How many miles did You get with the original motorcycle chain

[The_Drifter]

Seems like the original motorcycle chain we have on our bikes, wears out quicker then we would have expected it to. I was hoping of getting 20,000 miles from my chain, but shows signs of needing replacement at only 8,000 miles. I have a buddy who has several motorcycles and he gets over 30,000 miles on his chains.

So, for those who have replaced their chains, how many miles did You have on them befoere they needed replacement?

 

[ron700]

I'm just thinking out loud, but could it be in the process of NOT prepping the bike correctly that some of these chains/sprockets to wear out quicker?

 

[Old Can Ride]

I got 12,000 on my OEM DID O-Ring chain. Now have a DID Pro-Street VX X-Ring. DID 520VX2 X 114FB. Mfg# 520VX2X114FB. Tucker Rocky # 122730 with about 10,000 miles. I have never changed my sprockets. At my 24,000 service, that I do myself, if plan to change these parts:

Chain - DID Prostreet VX X-Ring. DID 520VX2 X 114FB. Mfg# 520VX2X114FB. Tucker Rocky # 122730.

Rear Sprocket - JT 43 Tooth - Mfg# JTR1303 Tucker Rocky # 249009

Front Sprocket – JT 16 Tooth – Mfg# JTF1373 Tucker Rocky # Special Ordered through Tucker Rocky dealership.

Tires: Bridgestone Touring 023

Front tire - 120/70 ZR17 Tucker # 30-1012
Front Tire Aspect Ratio- 70
Front Tire Speed Rating - Z
Front Tire Width - 120

Rear Tire - 160/60 ZR17 Tucker # 30-1021
Rear Tire Aspect Ratio - 60
Rear Tire Speed Rating - Z
Rear Tire Width - 160

Replace and Bleed brake fluid.

Replace brake pads:

Brake Pads
EBC - Front - 61-0549
EBC – Rear - 61-0569


Set Valves

Clean K&N Air Filter.

I will have all parts here at 24,000 miles, so I am only down a few hours. Then - Ride

 

[MZ5]

I replaced mine (D.I.D.) at a touch over 10k miles. It would have run longer, but had some too-stiff links, and the number was increasing. I did not replace either sprocket; they just didn't need it. In another 10 - 15k miles, or whenever the chain or sprocket(s) wears out, I'll replace all 3 as a set.

 

[StratTuner]

Seems like the original motorcycle chain we have on our bikes, wears out quicker then we would have expected it to. I was hoping of getting 20,000 miles from my chain, but shows signs of needing replacement at only 8,000 miles. I have a buddy who has several motorcycles and he gets over 30,000 miles on his chains.

So, for those who have replaced their chains, how many miles did You have on them befoere they needed replacement?

I'm up to 16,000 miles right now, and I could have waited longer. It's an X-ring D.I.D. chain on there from the factory, so it's doing fine.
(Edit: Actually, I have no clue if it's OK or not! but it's still working.)

 

[Chestnut]

Did mine around 14k. Should've been done at 12k, but I was away from home 2,000 miles longer than expected.

 

[Mr_Krabs]

A lot of people wear their chains out because they really adjust them improperly and they also tend to over clean the chains. Ironically for most people it's over attentiveness that prematurely wears the chain because they tend to adjust the chain too tight and clean the heck out of the chain with solvents which kill the OEM lubrication inside the pins.

Chains can actually be run a little bit looser and benefit from it. I always adjust my chain when the suspension is compressed so that the swingarm, chain and sprockets are parallel and then adjust to a half inch of slack. This way the chain never binds since the chain when all the suspension components are inline are at the tightest they'll be. And when the suspension is decompressed my chain slack is actually about 1.5" on my NC it's on the upper end but I find any less and you actually get some binding when the suspension compresses, maybe that's why people are prematurely wearing their chains. Mine is up to 6,000 miles and the slack has yet to change from my original setting after my first break in oil change.

Then the big one is simply over cleaning. I never use WD-40 or harsh cleaners. The reason is the chain is greased from the factory and the o-ring seals are supposed to keep that grease in. When you spray lots of thin cleaner onto the chain some of it inevitably works past the o-rings and dilutes or washes out some of the grease. This leads to premature wear. What I've always done is manually clean the chain with a pretty gentle brush and Dawn dishwashing detergent. Then rinse it off, let dry, and then apply my chain grease, I like plain and simple Champion chain spray grease. Spray it on and wipe off any extra from from the outside. This prevents too much grease from attracting dirt and wearing the chain out. I do this every couple thousand miles.

Doing the above my chains never wear before 20,000 miles.

 

[StratTuner]

thank you , Mr. Krabs, that was a thoughtful and instructive reply. I've been cleaning and applying about every300 miles, and I think maybe that's too much cleaning. I use the Dupont cleaner (no rinsing) and the Dupont Teflon chain lube that both come from Walmart.
I think I'll go with the same amount of lubing but back off on the cleaning.

I'm hoping that it will become routine to replace the chain/sprockets at every 20K miles.

 

[Mr_Krabs]

Yeah I would never use a solvent degreaser on any o-ring chain. Aside from potentially diluting or washing out the OEM grease the strong solvents can damage the o-ring themselves stripping the plasticizers from the rubber which can have the effect of shrinking the seals.

I love to race remote control cars. What does this have to do with motorcycle chains? Surprisingly a lot, one of the things we use on our tires to enhance grip is WD-40, some race track actually ban WD-40 because it's a grip enhancement, these are usually indoor tracks as everyone spraying WD-40 every race becomes an air pollution hazard. Yes it actually makes the rubber tires grippier. Spray the tires rub it in and wipe it dry after the rest evaporates, the rubber is softer and stickier. The drawback is after doing this a dozen times or so the rubber actually gets harder and less grippy than original. That to me tells me the solvents in the WD-40 have stripped the rubber of its original softeners. Sure the WD-40 acts like a softener at first but after a few applications the tire hardens up. This same action no doubt happens when you use solvents to clean your o-ring chain.

It was a lot different way back in the old days. Solvent cleaning was the best for roller chains. Still is. Nothing makes roller chains last longer than a solvent cleaning and a hot grease dip every 500 miles. But we've advanced since then, o-rings were developed and that really does change the game. Solvent cleaning really should be avoided with modern o-ring chains. Keep them clean and keep the rollers lubed, which is why I like spray grease. Wax just doesn't lube the rollers as well. So that's why I say doing less work, but doing it right and the chain will last a long time.

Keep them loose and they won't develop tight spots til the very end of life. The added plus side besides not spraying all sorts of solvents into the air, I only do this easy maintenance only every 2000 miles and my chains still outlast all the chain maintenance maniacs.

 

[X-Man]

My original DID was changed at 15k with a DID520vxGold.The new chain looks to be better quality so it should last longer ,I hope.

 

[Mr_Krabs]

I've tried the gold chains. With similar maintenance routines you won't experience any significant increase in life. The pins and rollers and inner links are still the same metal. One difference though is if you ride in a lot of rain or in snow where it's salted, the gold coating resists rusting a lot better.

The biggest increase in life you'll get is always changing the front sprocket when you change the chain. Rear sprockets I've yet to wear one out.

Sorry to disappoint.

 

[Deleted member 1183]

I suppose everyone has their own way of doing things and that is what makes life interesting.

Firstly, I never clean a chain. At best I will take a cloth and clean the plates on the outside, but that is nothing to do with maintenance, just tidyness. If properly maintained, a chain, through its action on sprockets and centrifugal force, will self clean. Anything not needed will be thrown off at speed.

One of my bikes has a Scottoiler and it is effective. The chain on that bike (KTM950SM) was replaced at 22,300Kms. The Tech suggested that it still had life in it.

My NC has a Tutoro oiler on it and seems effective also. The NC has 12,000Kms on it and as yet there is plenty of life in the chain. I would expect to at least get 20,000 Kms on that chain.

My 690KTM had a new chain at 13000Kms. However the regime on that was alternative oiling and specific chain spray on a regular basis. It is also used offroad and in such situations I find that an oiler is not as effective .

I agree with a comment above about leaving plenty of slack in the chain (within reason).

Lastly I drive all of my bikes briskly without ever redlining them. However, I do not mollycoddle them. They are there for fun and excitement as well as practicality.

 

[davidc83]

I changed the chain/sprockets on my 2009 bmw g650gs at 32,000 miles; chain and front sprocket still very good, however, the rear sprocket looked like a throwing star. I still have the chain hanging in my garage just in case I need it for an emergency. I performed chain maintenance every 500-700 miles on the little bmw.

 

[dduelin]

About the WD40 I am trying it as I have it from two people I know and trust they get long life from chains (20,000 to 30,000 miles on 600 and 650 CC bikes) using it. If you buy it in liquid form and put it in a hand pump spray bottle you can use very little of it and put it exactly where you want it, mainly on a rag to wipe on and off with. If it doesn't work for me I'll try something else. It can't do any worse than I did to the OEM chain which only made 8000 miles.

 

[Harald]

The NC chain is barely broken in, so no idea how long it will last. Like has been mentioned, I'm also a big fan of not overtightening the chain because I want it to last as long as possible.

As far as lube goes, I'm firmly in the WD40 camp. I used to use the various spray lubes and my favorite used to be PJ1 Blue Label. Then I read an article in Motorcyclist magazine (if I remember correctly) and there was a recommendation from a chain manufacturer to use WD40 for cleaning/lubing O-ring chains. I exclusively used WD40 on my CBR1100XX chain and it was still within stretch limits and without kinks when I sold the bike with 35,000 miles on it. That bike puts some serious power into the chain and it still lasted a LONG time.

 

[wozza]

I only use WD40 to clean my chain and on an occasional basis I'll wipe the chain over with a light oil such as 3 in 1. I dislike chain sprays immensely.

 

[L.B.S.]

I discovered, much to my chagrin, that if you apply wd-40 as a temporary lube when you run out of Maxima chain wax, that it does a simply wonderful job of dissolving the wax, and then re-creating a perfect, period correct simulacrum of the worst of the worst, sticky, messy, blacker than squid ink, old fashioned chain lubes, and the all encompassing spray pattern would make Dexter shudder.

 

[Loreless]

I got less than 6k miles, out of mine before several of the o-rings failed and links locked up. This said I commute in all weathers, and in the UK the sticky road salt junk gets everywhere in winter.

 

[Harald]

Found the link again for the Readers Digest version of the WD40 motorcycle chain article:

Chain Lube

 

[Old Can Ride]

In the Readers Digest article:
"Found the link again for the Readers Digest version of the WD40 motorcycle chain article:"
"Dupont Teflon Chain Lube
I haven't tried this product yet but, it has been getting some rave reviews and is relatively cheap so, I'm gonna grab some next time I'm stocking up on chemicals.
An 11 oz. can of the stuff retails at around $6.95 and can be found cheaper if you try."

I use the Dupont Teflon Wax Chain Lube - Cleanest chain lube I have ever used. And can be purchased at any WalMart!