts. Will tell all.

 

[BluBonnie]

Can this thread get locked?

"X" & "O" ring chains are 'internally lubricated'.
No amount of SHIT you put on the outside of the links will get inside them.

If you have one of them you MIGHT want to run a little lube on the links to help with the interaction of the chain to the two sprockets- but be careful.
Too much of that stuff (waxy or not) acts like a magnet to dirt and debris that's kicked up by your tires and just whizzing by in the air.
Think SANDPAPER to metal.
Just wears contact surfaces down faster is all.

I know a guy who was friggin' religious about lubing everything on his bike.
He kept a little book in his tank bag to note the intervals.
He also made note of when he swapped out major components in the drive line.

I got a look at the book and his chain swaps were every 6K to 8K.
I've got something like 30K on my chain right now and it's perfectly fine.

And, you guessed it, I almost NEVER lube the thing.

 

[CAPTDON]

Chain

Hey Blu- I agree w/ ya here. I (in Fla) have seen 1 yr old bikes w/ rusty- kinky chains! The wax (properly cleaned) is a protectant & an additional lube to the sprockets! Wax/ lube is meant to lube outside of the rollers & the sprockets!! The internal parts of the chain are OK till the seals wear out. The sprockets dont have o rings! The chains of the old days used to need all the help you could give them to last 5-6000 mi! True - you may not be lubing the working parts of the chain, but the contact of the chain to the sprocket needs to be lubed & the best way to do that is to wax/ lume the chain.

 

[mrt202]

Can this thread get locked?

"X" & "O" ring chains are 'internally lubricated'.
No amount of SHIT you put on the outside of the links will get inside them.

If you have one of them you MIGHT want to run a little lube on the links to help with the interaction of the chain to the two sprockets- but be careful.
Too much of that stuff (waxy or not) acts like a magnet to dirt and debris that's kicked up by your tires and just whizzing by in the air.
Think SANDPAPER to metal.
Just wears contact surfaces down faster is all.

I know a guy who was friggin' religious about lubing everything on his bike.
He kept a little book in his tank bag to note the intervals.
He also made note of when he swapped out major components in the drive line.

I got a look at the book and his chain swaps were every 6K to 8K.
I've got something like 30K on my chain right now and it's perfectly fine.

And, you guessed it, I almost NEVER lube the thing.

AMEN to that! I've tried to make the same point in several forums and always hear the same shit about me thinking I know more than the engineers. All I can say is I know what works for me!
BTW, I live 1/2 mile down a gravel/ dirt road and my bike lives outdoors. Therefore I replace my chain about every 10-12,000 miles as part of MY maintenance schedule. And I ride it pretty friggin hard to boot.

 

[UraniumC]

AMEN to that! I've tried to make the same point in several forums and always hear the same shit about me thinking I know more than the engineers. All I can say is I know what works for me!
BTW, I live 1/2 mile down a gravel/ dirt road and my bike lives outdoors. Therefore I replace my chain about every 10-12,000 miles as part of MY maintenance schedule. And I ride it pretty friggin hard to boot.

i'm pretty casual about my chain as well, although I do lube it on occasion. Same with other maintaince. I do it, but am not overly concerned if I miss the schedule by a few hundred miles.

Certainly no claim here to know more than the engineers, only that they have to be very conservative in their recomendations.

 

[cynr1023]

I'm willing to bet that I would have gotten closer to 30,000 miles out of my chain. But, like a dumbass, I purchased a tire and had a "local" shop put it on instead of a dealer. Hell, I really think any dealer would have been better than where I took it. Live and learn. Something didn't feel right when I got the tire swapped out. Now I know what it was. Ironically enough, after I had ATD swap out the sprockets and chain there wasn't an issue at all

 

[CAPTDON]

Chain

Just checked mine tionite. Still in spec 7/8" play. Checked side play as well. Got 1/16 @ best . Sprockets are lookin good so I guess the wax every 6-800 mi is doing something rite?

 

[bonnevillebilly]

The manufacturer of the O-ring chain, any good mechanic, and the people who write the service manuals and the maintenance schedules all say to clean and lube the chain.
Not to mention what any common since will tell you.
But, Again what do those guys know

I clean and lube the chain on a regular basis and there is next no wear on the sprockets and the chain still has plenty of adjustment left on it after 26000 miles.
I have a 1/4 mile long gravel / dirt driveway.
metal to metal moving parts heat up, rubber o-rings dry out.

Now what is the bad thing about lubing the chain????
Geeesh ......I don't want to insult any one's intelligence but... but...
oh never mind, if you ain't got enough since to lube the chain then you wouldn't get anyway

 

[cynr1023]

I'm known locally as "The Great Procrastinator" I've got the stuff to do it, I just forget to do it on a regular basis.

 

[RonD]

I found that aerosol stuff leaves to much crap on the rear wheel, one of the big manufacturers Honda? recomends what I use 80w/90 g/box oil, first clean the chain with kero, lube with oil and wipe off the residue with a nice clean rag.
works a treat and your rear wheel always looks tidy and is so easy to clean, my bike gets this treatment when ever a good clean is due and I like it immaculate so its lubed several times a year.

 

[CAPTDON]

Chain

"Great Procastinator"?? Naah thats an understatement!! Proffessional procastinator is a more appropriate title!! 26000 mi & a dirt driveway?? Your doin good !! Must be doin something rite??

 

[greyplague]

Looking over the fence

ick:
It seems that this thread runs on more than one Triumph forum-must be the time of the year!

Thieu.

 

[greyplague]

The manufacturer of the O-ring chain, any good mechanic, and the people who write the service manuals and the maintenance schedules all say to clean and lube the chain.
Not to mention what any common since will tell you.
But, Again what do those guys know

Ehrm...Those people do make a living out of selling bikes,parts and maintaining them....Not that they're really after our money, of course!

:stupid: Thieu.