New Chain

[atomsplitter]

After some riding I decided to do the chain maintenance on my Speedy. I bought it with 13K+ miles and was sure the chain needed some TLC. After cleaning with chain cleaner I noticed there were some tight links. Usually this means the chain is stretched as far as it's going to and soon will need replacement, so I bit the bullet and ordered up a new D.I.D X-ring continous chain (from Sprocket Center, they list the OEM's standard number of links (web link provided below)). I ordered it with 118 links (they cut to length) since that was supposed to be what came on it from the factory. Last weekend son-in-law Tom and I got it mounted up, took about 40 minutes from on the lift to off the lift. Had to loosen the adjuster pich bolts to shorten the throw from back to front sprocket to get the master link in. Greased up the master, installed the X-rings on it and then drove the side plate on with X-rings and grease under it. Checked the chain tension, and adjusted to about 1 inch slack and then torqued the pinch bolts to 29 NM (lowest setting on my wrench) The required setting is 27 but whats 2 NM among friends? When removing the old chain I found the rivets were larger on the X-ring chain than the OEM chain and couldn't use my new master link to draw the new chain over the primary gear and instead had to zip tie the new and old chains together to get it on. That added 5 miutes of effort to the job. Spun the wheel after install and it's smooth as warm butter. Neat thing about single sided swing arms is the chain alignment is always correct. That's not the case on any of my other Triumphs, for those I have a tool to align the chain.


Handy Link:
www.sprocketcenter.com

 

[shanered6]

I do like a Gold chain and it doesn't matter what colour your bike is , it always looks good !

 

[Bloodknot]

After some riding I decided to do the chain maintenance on my Speedy. I bought it with 13K+ miles and was sure the chain needed some TLC. After cleaning with chain cleaner I noticed there were some tight links. Usually this means the chain is stretched as far as it's going to and soon will need replacement, so I bit the bullet and ordered up a new D.I.D X-ring continous chain (from Sprocket Center, they list the OEM's standard number of links (web link provided below)). I ordered it with 118 links (they cut to length) since that was supposed to be what came on it from the factory. Last weekend son-in-law Tom and I got it mounted up, took about 40 minutes from on the lift to off the lift. Had to loosen the adjuster pich bolts to shorten the throw from back to front sprocket to get the master link in. Greased up the master, installed the X-rings on it and then drove the side plate on with X-rings and grease under it. Checked the chain tension, and adjusted to about 1 inch slack and then torqued the pinch bolts to 29 NM (lowest setting on my wrench) The required setting is 27 but whats 2 NM among friends? When removing the old chain I found the rivets were larger on the X-ring chain than the OEM chain and couldn't use my new master link to draw the new chain over the primary gear and instead had to zip tie the new and old chains together to get it on. That added 5 miutes of effort to the job. Spun the wheel after install and it's smooth as warm butter. Neat thing about single sided swing arms is the chain alignment is always correct. That's not the case on any of my other Triumphs, for those I have a tool to align the chain.


Handy Link:
www.sprocketcenter.com

I would hope that you replaced both sprockets that have been running an end of life chain at the same time?

 

[atomsplitter]

If you look, the sprocket shows very little wear. Normally I do change them when I change chains (like on my Thruxton R), and those sprockets were worn.

Sprocket and chain on TTR when I bought it: You can see the cog has a wear profile.


New chain and sprocket in attached photo.

 

[sikatri]

I would hope that you replaced both sprockets that have been running an end of life chain at the same time?

I’m interested in tips on the sprocket wear. I suspect the next chain I buy will include new sprockets. I can tell it has wear, but I don’t know enough to know when it’s excessive and needs immediate action.

 

[sikatri]

I do like a Gold chain and it doesn't matter what colour your bike is , it always looks good !

Is there something special about this brand for us relative novices to know?

 

[atomsplitter]

I’m interested in tips on the sprocket wear. I suspect the next chain I buy will include new sprockets. I can tell it has wear, but I don’t know enough to know when it’s excessive and needs immediate action.

New vs. worn:

 

[sikatri]

New vs. worn:

Thank you. Very clear difference. What signs did you notice or was it all visual?

 

[atomsplitter]

Thank you. Very clear difference. What signs did you notice or was it all visual?

Its a visual inspection. One thing to keep in mind is that not everyone that rides a bike performs routine maintenance on it, so wear items like a chain can be neglected to the point it prematurely wears out, while the sprockets it rides on are wearing normally. It's also possible that the wrong product (like WD-40) was applied on a chain and caused a loss of lubrication in the rollers (what I suspect happened on the RS).

 

[Rocky]

I'm using a D.I.D. X-ring chain on my 1967 BSA. Not a bike you would imagine. I learned from the BSA Gold Star forum that's what they are using, and it fits perfectly without rubbing. I needed new sprockets anyway, so I went the whole nine yards and have been using it for years.
I'm a bit of a neatness nut with my bikes, and when my classic bike buddies saw the "gold" chain I was in for some teasing

 

[Bloodknot]

I’m interested in tips on the sprocket wear. I suspect the next chain I buy will include new sprockets. I can tell it has wear, but I don’t know enough to know when it’s excessive and needs immediate action.

If you consider how infrequently you are needing to replace the chain it will pay to replace all three things with new. The cost of the chain will be the big cost, sprockets are relatively inexpensive. Not just my opinion but that of many.
Regarding colour you can get chains that have coloured inner and outer link plates or ones that only have the outer link plates coloured.