Chain and Sprocket Life

[glo]

ANyone have an approximate idea on how many miles I can expect to get out of a chain and sprockets on a litre bike.

[SVRACER01]

how are you gonna ride it and how much do you plan on taking care of it?

[glo]

Semi aggresively, the odd wheelie or three . I have about 10k on the stock chain and sprockets, how do I know when to change it out?. I clean and lube it once a month.

[mikem317]

Might depend from machine to machine. I believe my Honda's chain and sprokets need to be changed at 12K. Yup, depends a lot on how you ride too.

[SVRACER01]

once a month? a little more often than that. i used to do mine every Friday when i got home from work. chain still warm is a good time to lube. so pull in the garage, right on the stand a quick lube and then adjust. i realize that once a week may be excessive but the more you take care of it the longer it will last. once a month isnt bad but it makes it easy to forget. find a day in the week that it would be perfect to take an extra 10 min to do the job and you will get long life.

if you can pull the chain off the rear sprocket (straight back on 1 link) and you can see the valley in the sprocket then its probably worn (adjusted chain of course) stiff links are also a good sign that you are getting low. although stiff links arent necessarily bad unless you have alot of them. periodic cleaning and lubing will help prevent this.

Sprockets: this is tough to judge sometimes. the teeth should not look like sharp daggers (look at a new one to see what i mean) missing teeth are a no-no and with a high powered bike you might even see the teeth curving in the direction of travel (chain pulling on teeth..yada yada) steel sprockets weigh more but last MUCH longer than aluminum (stock is steel so it seems like they last through 10 chains) aluminum is the opposite obviously. there are comanies that make mixed sprockets (aluminum with steel teeth) never used one but im sure someone here has and will chime in.

you CAN replace chain without sprockets, its not recommended but its OK. chains and sprockets wear into each other so if you use a new chain and toasted sprockets than the chain wont last as long as it should and vise versa. not a bad thing though ....adjust/clean/lube. i know taking the time once a week to do this is a pain but i bought my bike new in 01 and stuck to this habit and im just now putting new sprockets on. plenty of new chains but sprockets are stock. i probably could have done them sooner but sprockets are expensive and ive definitly got my moneys worth out of them. i have no idea how many miles are on it but i rode in Phoenix 350+ days a year since i bought it. so it works, just stick to it. just like brushing your teeth it will become habit

[Uncle Snake]

Originally posted by SVRACER01
there are comanies that make mixed sprockets (aluminum with steel teeth) never used one but im sure someone here has and will chime in.

I have a stealth rear sprocket on my ZRX1200. Steel chain ring with aluminum carrier. Weighs far less than stock but will wear like stock. It looks cool to if'n yer into the bling........ I use maxima chain wax on a still warm chain every 400 or so miles. Clean chain with wd40 and a tooth brush every 1000 or so miles. My chain and sprockets show next to no wear and they've got approx. 8K miles on them. Bike make 130hp and 85ft-lbs of torque on the dyno and I do use it all. BTW chain is a DID 530zvm and front sprocket is an Afam. Regards, Snake

[13]

WD-40? I'm no expert, but I've heard that it will eat the o-rings. I've used it before to clean mine, but I was worried after I heard it. Anyone else hear this?

[SVRACER01]

WD is a cleaner not a lube. if you are worried there are chain CLEANERS out there and you use those and spend the money on a "grunge brush" or old toothbrushes work good too, they just dont last as long. ABSOLUTLY NO WIRE BRUSHES ON O-RING CHAINS.

[Uncle Snake]

Originally posted by Stupidhawk007
WD-40? I'm no expert, but I've heard that it will eat the o-rings. I've used it before to clean mine, but I was worried after I heard it. Anyone else hear this?

As I understand it the propellant in the can eats the o-rings. Spray the wd-40 into a cup and you're good to go. I've cleaned my chains for 18 years that way with no o-ring failures. This just IMHO. Your mileage may vary..... Regards, Snake

[RandyO]

I've had best luck with OEM chain & sprockets, on a cost per mile basis, I have a scottoiler, and get about 35k/set , I run a steel OEM gsxr 16t front (up one from SV) and aluminum 46t rear, cant get a 46 in steel for the rear of my SV, and oem DID 112link chain (stock is 110 link)

still, my front sprocket is the first thing to show wear

I wouldn't even think of an aluminum front sprocket.

[RandyO]

Originally posted by Stupidhawk007
WD-40? I'm no expert, but I've heard that it will eat the o-rings. I've used it before to clean mine, but I was worried after I heard it. Anyone else hear this?

if you soaked the chain in wd for a day, it might start eating the o-rings, the little bit that you spray on and wipe off isn't there long enuf to harm anything

I've hear that wd eats o rings too, but TOO many people use it succesfullly for it to be a fact

[glo]

Thanks for all your valuable knowledge out there members.