Time for the Chain Game again......

[Warchild]

What a drag... I am supposed to depart for Nevada tomorrow evening after midnight, but the chain on the K8 is 100% toast. Can't take the FJR, because it's doesn't have enough rear tread left to make it down and back without cords showing...

Ordered up some fresh hardware from Justin (thanks again, mang!), but unfortunately I couldn't get to this task until yesterday after work. So I basically have tonight to slap these babies on the bike.... hey, what could go wrong?

Hmmmm..... it seems that 28,000 miles (with the Pro-Oiler set at a higher flow rate than normal) results in a gnarley mess. This is going to have me spending some quality time with a large soft-bristled parts brush, and several cans of Brakeleen to get this area clean and dry again...

It is unfortunate (and somewhat ill-advised) to do major maintenance immediately before departing on a 1500-mile road trip, but there is no choice at this point. After the above picture was taken, the old chain was cut off and old sprockets removed. So tonight is the big cleaning exercise before slapping on the new hardware.
This should go fairly fast.... I hope.....

 

[cheferman65]

Wow! looks like you took the old girl off road for a romp. Nasty for sure! Have a great and safe trip!

 

[Warchild]

Wow! looks like you took the old girl off road for a romp.

Yeah, true, the bike does see a fair amount of unpaved work.... mostly Forest Service roads and hard-packed gravel....

 

[outlawbusa]

Way to go Justin~!~

Warchild, be sure to use a good riviting tool on the master link, it'll make life a whole lot easier...

 

[kromdom]

you're my inspiration for long distance/endurance riding, bro. Ride safe and have fun.

 

[E Zurcher]

That poor BUSA. You should look into a Duc or Beemer for those roads. My baby never, and I mean never sees the dirt and it only sees rain when it's unavoidable. Coming up on 12000 miles and she looks like new!

 

[GsxrBots]

That poor BUSA. You should look into a Duc or Beemer for those roads. My baby never, and I mean never sees the dirt and it only sees rain when it's unavoidable. Coming up on 12000 miles and she looks like new!

Never feel sorry for a bike that is RIDDEN! The "poor BUSA's" are stuck at home in somebody's garage rotting away with zero miles on them...

 

[Warchild]

My baby never, and I mean never sees the dirt and it only sees rain when it's unavoidable.

That's how my K8 gets washed... by running it through a thundercell.

 

[Warchild]

Ok, much better now..... !


Before.....

After......

I could spend hours scouring every nook, cranny and crevice in the front sprocket area, but I gotta wrap this job up tonight..... gettin' closer...

 

[nabusa]

She was a bit dirty lol. I ride my bike rain or shine. But I'm not too comfortable on service roads.

 

[Warchild]

Almost done now.... new JT sprockets torqued to specs, and the EK chain staked:

Now to install the speed sensor and button everything back up, and adjust the chain.

And take a test spin.

 

[880jedi]

Yes, they do get dirty inside.

 

[Sous]

Did you just use Kerosene to get rid of the gunk built up in there?

 

[Warchild]

Nope.... a soft-bristled parts brush, and one 20oz can of CRC Brakleen.

And that's the heterosexual version of Brakleen.... not that effeminate non-chlorinated enviro-friendly cheese they also sell.


Men's version in red, tree-hugger version is green:

 

[Warchild]

duplicated post deleted

 

[jphilipson]

Good luck with the EK ZZZ, my last experiences with them sucked. Stock chain lasted 33k hard miles (RK GB530GXW). Chain wasn't even that bad, and couldn't believe how good the sprockets looked (no bent teeth and very slight wear).

So I replaced with the EK ZZZ and new steel sprockets earlier in the year. The thing stretched like a rubber band. Less than 10k later I had to replace the chain because it had tight and loose spots so bad if you adjusted for proper play on the tight spots, then the loose spots were way to sloppy.

So I ordered up a Tsubaki Sigma X-ring. That arrives, and lo and behold it has a clip style link with it (a clip link with a 530 chain, wtf?). I searched far and wide and the rivet link for the chain is nowhere to be had.

So I saw Justin's special on the EK ZZZ chain and ordered another one, thinking I may have just gotten a dud the first time around. And for $144 shipped to my door, I figured it was worth the risk. (Note, this post is in no way talking bad about Honda East Justin - his service is great, ordered and shipped the same day). Anyway, I've had it on for about 1000 miles and it's already developed pretty noticeable tight and loose spots. I think it will be another 10k chain. And I'm very meticulous about chain maint. I adjust regularly using a caliper, clean regularly with kerosene and keep it lubed with Dupont teflon lube. Since the stock chain got 33k with minimal wear, it's not a case of not taking care of it.

Will be leaving next Friday for the LOE 1000 rally, should be a 2000-2500+ mile weekend, hope the chain doesn't stretch to crap and let me down. I'm going to re-adjust when I get to the Hotel the night before.

I will not be ordering another EK chain - will be going back the stock RK when the time comes.

 

[Busa1166]

I would have just put a tire on the FJR


Less of a mission done the Busa when I returned

 

[Warchild]

I would have just put a tire on the FJR

I would too, if I have a spare 180/55-17 lying around! Ironically, I do have a spare 190/50-17 for the Busa.

In any event, the job is all complete now:

A test run while also filling up the tank indicates the job went okay; driveline appears to behave as advertised. Now to pack up the bike and grab a couple hours sleep before the pre-dawn departure.

Good luck with the EK ZZZ, my last experiences with them sucked.

Well, that's a bummer to hear. We'll see how it goes with the EK ZZZ, Your experience with the stock RK chain mirrors my own - I managed a staggering 37,000 miles on that OEM chain, and it looked excellent when I cut it off, and the sprockets too. After the RK, I went with the Tsubaki also... it did a right fair job with a 23,000 mile service life.

I'll keep a close eye on the EK.....

 

[jphilipson]

Well, that's a bummer to hear. We'll see how it goes with the EK ZZZ, Your experience with the stock RK chain mirrors my own - I managed a staggering 37,000 miles on that OEM chain, and it looked excellent when I cut it off, and the sprockets too. After the RK, I went with the Tsubaki also... it did a right fair job with a 23,000 mile service life.

I'll keep a close eye on the EK.....

Don't mean to rain on your parade, I hope the EK lasts you much longer than it did for me. And for the stock RK, I think I could have easily put another 10k on it - I just don't trust a chain with that many miles on it.

With the EK, they seem to stretch a lot quickly (and not evenly ), so check it every 400-500 miles for the first few thousand miles. Also, I'd suggest cleaning off that lube they ship it with before you ride. The stuff is evil and coated my bike with splatter, not to mention it's a magnet for dirt, stones and any other road debris that comes near the chain.


Regarding the Tsubaki Sigma, do you have any idea where you can get a rivet link for those? I have a Sigma XRG 530 with about 1000 miles on it. Ran it with the rivet link till my new chain came in, but just can't trust a rivet link. Seems the part number for the rivet link was discontinued with Tucker Rockey and Part Unlimited, which were the only US dists for those chains . Can't believe they started shipping the chains with clip links when they ran out of rivet links.

 

[Jacobs]

That's a good picture for me to advertise haha.

Well I hope everything works out for you. I have yet to hear anyone with problems with this chain, minus Justin(jphilipson)