I know most of you run shaft drive or belt but for those of us who cling to the past.....
what kind of life do you get out of your chains, and what type do you use?
I'm running a mid-quality non-oring chain and have to tighten it about every 300 miles.
Buy good chain. It makes BIG DIFFERENCE. I did have to adjust chain every 200-300 miles untill i install Tsubaki Omega o-rings. Now it is 1000-1500 miles.
Jap H&R oring or quat ring did a big deal for me. retighten every 3000km but I have a chain box and continous oiling on only 29 hp on the rig. so that will not apply to you.
And most of all the right chain lube!
The best I ever got and stick to now for 24 years is US made PJ "blue and yellow label". On the 650 Honda sometimes 4000km in rain and snow without trouble. Dust no deal neither.
(I cannot recommend the black and yellow label from PJ / It is now since 82-86 when I tested perhaps 20 brands. Might be today there are better products, but to that time all other stuff was more or less rubbish.) I am not promoting PJ, it is just my daily bread to recomend only the real good stuff and I have the blue PJ can allways on hand for machinery too (open running gears and chains, teckling cables. etc)
Have fun with your bikes. bikes are for riding not for polishing! The rain will clear off the mud again. The 650 once didn't see soap for 2 1/2 years until I had to open the engine after another 45.000km for torn of cylinder studs again
Rat on,
Sven 😉
I run my pretty hard in town, so I expect some stretch, (kind of fun doing burnout for the chopper guys) tried lots of chains lubs also. just got some chain wax, seems to stay lubbed longer but still get a glaze of rust? I will look for the PJ stuff next, and move up to a o-ring chain next season.
thanks
For even longer chain life change to new sprockets when you install that new "O" ring chain.
Lonnie
As Lonnie says that is very important to have perfect sprocket geometry.
A trick I did on several machines was to cement (= surface hardening) new sprockets. One set of sprockets in a saw mill with 5 teeth on 50cm diameter runs now since 1993 without any visible wear. In all this time they just had to change some 20 links.
Before they needed 1 chain a year and a set of sprockets every 2 years.
Small difference, ain't it?
Therefore I always try to get hardened sprockets for the bike too.
Best wishes
Sven
