A word of Warning regarding Chains

[cl4yd0h]

I recently freshened up my 1980 1100E and bought new a new DID 630 Roller Chain and JT Sprockets. I simply picked the DID because it was on the shelf at the local shop, about 70 bucks and you can always trust a DID.
I put about 200 miles on it and noticed the chain would be pretty warm after running, about 140F, the lube dried up quickly and I had to adjust it twice in the first few hundred miles.

So I ordered a new sealed RK630GSV sealed chain as I didn't like how the DID roller was wearing in. The chain came in, and it was a nice day so I took the GS out to go pick it up, figuring, you cant break a brand new DID 630, ignoring the signs it was giving me.

I lubed the chain before I left and a few miles into my ride to pick up the new chain, it spit the DID out while shifting from 4th to 5th, only going about 45. Luckily the chain guard took most of the impact. I broke a cover mounting hole on the cases, absolutely destroyed the chain guard, cut into my new tires, gouged the rim, and bent the chain guard mounting brackets.

Luckily, I was going slow at the time as I have been hot rodding a bit since I freshened it up.

So, this is just a warning to other GSers to Stay away from the DID 630 "K" Roller chain. It is absolute garbage! The GS ate it up in 300 miles and made a mess on the way out.

I am fortunate to be ok and luckily no major holes in the cases.

On a side note, I am now on the hunt for a new chain guard, so please let me know if you have one!

Thanks, Clayton

 

[Eli69]

Did your front sprocket have the proper spacer? I mean this is just too weird. Are you sure everything was lined up right?

 

[GS1150Pilot]

Yeah, if that chain wasn't majorly defective, something else was the cause there. Chains don't just explode.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Your reported heating makes me think your alignment was off. Though honestly I?ve never measured the temp of my chain ,ever. Anyone else? Do they get that hot if running smooth?

 

[cl4yd0h]

I did install the spacer recommended by JT to take up extra width from the OE Cushioned sprocket.

As far as alignment, The tire was strait in the swing arm and the sprocket to sprocket appears to be visually strait, but no other checks.

I was also curious about the temperature.. Can anyone who knows chime in on typical running temps of a chain?

After looking into a bit more I found the Master Link, it was bent outwards, meaning the clip popped off and the link worked its way out, so to clarify, It didn't snap the chain, however the locking clip failed.

I too am wondering about the alignment, if the JT spacer is correct or not, other than looking strait, maybe someone has a suggestion to check it out.

Either way, the chain is junk and I can see how someone would be tempted to get one as it's name brand and relatively cheap

 

[LAB3]

After looking into a bit more I found the Master Link, it was bent outwards, meaning the clip popped off and the link worked its way out, so to clarify, It didn't snap the chain, however the locking clip failed.

Could be the clip was on backwards. I've had master links break but never have had a clip come off. If the master link is on the top side of the chain run when you put it on the fat (closed) side of the clip goes forward, if it's on the bottom side of the chain run it goes toward the rear.

 

[xkaes]

YIKES. That could have been a COMPLETE disaster. It makes me glad that my GS550 uses an endless, no-master-link/clip, hermetically-sealed chain. While it might be more difficult to install (getting around the swing arm, removing the chain guard) it sure seems safer. Is that an option on yours? I assumed that these were common on the GS machines.

 

[cl4yd0h]

The master link was definitely installed in the right direction.

Aside from the clip failure, in the few hundred miles I had it, it was a very, very bad chain. Loud, stretchy and hot.

I can verify it's the chain quality itself as I have the same new DID "K" Roller chain on my GT750 in a 530 version and it is doing the same exact thing. I didn't go with a sealed chain originally as the GT barely has any space for a wider chain.

Switching that out now to the slimmest 530 I could find, a DID 530VX3 with a rivet link before the GT spits it out. I just completed a full restore on the GT750, so luckily the GS spit the chain, because if the GT did it it would devastate the cases.

 

[GregT]

I did install the spacer recommended by JT to take up extra width from the OE Cushioned sprocket.

As far as alignment, The tire was strait in the swing arm and the sprocket to sprocket appears to be visually strait, but no other checks.

I was also curious about the temperature.. Can anyone who knows chime in on typical running temps of a chain?

After looking into a bit more I found the Master Link, it was bent outwards, meaning the clip popped off and the link worked its way out, so to clarify, It didn't snap the chain, however the locking clip failed.

I too am wondering about the alignment, if the JT spacer is correct or not, other than looking strait, maybe someone has a suggestion to check it out.

Either way, the chain is junk and I can see how someone would be tempted to get one as it's name brand and relatively cheap

There's got to be side load on the clip link for it to bend and release the clip.
I'd take the time to check sprocket alignment with a good straightedge.

 

[tatu]

Some interesting reading here...
241052 Vis_016-048 (daidocorp.com)

They mention chain temperature here:
DID Chain Questions and Answers - YouTube

30*/40* above ambient..

I know that DID do differing qualities of chain. I could only get one kind I forget which but the link plates were significantly thinner than the chain I took off my old YDS7. I will replace it when I remember to think about it one day.
Wrecking a chain over that sort of distance is shocking something else is affecting it to have done that.

 

[Cipher]

Is China Inc. Counterfeiting 630 drive chains? Ship a million bucks of knockoff to hell with the danger?
Is the chain you bought the bottom of the line offering? There's has always been a marked increase in service life with price in my experience.

My friend who swears by his trusty scot oiler broke a chain and case last fall. Almost got killed.

 

[Guest]

Roller chain? Why on earth would you put a plain ole regular roller chain on? They don't last for crap even lubed.

 

[Cipher]

Years ago 37 I was perusing my roommates Engineering Material text a resource for mech. Engineers.
Among the vast and varied charts specs of real world off the shelf components was a section on roller chain.

I looked up the power rating of standard 530 chain and was amazed that my bikes bhp was far in excess of what standard chain could adequately service.

This 630 you bought is the lowest offering daido makes.

 

[Jethro]

I had a master link fail on me once. That was the last time I used a master link chain.

Roller chain? Why on earth would you put a plain ole regular roller chain on? They don't last for crap even lubed.

And they are loud!! I made that mistake once, bought it because it was cheap. False economy since it lasted less than the rear tire did.

 

[bwringer]

Roller chain? Why on earth would you put a plain ole regular roller chain on? They don't last for crap even lubed.

This right here. Roller chain is NOT appropriate for motorcycles in any way, shape, or form. It's an industrial product intended only for use in constantly lubricated low-speed applications.

OP got very lucky that the aftermath wasn't worse.

This pops up on ADVrider fairly often; someone thinks they've found a cheat code for saving money, and reasoning that if roller chain works on my bicycle, why not my motorcycle...? I don't need no fancy-schmancy o-rings... it never works out; even if the chain doesn't fail, it rarely lasts more than a few hundred miles.


FWIW, the cheap Chinese o-ring chains and sprockets infesting fleaBay and scAmazon are also a very dangerous false economy. Over on the V-Strom and other forums, for example, there are reports of outright failures.


Buy ONLY name brand o-ring or x-ring chains and sprockets manufactured in a first world country from trustworthy suppliers. For example, JT sprockets are made in Taiwan and are very high quality. Sunstar are also excellent and I think made in Japan. (However, JT and Sunstar branded chain isn't great.) Most of the best chains are made in Japan; I'm partial to EK, but there are several other good brands like DID, RK, and Regina.

"House brand" chains from some retailers can be a mixed bag; proceed with extreme caution. Primary Drive chains and sprockets from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC are excellent quality and a screaming bargain for KLR owners, but the cheap stuff peddled at Cycle Gear under the Orbis name is mostly pretty bad.

 

[Gorminrider]

^^ Gee, how did I ever go 10,000 miles on my yamaha 650 through USA and Canada with the plain ol Dido? Or the several Hondas, or my present bikes?

Or your cam chain? Or the timing chains in 5 trillion vehicles?

 

[Gorminrider]

When I look at my simple chain, I see wear as metal-on-metal with (copious) oil. When I see a rubber-sealed chain, I see wear as rubber-on-metal (ok,copious oil)...but which wears better?...IF as I suppose, the rubber wears faster, then so do large spaces in the chain....negating any advantage of "sealing" the rubber may have. A new rubber chain is also stiffer, heavier and robs hp.
To me, they just look like a new way to sell silicone lubricants or ignore chain maintenance.

 

[xkaes]

I have sealed 530 chains. They are heavier and more expensive, but the still require routine maintenance.

 

[grcamna2]

I'd like to find suppliers of chains and sprockets which offer quality items and who specialize in just sprockets and drive chains.I used-to deal more with Sprocket Specialist when they were located in Oroville,CA. back in the 90's and early 2000's but then they changed-hands a bit and are located in Utah.They offer many custom size aluminum rear sprockets and are good quality.I'm looking to get hooked-up with a supplier of different sprocket manufacturers of steel rear sprockets that come in different tooth offerings;it's difficult to do any better than OEM sprockets but if I want to change the ratio,I'm stuck looking around for a quality item.I like Sunstar,JT is ok but I prefer the steel Made in Japan(OEM quality)or other sprockets that use very hard steel and last the longest.There are many companies which offer aluminum sprockets which need to be replaced very often compared to steel:give me good quality steel rear and front sprockets as they last a very long time when maintained.

 

[bwringer]

^^ Gee, how did I ever go 10,000 miles on my yamaha 650 through USA and Canada with the plain ol Dido? Or the several Hondas, or my present bikes?

Or your cam chain? Or the timing chains in 5 trillion vehicles?

1) Low power, oversized chain, constant lubrication. Before o-ring chains arrived in the late '70s, motorcycles did indeed use roller chain. They used much beefier chain (my wife used to have a wee Honda 400 with a 530 chain) and you were supposed to slather it with gear oil or some other greasy unguent on a regular basis. Motorcyclists had perpetually oily hands and clothes... Some bikes had sealed or covered chains. And chains just didn't last that long. The 30,000 miles we can easily expect nowadays from a decent chain would have been regarded as pure science fiction back then.

2) Timing chains run in oil and aren't exposed to rain and dirt. This is a proper use for a roller chain.


If you want to use roller chain on your motorcycle, go right ahead. It's your machine.