chains

hey, how many miles do you guys get out of a chain and sproket?

I have about 22,000 km ( approx 14,000 miles?) On mine and will be replacing with a new 530 chain and sprockets before I take the bike out again in the spring.
I don't ride very hard. I'm sure chain life would be a less if I did.

At least 40k miles. Ed

650ed wrote: At least 40k miles. Ed

that is insane. you must clean and lube your chain every time you take the bike out

Not really. I try to lube it every 300 miles or so (except when I forget which is pretty often :laugh: ). I use Maxima Chain Wax. Spray it on and then wipe the chain clean. Wiping it off cleans the chain and enough of the wax creeps between the link plates and maybe some goes between the O-tings and into the links to keep things lubed. I think the early failure of chains is often caused by adjusting them incorrectly (too tight). I used to do that with my BSA before I learned to leave proper slack. Also, if you replace both sprockets (even if they don't look bad) when you replace the chain it will last much longer. O-ring chains are great, and I hear that X-ring chains are even better (although that could be marketing hype). Ed

how many miles do you have on your 650, Ed?

57+k miles. I replaced the original chain at about 37k miles because it and the sprockets wore unevenly as a result of the chain adjusters being swapped left to right (the two adjusters are different on the KZ650- C1 model). The chain wasn't worn out, but I wanted to start fresh after finding the problem (see counter sprocket image below). I replaced the sprockets with stock items and the chain with an O-ring Tsubaki chain. It now has a bit more than 20,000 miles and has been adjusted less than 1/4 inch, so I'm sure it will go more than 40k miles. Ed

One time I did replace the chain but used the old sprockets (they looked good) and the chain probably lasted 10k miles.

If you have new quality sprockets and a good X ring chain (with good maintenance) the chain should last a lot longer.

O ring chains can last 30k miles but I haven't been that lucky. I had a DID 630 that wore out in 5. It had been on the shelf for 15 years and the lube dried out. I bought a new chain on eBay for $45, found out it was made in China, the master link started to come apart while riding across the Mojave this summer. I still had my DID master link and fixed it. By that time it was too late for a refund.

I was lucky that time.

I have around 20,000 on my DID 530 and it is holding up quite well .
I clean it off every so often with a rag and spray it down with chain wax ( after a nice ride, while the chain is still warm ) Like Ed said, it stretched a little in the beginning but I have had to do very little adjusting since.
I don't beat on my bike very much and I suspect that 40,000 may be achievable, we'll see

JD