To Ring or not to Ring (O/X ring chains)

[Hondo53]

Seems to me that the purpose of the rubber ring chains is to try to preserve them for the absent minded croud (like me). They can survive longer without external oiling. So i got to thinking...why O-rings when you have a chain oiler. It doesnt need O-rings to seal the oil in and the o-rings just may be working against the oiler. Thinking.... If all the internal lube behind the O-ring is gone then that O-ring is now preventing the external oil from penetrating to the inside of the chain and therefore preventing internal lubrication. I never had O-rings when i rode my Honda 750 four back in the 70s. I also did not have an oiler. Those chains did fine wih my imperfect lubrication.
Now that i have a Motobriiz automatic oiler, i am soon replacing with a "racing" heavy duty chain wihout any O-rings.
My thinking is that this chain that is half the price of an O/X-ring chain will go as far as an O/X-ring chain due to the frequent lubing by the oiler.
The ring chains may go farther with an oiler but not twice as far. Therefore they dont justify their high price.

 

[670cc]

Your plan seems logical to me.

I use x- or o-ring chains because I don’t want the mess of an oiler. But I realize I can expect shorter chain life without an oiler than I would if I had one. A standard chain makes perfect sense if it’s properly lubricated.

But in the end, I’d much rather have shaft drive.

 

[potter0o]

Interesting idea. Would be good a good experiment to test your findings. I got good mileage out of the stock chain simply by following the recommended lubing interval. I have a DID VX2 chain as my replacement and hoping for more. Time will tell

 

[Hondo53]

Oh, can you tell me why a bunch of cheap little rubber O-rings should make a $40-60 dollar difference in the price of a chain?

 

[superdedooperman]

It does seem like a very compelling notion to go with a regular chain over an o/x-ring chain.

And ditto on the shaft drive!

 

[Brillot2000]

I have been riding and maintaining motorcycles for over 30 years now.

I noticed over the years that even a good quality chain without o-rings such as a DID would stretch fairly quick and would require more maintenance such as lubing and cleaning. O-ring chains require far less maintenance and do not stretch as much and does not require much adjustments. X-ring chains are a step over the standard o-ring chains.

You can spend $40-300 for a chain of varying levels of quality. It all boils down to what you want to spend and what you want to get out of a chain. As the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for."

You should be able to get at least 10k miles out of a fair quality chain before you start to see any signs of trouble. That's of course if you stay on top of the maintenance and keeping the chain tension within tolerance.

Hope this helps out.

 

[Hondo53]

OK, ill bite, show me a shaft drive dual sport bike. Non-euro please.

 

[670cc]

OK, ill bite, show me a shaft drive dual sport bike. Non-euro please.

We're talking about the NC700X here. It is not a dual sport bike.

The NC700X is a mid sized street bike with adventure bike styling. It could have shaft drive if Honda had wanted, but it would increase the already portly weight, decrease the fuel economy, and increase the cost, and probably not increase sales. So it makes sense that the NC doesn't have shaft drive, but I still want it.

 

[SilverRocket]

I can't do anything other than basic maintenance at my apartment, so have to have my dealer do things like replacing the chain or tires.
My goal is to get a set that have to be replaced at the same time!

 

[Hondafan]

Interesting idea. Would be good a good experiment to test your findings. I got good mileage out of the stock chain simply by following the recommended lubing interval. I have a DID VX2 chain as my replacement and hoping for more. Time will tell

I put a DID VX2 on my NC on advice I read in this group. I then rode 4000 miles to southern Arizona and back. I checked the chain slack every night, and lubed it with a small can of Dupont Chain Saver from Walmart. I never had to adjust the chain the whole trip....and that was on a brand new chain. I highly recommend the VX2.

 

[Jos]

In my experience frequent adjustment happens when chains are in their end of life. New chains hardly need any adjustment over a few thousand miles.

 

[MZ5]

In a relatively moist environment, I think an oiler over a non-o-ring chain sounds quite logical. Hope to hear back soon on how well it worked!

 

[GgarryP]

Remember worn chains also wear sprockets and vice versa. Saving on a cheap chain may mean replacing sprockets more often. And there's an increased risk of breaking or throwing a chain which could be dangerous.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[DirtFlier]

The NC is the first chain drive road bike I've ever owned, all the others have been shaft drive, so please pardon my ignorance but is it even possible to buy a non-O-ring chain in that size?

 

[potter0o]

The NC is the first chain drive road bike I've ever owned, all the others have been shaft drive, so please pardon my ignorance but is it even possible to buy a non-O-ring chain in that size?

I found this quickly on a web search Non O-Ring Drive Chain Gold Color 520 x114 ATV Motorcycle 520 Pitch 114 Links | eBay I don't have any experience beyond the NC myself.