How to tell if you need a new chain??
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The short answer is when it stretches.
Put the bike up on your rear stand. Bike in neutral, rotate the tire with your hand. Take your finger (glove it with some surgical gloves btw- you can buy a can of them at your local auto parts store) and push up on the chain, say every six inches & rotate the chain around its entire length.
You should have some slack in there, say 1 inch movement up or down, when you push up on the chain.
If you get a tight spot, where the chain gets tight- you no longer have that slack in there equally around the entire length of the chain- time to toss it. When they get stretched, you can visually see the tight spot.
Generally, your sprockets and your chain are a matched set and wear together. Look closely at the rear sprocket and the teeth. As the sprocket wears out, the teeth tips will slowly bend at the tips. If the teeth tips are not perfectly equal, time to toss the rear sprocket. The front can do the same, and you can visually see the bend in the tips.
Go here:
Put the bike up on your rear stand. Bike in neutral, rotate the tire with your hand. Take your finger (glove it with some surgical gloves btw- you can buy a can of them at your local auto parts store) and push up on the chain, say every six inches & rotate the chain around its entire length.
You should have some slack in there, say 1 inch movement up or down, when you push up on the chain.
If you get a tight spot, where the chain gets tight- you no longer have that slack in there equally around the entire length of the chain- time to toss it. When they get stretched, you can visually see the tight spot.
Generally, your sprockets and your chain are a matched set and wear together. Look closely at the rear sprocket and the teeth. As the sprocket wears out, the teeth tips will slowly bend at the tips. If the teeth tips are not perfectly equal, time to toss the rear sprocket. The front can do the same, and you can visually see the bend in the tips.
Go here:
Or you could go to the service manual and use the proper procedure to measure for a streched chain. lol!
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busa1300nut
Registered
30000 miles? I can tell that you need a new one without even lookn at it. lol
Bought one of the kits from Tim a couple weeks ago, but I went with the RK chain and gold rear, and I can really tell the differance in how smooth it is.. Great deal too.
A quick and dirty trick I use for a quick estimate is, grab the chain at the back of the rear sprocket and pull it backwards. If you can expose more than 1/2 a tooth on the rear sprocket the chain is shot.
It's a handy technique when checking a bike over that you may be purchasing.
cheers
ken
It's a handy technique when checking a bike over that you may be purchasing.
cheers
ken
I may be learning something new here. I've never heard of either method. I do know you can have tight spots in a new chain. Especially if the rear sprocket is new. I've rejected several new sprocket (All Renthal) because the chain would now lay down in the sprocket valley's properly creating tight spots.
I've worn out enough aluminum sprockets to fill a bath tub and I've never had the teeth bend. What I look for is the sprocket points to wear thin. I have run those puppies until the points were so sharp you could shave with them. Run them past the shaving point and teeth will begin to break one at a time.
dk55belair
Registered
Mine started clicking because one link was freezing up to the other. That's how I knew(about 26,000 miles)
telesmith1465
Registered
Lots of good info. here. Thanks...
Old chain vs new chain.
My chains been doin some frame grinding duty courtesy of a 240, i bet it looks like a fetaccinni noodle by now.
Well the scientist in me always used two reasons, 1) a clicking link, or 2) out of adjustment with tendancy to slip
30K is great, and always make sure you replace as a set ( sprockets and chain ). Obviously that doesn't apply to those swapping out rears all the time for racing, etc.
30K is great, and always make sure you replace as a set ( sprockets and chain ). Obviously that doesn't apply to those swapping out rears all the time for racing, etc.
Shaft
Registered
Great combo. I need that chain and a front sprocket bigger than stock. will a 20T fit? and can you get one Tim?
Good time to decide about adding a tooth or two to the rear. Changed up my bike a whole lot in my favor, for my riding style, by adding 2 teeth to the rear sprocket.
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