Chain tight spots

[motorbyclist]

how do they develop? why do they develop? got a few ideas pertaining to locking the rear wheel, but normal riding should really normalize the link length unless there's a manufacturing fault...

but then the law of averages would dictate that the slight variation in link strengths would be nicely spread out beween the links, ie the chances of getting 30 weak links then 30 strong ones are pretty bloody slim, so that shouldn't cause it either....


anyone actually know why/how chains develop tight spots?

[PirateJafa]

Someone suggested uneven sprockets to me once, but I would have thought that that would still result in a even wear across the chain, as the sprockets rotate more times than the chain?

[Ixion]

They don't. They develop loose spots. Which are where the chain is more worn. The unworn bits feel tight

Wear occurs between the rollers and the pins. Once the case hardening wears through the rate of wear will be rapid. There will be a point in the life cycle of the chain where , due to random variation in manufacturing , exposure to crud, lubricant etc some links will have worn through their case hardening and will be wearing rapidly. Others won't. The remianing good links feel tight.

[FJRider]

In other words... time to replace...

[racefactory]

anyone had a chain snap or had any damage occur?

My chain is not looking that good i reckon... bit of rust here and there but i dont have funds at the moment... or can i just use a rust cracker/remover?

[Ixion]

Yep. chains do snap. Had a few. Primary and secondary. Primary do more damage. Luck of the draw if it takes the crankcases out or not. Best not to take the chance . Though not all chain breakages are neglect, as any pre-unit Triumph owner will agree.

Rust is bad, mkay. And rust remover won't help a t all. Rust indicates long term lack of lubrication. Which is a very bad thing.The damage is inside the chain not the surface rust. Shaft drive FTW.

[racefactory]

damn it can blow your crank???

it;s just got a bit of rust in some areas. It's very loose.

[FJRider]

damn it can blow your crank???

it;s just got a bit of rust in some areas. It's very loose.

When the chain snaps... it can punch a hole/crack the CASINGS...(serious oil leak)

[FJRider]

anyone had a chain snap or had any damage occur?

My chain is not looking that good i reckon... bit of rust here and there but i dont have funds at the moment... or can i just use a rust cracker/remover?

When chains go loose, damage to sprocket occur, then the resulting jerking can impact on the WHOLE gear train (inside the gearbox) with gear teeth getting chipped or broken. THEN IT GETS EXPENSIVE TO FIX... :beer:

All because you were to lazy to keep the chain lubed and adjusted properly...Look after it. :bash:

[honda929]

I had a front sprocket come loose on my ZZR1100,snapped chain which wrapped around swingarm locking back wheel,smashed sprocket cover and bent the output shaft a little, all this at 120kph.Funny thing is a week later i got a letter from kawasaki warning that this could happen due to a faulty lock washer.Kawasaki came to the party and repaired all damage though.

[lostinflyz]

damn it can blow your crank???

it;s just got a bit of rust in some areas. It's very loose.

hey mate if your chains buggered your always better to replace it. If its old and scummy it'll be why you cant find neutral too.

Chains impart all the momentum that propels you to the nice speeds you travel. There alot of energy in one when it comes loose. Anything in its way when it lets go will get broken, and the closest straightest path is the engine 9/10.

good thread. cool to know that things are the inverse of the obvious.
Cheers

[racefactory]

how could it be responsible for my neutral problem? The chain is really loose and i dont have the tool to adjust it.

any place you could reccommend to buy a chain for good price? Its a 525 chain isnt it? Do you always replace sprockets with chain? Its just the haynes manual says do that.

[FJRider]

hey mate if your chains buggered your always better to replace it. If its old and scummy it'll be why you cant find neutral too.

Chains impart all the momentum that propels you to the nice speeds you travel. There alot of energy in one when it comes loose. Anything in its way when it lets go will get broken, and the closest straightest path is the engine 9/10.



They've even been known to wrap round the back axle... sudden lock-up...

[TimeOut]

Always replace the sprockets when you replace the chain.
If you put a new chain on worn sprockets it won't last long.

[racefactory]

hey guys... so where can i get a chain for a good price?

[PirateJafa]

Cycletreads. Last time it was $180 for a new chain and two sprockets, fitted, as I recall.

[FJRider]

hey guys... so where can i get a chain for a good price?

Where ever you normally get work done, and get them to fit it... YOU SAVE IN THE END... you get to ride the bike a little longer...:shifty:

[lostinflyz]

how could it be responsible for my neutral problem? The chain is really loose and i dont have the tool to adjust it.

any place you could reccommend to buy a chain for good price? Its a 525 chain isnt it? Do you always replace sprockets with chain? Its just the haynes manual says do that.

I beleive it has something to do with tension on the output shaft of the motor into the gear box but i could well be wrong. Trust me it will make a massive difference. You can fashion the tool for the swingarm adjuster out of a thickish piece of metal, a hacksaw and a grinder. It takes about 40 mins (its not pretty but it works). Only problem is if someone has had a hack at the cam adjuster with a screw driver and been a savage bastard. Then they can be difficult to move (but not impossible)

You may wish to change to a 520 sprocket as 525 chains are hardish to find (except the super expensive ones) and gives u a greater variety of sprocket sizes. you can fit the sprocket and chain easy as. But if the shop wants to do it let'em. Make sure the chain is strong enough (i.e. heavy duty) for your bike.

[racefactory]

It sounds pretty easy to replace chain and sprockets, but yeah your paying like 10 bucks more for fitting so may as well get them to do it.

I saw DID 525 chain with sprocket on trademe but for 10 more i think ill just go to the shop.

[lostinflyz]

just remember the duty of the chain. a medium duty (i think thats what its called) wont last very long at all on one of these.

[racefactory]

sweet ok ill pop down to cycle treads and get it all done.

what sprocket do you reccommend me telling them to fit? Something a little shorter/harder acceleration would be cool since this thing does over 100kph is first gear.

[skidMark]

Yep. chains do snap. Had a few. Primary and secondary. Primary do more damage. Luck of the draw if it takes the crankcases out or not. Best not to take the chance . Though not all chain breakages are neglect, as any pre-unit Triumph owner will agree.

Rust is bad, mkay. And rust remover won't help a t all. Rust indicates long term lack of lubrication. Which is a very bad thing.The damage is inside the chain not the surface rust. Shaft drive FTW.


Yeah but...thats triumphs, if its not leaking oil you know its got none left!!!

[lostinflyz]

sweet ok ill pop down to cycle treads and get it all done.

what sprocket do you reccommend me telling them to fit? Something a little shorter/harder acceleration would be cool since this thing does over 100kph is first gear.

it does a 100kph in first gear cause it has a racing gearbox. If you gear it down for more acceleration then it will pull a bit better in 1st but all the other gears will prob be annoyingly short. i'd put whats recommended on it and see what you think then fiddle with it. But if your gonna change sprocket sizes switch to a 520 setup, as there is a much greater variety in sizes.

[pritch]

Do you always replace sprockets with chain? Its just the haynes manual says do that.

When the bike is near new that may not be necessary. Some OE chains are "budget" and don't last as long as a good quality replacement. From what you've said about your chain though replacement would probably be a good idea.

[racefactory]

Thanks all. Got the chain adjusted and WD40'd it and gave it a good scrub- then lubed it up later with chain lube. Lots of crap came off of the chain. It does not reach the red ''replace chain mark'' yet though so all good I reckon.. for a while.

[motorbyclist]

They don't. They develop loose spots. Which are where the chain is more worn. The unworn bits feel tight

Wear occurs between the rollers and the pins. Once the case hardening wears through the rate of wear will be rapid. There will be a point in the life cycle of the chain where , due to random variation in manufacturing , exposure to crud, lubricant etc some links will have worn through their case hardening and will be wearing rapidly. Others won't. The remianing good links feel tight.

sounds like a reasonable explanation

tight spots = new chain


anyone had a chain snap or had any damage occur?


i've had a chain come off and lock rear wheel, leaving a nice 30m black mark on the road

also had one come off and launch itself through the crank casing. on the way to trade it in:slap:

seen the damage a snapped 520 chain can do to a quad bike. rotted the chain keeper and broke all the casing where the keeper bolted on. your road bike likely won't have a keeper, so expect a serious oil leak


The chain is really loose and i dont have the tool to adjust it.

i use a soft 4mm aluminium rod and rubber mallet. this way doesn't damage the bike, but having the tool is always the better option.


hey guys... so where can i get a chain for a good price?

a bike shop

remember like most things spending more now saves you later. had a $60 chain that needed weekly tighening and rooted my sprockets in just a few months. replaced with over $200 worth of X-ring glory and since bedding in i've tightened it thrice in 12 months of daily abuse