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What is normal chain wear?

sam000lee

sam000lee

Forum Mentor
I'm on a road trip right now about 5,500 miles in. My friend and I with a GS550 and GS750 both put new chain and sprockets on right before we left and have both had to adjust and lube (move the axle back) the chains pretty much every day (which is ~200 - 300 miles) and if we don't the chains are getting really very loose. The sprockets on my GS750 have looked pretty good and I noticed a funny feeling/sound today and when I looked my rear sprocket teeth are VERY worn and sharp and there are bits of flaked metal all over the swingarm.
I was under the impression that a chain/sprocket set would last longer than that and have been pretty surprised at the amount the chains have been stretching. Is it that my chain just stretched beyond the tolerances of the sprocket and it finally caused it to rapidly wear? This is my first time putting on this kind of milage on a bike so was surprised that the chains were really loose pretty much every day with the `mark' on the chain adjuster things on the swingarms moving further and further back.
Also does anybody have tips for finding a 630 chain/sprocket set quickly in a city? I'm in Portland, OR and only plan on being here tomorrow and maybe the next day before heading to Olympia, WA for ~2 days and would like to have new chain and sprockets before moving on after that. I figured I could call around and maybe a shop here or in Olympia could get them quickly.
Thanks in advance.
 
You shouldn't have to adjust the chain that much. My bet is you're setting it too tight. The play in the chain should be measured with the bike off the centre stand and if possible someone sitting on the bike. It tigntens up a lot when taken off the centre stand. I just did a 2,000+ mile trip on my 750 with new chain and sprockets and didn't have to adjust it at all, even after getting home it still didn't need adjusting.
 
I have a D.I.D. 530 chain and sprockets on mine, which I put on soon after I got the bike. Over the course of 20'000km I did since, I adjusted it maybe two to three times....that comes down to between 4000 to 6000 miles?

IIRC one has to adjust the chain a bit earlier the first time after putting it on - since everything has to 'set' a bit -, but nowhere as much as what you describe.
 
A little over 8,000 miles for my chain on my 1000e. I bought JT sprockets and 530 chain at the beginning of the riding season this year. I didn't have to adjust the chain at all for 7,000 miles. Then it started to stretch and became uneven (tight in one spot loose in another). The sprockets looked good still, so I pulled a good chain off my 1100e just to get me through the rest of the riding season. I think next year I'm going to try a different brand of chain. I was hoping for around 12,000 miles before having to replace. Did I say how much I love my 850g? ☺
 
sam000lee said:
I'm on a road trip right now about 5,500 miles in. My friend and I with a GS550 and GS750 both put new chain and sprockets on right before we left and have both had to adjust and lube (move the axle back) the chains pretty much every day (which is ~200 - 300 miles) and if we don't the chains are getting really very loose. The sprockets on my GS750 have looked pretty good and I noticed a funny feeling/sound today and when I looked my rear sprocket teeth are VERY worn and sharp and there are bits of flaked metal all over the swingarm.
Click to expand...

Assuming you installed decent quality components, you have to be running it way too tight for that kind of wear. My 2006 GSXR1000 has 32,000km on the OEM chain and it has been adjusted twice in that time. I never get less than 30,000km out of an o-ring chain and I run them dry (clean with WD-40, no lube after) and on the loose side. Running it loose does nothing (assuming you aren't so loose as to have it jump off), but running it tight will destroy a chain set in short order, as you have discovered.


Mark
 
We have been running them really loose and at the end of the day are at the point where they are hitting the center stands with somebody sitting on the bike. Have been adjusting OFF the center staff and they one of us sits on the bike while the other checks it again.
 
sam000lee said:
We have been running them really loose and at the end of the day are at the point where they are hitting the center stands with somebody sitting on the bike. Have been adjusting OFF the center staff and they one of us sits on the bike while the other checks it again.
Click to expand...

Something is definitely out of wack. What did you buy for chain and sprockets? Kind of odd but it sounds like it could be a possible bad chain. I'm assuming the sprocket alignment is correct but even so it wouldn't chew up a chain that quickly.
 
personally I have always used a auto chain oiler as Here using this I have never adjusted a chain other than when I changed a rear tyre.
 
Not to hijack the thread but is there a particular brand of chains and sprockets we like. I am an absolute mild rider .. no wheelies or clutch pops just a cruisin dude but I wont say that I am not interested in saving a few bucks if I can and where I can.

Im in the process of gathering parts for my fall projects. After the heat
 
I used the RK 530 XSOZ1 Performance RX-Ring Chain with rivet link and Sunstar sprockets in stock sizes for the 750 and I forget what I put on the 1000 but it would have been something equivalent in stock sizes.
 
Motorcycles have chains?! LOL

I haven't adjusted a chain in 25 years, but it's obvious that something very odd is going on.
 
I used to swear by chains
Now I swear at them

but seriously there has to be misalignment
my front sprocket only goes on one way correctly are yours set up right?

Actual metal bits sounds more like the loose chain is abrading somewhere in the sprocket cover housing
mine has two nice grooves in it from lazy days of maintenance
 
It would help to know where you got the chain from. Some eBay chains are crap from China made with inferior metal. I'm not saying that you can't get quality from China, but I would bet the farm on it. Chains not only come in link size they also come in tensile strength and you get what you pay for. You say this is happening on both bikes, so I'm guessing there are the from the same source? I'd look for a shop around there and get some quality parts before moving on. There is a Cycle Gear in Portland (503) 257-7047, but whether they have what you need, IDK. You may be better off looking for a bike shop that specializes in older bikes. They may have something in stock or point you to where you might get what you need. http://motofactory-pdx.com/

 
sam000lee said:
We have been running them really loose and at the end of the day are at the point where they are hitting the center stands with somebody sitting on the bike. Have been adjusting OFF the center staff and they one of us sits on the bike while the other checks it again.
Click to expand...

Define really loose.


Mark
 
It's like this pretty much all the time I basically try to adjust it as loose as possible so that it isn't outrageously loose. Right now it hits the swingarm and I can lift it at least four fingers worth above the swingarm


image.jpg
 
I measure ,y slack from the bottom
Click to expand...
That's what I do..a double check after adjusting on center stand-just like that, sitting on the bike.
If you are super curious as to why chain slack you can disconnect shocks and move swingarm up and down to see how the geometry of the differing axes of rotation make a minimum slack requirement... but given this:

and there are bits of flaked metal all over the swingarm
Click to expand...
I've never seen filings coming off! That has to be pretty obvious where it's coming from...either chain is too narrow for sprockets or entirely wrong per link length and .All the 5's are same "pitch" but it's a matter of width..."520, 525, and 530 will all fit on a 520 sprocket, but a
530 sprocket will only fit 530 chain"

chainspecs.jpg
 
That is a non o-ring chain. Are you lubing it every day? With what? IIRC back in the day 5k was a lot for a standard chain.
 
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