Premature chain wear ???

[Dominican]

I'm not sure why you guys are having such early chain wear, but mine looks good. My tires are also looking quite good, and I have 10000+ miles on my bike. I ride her hard, ride two up a lot, and I've maxed it out more than 10 times (110ish). I ride mostly around NYC (top speeds mostly occurred on a race track... yes, I took it to a race track, but I had another bike I used for most of the racing). I lube it at least once per week, or at least every 300-500 miles or so, and my chain is just fine. Still within tension spec and everything, even after all these miles.

 

[StratTuner]

14K miles now, and I'm thinking maybe time to replace chain and sprockets at 24K.

 

[dduelin]

I think I may have posted this before but if I did I am repeating myself. Before the NC I had about 150,000 miles on shaft drive bikes. I hadn't maintained a chain in 35 years so it was all new to me. I cleaned the NC's original chain a lot and used aggressive solvents and a stiff brush then soap and water. I cleaned the chain about every time I washed the bike and that is usually weekly. For lube I used PJ1 for O ring chains. The chain looked great but at about 4000 miles I started noticing kinks and tight spots. It just got worse and the dealer said it probably from over cleaning the chain and would not replace it under warranty. It wasn't a recall chain so at 8000 miles I replaced the chain with a cheap $80 Orbit brand O ring chain from Cycle Gear. The sprockets did not look bad so even though I was told to replace the chain and sprockets as a set I cheaped out and just did the chain. At 14,000 miles the countershaft sprocket teeth were notably wearing in a hook pattern and kinks and tight spots were reappearing. I did not over clean this chain between 8,000 and 14,000 miles but I did use a brush, solvents, and heavy use of Honda Lube with Moly and it was a cheap chain but $80 bucks is still $80 bucks. So I needed a second new chain at 14,000 miles. I learned an expensive lesson.

I went ahead and ordered new sprockets and ponied up for a new high quality DID VX2 chain. Someone I trusted has about 30,000 miles on his WeeStrom chain and I now use his method of cleaning & lubing. I bought a container of liquid WD40 and put some in a hand pumped spray bottle so I can direct small amounts of it where I want it and control the application pressure. Then I wipe off the excess. About every 500 miles I apply a light application of Bel-Ray dry lube. I expect this chain to last a long time. At 4,000 miles I have had to adjust it only once and it runs clean and quiet with nothing to fling off of it.

 

[BttrThnWrk]

I don't know whether this suggests that the Loobman was the _cause_ of the disappointing lifespan, but it certainly makes it look like it's not a particularly helpful item to install over an O- or X-ring chain.

Yeah, that's one of the things I'll be trying to come to grips with. So far, I've got an additional 5000 miles on the new chain and tires using the spray cans of cleaner and waxy lube stuff. Alignment, chain slack and the chain's general appearance seem okay. It's just that it's now almost like actual WORK to take care of this. Sigh...

 

[MZ5]

Dave, did you clean the heavy oil/grease off this new DID when it was new?

 

[Old Can Ride]

Walmart has some good stuff.

URL: dupont degreaser - Walmart.com

Any type oil works to grease the metal chain, but only certain one's do not damage the rubber O and X rings.

 

[jtkirk]

I use WD-40 to clean and the DuPont Teflon Chain Lube to protect.

 

[dduelin]

Dave, did you clean the heavy oil/grease off this new DID when it was new?

I wet a clean terry towel with WD-40 and wiped down the new chain.

 

[The_Drifter]

14K miles now, and I'm thinking maybe time to replace chain and sprockets at 24K.

I never heard of anyone getting close to 24,000 miles on the original chain. Seems like the best one can hope for is 14,000 -16,000 miles, and most likely less.

 

[Hitandrun]

I am VERY disappointed with the factory chain. Low horsepower, sedate riding habits to promote gas mileage, good maintenance, and I am replacing it at 17K. It has one frozen link and another with the rusty dust of death. The original chain on my 02 Interceptor, which made twice the HP and was ridden a lot harder, lasted 27K. I replaced the chain with DID heavy duty and sprockets, and it was still going strong 32K later when I sold it. I have an RK HD and sprockets on order from Sprocket Center. I hope it lasts better than the original.

 

[johnakay]

you guy's certainly do some mileage in a short space of time.
it take us all day just to do 250 miles with an hour or two stoppage here and there to see the scenery..
what the average miles per year over where you live?
here in England they (insurance) recon the average UK miles is 4,000 for bikes and cars 12,000 per year.

 

[Deleted member 1183]

I'm up to 14K, and the sprocket teeth on the rear look flat on top and even... not chipped anywhere. The chain seems fine, but how would I know if it were worn and needed replacement?

The front sprocket is the one you need to look at . Because it is so much smaller it spins many times faster than the rear and accordingly wears quicker. Have a look at it and if it is severely hooked as per attached shot it will need replacement and accordingly , so will the chain and rear sprocket. According to the handbook there is also a mark to be looked at on the swingarm that will indicate if the chain needs replacement. Such marks always allow some margins for error, so they are just warnings that chain replacement is imminent. To be honest I tend to pay close attention to my chain at all times, as a broken chain while riding can be disastrous. I use a Tutoro chain oiler on the NC and a Scottoiler on one of my KTM's, and they are very useful when adjusted properly. A quick search on the web will find them. They are both excellent products but the Tutoro, with the deluxe fittings is the easier to install on the bike.

 

[treybrad]

I am VERY disappointed with the factory chain. Low horsepower, sedate riding habits to promote gas mileage, good maintenance, and I am replacing it at 17K. It has one frozen link and another with the rusty dust of death. The original chain on my 02 Interceptor, which made twice the HP and was ridden a lot harder, lasted 27K. I replaced the chain with DID heavy duty and sprockets, and it was still going strong 32K later when I sold it. I have an RK HD and sprockets on order from Sprocket Center. I hope it lasts better than the original.

+1.

Got 50k+ miles out of the OEM chain on my Bandit 1250 (2x+ the HP, heavier, and ridden harder as well), but noticed a few frozen links and red dust last night cleaning the NC's chain at 16k miles. I've treated it exactly the same as I did the Bandit... oh well. Seems just about everyone is having to replace between 15-20k.

trey

 

[Bamo]

Factory chain is junk. I have more miles on the chain on my CR250. It was junk at 8K and I over maintain it. Called my dealer and he refused to warranty it. I bought a new chain and a 39 tooth DCT rear sprocket. I guess the cheap chain is another way they keep the price down at the dealership.

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

you guy's certainly do some mileage in a short space of time.
it take us all day just to do 250 miles with an hour or two stoppage here and there to see the scenery..
what the average miles per year over where you live?
here in England they (insurance) recon the average UK miles is 4,000 for bikes and cars 12,000 per year.

I put about a 1,000 miles a month on my bike. 99.888% of that is commuting. probably another 900 driving a cage.

View attachment 9941

The front sprocket is the one you need to look at . Because it is so much smaller it spins many times faster than the rear and accordingly wears quicker. Have a look at it and if it is severely hooked as per attached shot it will need replacement and accordingly , so will the chain and rear sprocket. According to the handbook there is also a mark to be looked at on the swingarm that will indicate if the chain needs replacement. Such marks always allow some margins for error, so they are just warnings that chain replacement is imminent. To be honest I tend to pay close attention to my chain at all times, as a broken chain while riding can be disastrous. I use a Tutoro chain oiler on the NC and a Scottoiler on one of my KTM's, and they are very useful when adjusted properly. A quick search on the web will find them. They are both excellent products but the Tutoro, with the deluxe fittings is the easier to install on the bike.

I've read a few post from long lasting chain owners that change the front sprocket around 10,000-15,000 miles. They get a lot of mileage on their chains.

 

[Deleted member 1183]

I put about a 1,000 miles a month on my bike. 99.888% of that is commuting. probably another 900 driving a cage.



I've read a few post from long lasting chain owners that change the front sprocket around 10,000-15,000 miles. They get a lot of mileage on their chains.

Yes I have seen it done also. I am not sure if leaving it to 10,000 miles is a great idea though as the wear on the chain might not allow it to line up correctly with the teeth on a new front sprocket. Perhaps a change at 7500 miles might be better.

There was a DID chain put on mine before purchase because of the recall. I have almost 8000 miles on that chain currently and there are no appreciable signs of wear. However I remember thinking when I first got the bike that for its weight, the chain looked decidedly lightweight. We will see in due course. I use a Chain oiler on my NC to good effect.

 

[MZ5]

I wish I could recall the poster, but one user of an automatic oiler on this board reported having to replace the chain at the same general mileage as the rest of us.

FWIW

 

[max cooper]

When I purchased my NCX, I made it a point to ask the service manager what type of chain lube he suggested. He told me that he asked the same question at the last training school he attended . The Honda instructor told him that WD-40 was all that was needed. Now that I have read all the suggestions on here, I feel more confident using WD-40 in the manner suggested. I purchased a cleaning brush designed just for motorcycle chains recently. It does not have metal bristles . It has some sort of plastic bristles instead. Do you folks feel as though it will not damage the O rings ? Or should I just use the rag to clean the gunk collected on the chain ? Lots of darn good info on this forum. Thanks

 

[SergeantChuck]

I purchased a cleaning brush designed just for motorcycle chains recently. It does not have metal bristles . It has some sort of plastic bristles instead. Do you folks feel as though it will not damage the O rings ? Or should I just use the rag to clean the gunk collected on the chain ? Lots of darn good info on this forum. Thanks

Everybody has there own method. I don't get very carried away and may chain may suffer but I've always had decent results with this. I take the bike out for about 15 mintues and get the chain nice and warm. I put her on the center stand and take a rag that I douce in WD-40 to hold against the chain and I spin the wheel. If I see any heavy deposits I use an old tooth brush to scrub them. I have never used a fancy brush specificially for chain cleaning. Just an old tooth brush. After breaking the big stuff loose I use the same douced rag and wipe the chain down again. After its clean I lube. Since I stay strickly on the highway my chain doesn't get real bad so my method may not work for all.

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

Yes I have seen it done also. I am not sure if leaving it to 10,000 miles is a great idea though as the wear on the chain might not allow it to line up correctly with the teeth on a new front sprocket. Perhaps a change at 7500 miles might be better.

There was a DID chain put on mine before purchase because of the recall. I have almost 8000 miles on that chain currently and there are no appreciable signs of wear. However I remember thinking when I first got the bike that for its weight, the chain looked decidedly lightweight. We will see in due course. I use a Chain oiler on my NC to good effect.

One of the post that I read said the rider got 30,000 + miles out of his chains. (Not OEM Honda NC Chains) I think I will inspect the front, then change if needed.