How Motorcycle Chains SNAP! + Sizes Explained!

[@bacbladerunner]

I would be very interested in your opinion. I would consider myself on the upper end of the scale for doing preventive maintenance. However, I have always wondered if chain cleaning and lubing are really necessary. I've wondered if lubing just attracts more dirt and sand, holds onto it better, and wears the chain & sprockets faster. With a good x-ring chain, lube does not get into the rollers. It does lube the outside of the roller but also holds grit, which wears the chain & sprockets. So, at 65 years old, I am finally doing the experiment that I've always wanted to do. NO CLEANING OR MAINT. The theory is that it will attract and hold less grit and will last just as long. So, I put a new DID chain & new sprockets on my KTM 390 Adv, and have ridden it 4,000 miles 50/50 on/off road, with some long tough offroading. I have absolutely no wear on the chain or sprockets and no tight spots. There should not be much wear on the sprockets as long as the rollers turn. I will need to put more miles on it to finish the test. But even if I need to replace chain & sprockets at 15k miles, I have eliminated a buttload of work cleaning & lubing, never have to carry lube on trips, and have no lube mess on my bike. Maybe the chain will last just as long as if maintained. I don't yet know. But even if not, I am happy to spend $125 a little sooner to gain all the benefits mentioned. Again, I would appreciate your thoughts on this.

[@dustyjohnson1981]

Did you ever hear of chain wax? See Maxima, chain wax. Why would you NOT service your chain?

[@bacbladerunner]

@dustyjohnson1981 Yes, I have used chain wax for decades, and it's my first choice for lube. To answer your question, "why not lube?", my post answers that.

[@10secondsrule]

I know of the guys who wait for the yearly service to look at the chain for them.. some of them don’t even check the tire pressure. Scary people.

[@kwak1k]

Those types probably don't put the mileage on their bikes.

[@justinsorci5998]

Excellent video. I always take a few minutes before every ride to do a pre-ride check where I check proper chain slack, chain properly lubed, check tire pressures, rolled the bike forward and back to check for tire punctures, check the fork tubes for oil seepage, check engine oil level, check brake light function, look for leaks under the engine. If any of these are an issue, correct it before riding.

[@BerryTheBnnuy]

I've got a couple of bikes with 630 chains... I needed some help changing the chain one time because I had an endless chain installed and didn't have a rivet breaker. So a friend of mine who rides as well came over with his chain breaker. We got the chain off but the mammoth 630 chain broke the chain breaker. Also he was saucer eyed at the size of the thing. It's an insanely big drag racing chain. The bike it's on is actually a late 1980s Kawasaki police interceptor. The same model of bike went basically unchanged save for a few minor things from '82 to '05. You can basically swap any part between the KZ1000-P bikes between those years, though some things may require swapping more than just a single part. Like it's the same chain and sprockets from '82 to '01. But then they changed in '02, so to swap chains or sprockets between those years, you have to swap both sprockets and the chain. Things like that. Anyway, the chain on the '02 is a 530. They tried to keep the final drive ratio as close to the original as possible. The idea being to have less weight and therefore more acceleration. However as someone who owns an '88, and '89, and an '02, the '02 is the tamest of them all. The '88 and '89 rocket start like it's nothing despite having 3 times the mileage. The '02 just doesn't rocket start. I mean sure it accelerates faster than cars, but it feels lethargic compared to the amphetamine fueled energy of my '88 and '89.

[@roncoburn7771]

best video on you tube about chains great work

[@spicy110]

Wow, thanks!

[@1683clifton]

That split ring on the little lengths of chain, im gonna steal that and make some paracord keychains out of my old chain. Thanks for the idea.

[@sefton1972]

I pop my bike on the paddock stand after every ride, engine oil on a rag & run the chain through the oily rag until no more dirt shows on the rag. So far so good.

[@tombartram6842]

Interesting vid! BTW you can convert a cd250u to 428 chain and sprockets and it gives the bike noticeable extra zip because heavy chains cause more drag.

[@Nerb1]

Wow... I never knew how the numbers worked. Thanks.... bloody inches. Thinking about it... a 520 chain is probably stronger than a 530 chain since the plates could be all the same but the pin is longer on a 530!

[@spicy110]

It has a larger sprocket inside tho spending the load over more.

[@leestone2608]

Nice one professor spicy as per usual you've nailed the right amount info and the right time to digest, bring on the next lesson

[@terryblackman6217]

Very interesting and informative video. Just as a rule of thumb, how often or how many miles should I replace the chain to be safe. Thank you.

[@spicy110]

There is no way of accuracy answering that dude to all the variables, BUT a chain should last at least a few thousand miles.

[@rednelli]

GENIAL described what is simple. What should be simple. Congratulations on the film.

[@nickman0303]

I lost a chain on a bridge at 140mph. Lack of maintenance and fall temp change. Don't remember what the failure was. But coasted 1/2 mile and braking was definitely more difficult. Take better care now for sure.

[@spicy110]

140 damn you got lucky there!

[@SeakalalaMojapelo-yg8jm]

Great video, well articulated concepts and demonstrations. I hope to hear mentioning of the links, number thereof. But again, Great idea, well researched I can say.

[@spicy110]

How long is a piece of string? Chains come in diffrent lengths, just order the one that is correct for your bike, keeping in mind if you change sproket sizes that changes total links needed.

[@bytesandbikes]

I think the split links get unfair bad press. The spring clip doesn't take the power, there is a regular side plate for that. Yes you can do it wrong and have a failure, but if you put a rivet link on badly you can damage the chain and cause a failure too.

[@kevinmobile]

Excellent video impressing on riders the importance of maintenance.

[@spicy110]

Many thanks!

[@kingkal81]

Hey. I'm looking to get a 125cc Moped I'm new to Mopeds. Which do you think is best affordable, economical, reliable and safest Moped to get. My current favourite is the NIU NQI GT but the insurance might be expensive.

[@dustyjohnson1981]

Hey people most gear ratios the front sprocket turns 3-4 times to one revolution of the rear. So therefore the ft. sprocket wears out 3-4 times faster than the rear so therefore it needs to be replaced at least twice as often as the rear. When the ft. sprocket gets hooked replace it your chain and rear sprocket will thank you by lasting longer. When your ft. sprocket is wasted it takes out the rest of your gear set.

[@Mean-bj8wp]

I may mention O-ring chains have more friction between the links. On small bikes I have noticed a lack of power running an O-ring compared to the same chain without the rings. And for me miles per pound spent is the same. Standard chains are also easier to clean.

[@BerryTheBnnuy]

X-Rings supposedly provide better lubrication protection than O-Ring while also having less friction than O-Ring, but still higher friction than chains with no rings at all. Frankly I only use X-Ring. I find they last longer than the other two with less maintenance. I get that I'm paying for that less maintenance in a slight drop in fuel economy, but it's easier to put more a few drops more fuel in than it is to clean a chain every week. Also, I do a lot of all-weather riding, so... yeah... non-ring chains are just going to degrade really REALLY fast with me.

[@Mean-bj8wp]

@@BerryTheBnnuy I ride all year round in all weather's myself and clean my chain weekly just a 10 minute job. I don't use lube though I use engine oil. I simply put some oil on a rag and spin the wheel and run the chain through the rag and it gets all the dirt off then use the oil can to oil the rollers sprocket side but not too much. I actually get less splatter than lube this way. I do this as I hate cleaning lube off the wheel and I don't get the huge gunk build up in the front sprocket cover. I do have to ensure I keep up with it through winter but don't mind as I get really slick gear changes keeping on top of the chain.

[@BerryTheBnnuy]

@@Mean-bj8wp I use gear oil when I oil my chain, as it's what Kawasaki recommends for my bikes (I have three KZ1000-Ps of different years). Frankly though I don't mind the extra fuel I have to spend from the increased friction of an X-chain ring, especially since it's a lot less than O-ring. It is a lot more expensive though. I heck I rarely get the bikes over 6500rpm when the red line is at 9800.

[@surferdude642]

Excellent description, I thought I new something, but learned alot here. I never really understood what the numbers on chain sizes referred to exactly.

[@dukedepommefrites8779]

If you change chains at the right time (1% elongation) reasonable quality steel sprockets should easily outlast 2 or 3 chains. Overly worn chain (+1%) will soon knacker sprockets and then sprockets and chain must be replaced as a set.

[@NRD1985]

Definitely learnt something new here, thanks Spicy.

[@AssassinDrake]

Great video, the lack of wear on my chain makes a fair bit more sense now being it has a 530 chain seems quite large for an fzs600 but oh well xD

[@_zzpza]

Fascinating, thanks for sharing. I knew the sizes were Imperial, but didn't know how to decode them.

[@bms2250]

Very informative and interesting video - thanks Spicy.

[@markf4018]

For interest- my Ducati Panigale comes with 520 chain and sprockets. My RVF 400 has a bigger chain than that!

[@101steel4]

I've been cleaning and lubing my chain every week during the winter. As the bike is kept outside and I live at the coast I assume it would rust up quicker anyway?? Still not good for a new chain I bought last summer, but anyway I noticed a couple of stiff links yesterday and no amount of cleaning/lubing would free them up. It was a D.I.D so a decent one, but I still expected it to last a bit longer than one winter lol Ordered a new chain and sprockets this morning.

[@theonlyredspecial]

That is a surprise indeed ! Uk winters are quite rough for sure on bikes but I would have been like yourself in thinking they would last a bit longer.

[@101steel4]

@@theonlyredspecial even my sky dish went rusty lol I phoned the local bike shop who fitted the chain, even they were surprised. Not surprised enough to offer a replacement though 😂

[@bytesandbikes]

lots of salt, grit and long winter miles can be death to chains. I've had good chains die quite soon after long winter motorway runs

[@keithsbitsandpieces]

Thankyou Spicy :) Very interesting and informative video We used to have a common chain Called a 5/8 3/8 and of course now 530 makes total sense on modern ones 👍

[@jhstony]

Thanks for the advice, always wondered what the numbers were, now I know...Knowledge is power, i am now more powerful by 2BHP 🤣

[@michal_denisiuk_adv]

Very good and informative video! Thank you!

[@spicy110]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ianharrison5263]

superb vid... thanks.

[@diegoaespitia]

great video mate! thank you

[@toddboden972]

Great video! I think I'll go to shaft. Lol What are the odds of chain breaking? Thanks!

[@hughiemaceachern5282]

I had oring chain i just changed it and it was junk from new chain was always going lose sriff links wasn't happy with it at all so went with hds2 black steal

[@lexrax_tbd]

On my Honda CB125R it's a DID 428V13 chain

[@1683clifton]

How do you get the splitring on the chain like that?

[@spicy110]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/imeamnyreM9jd6s best answer I can give.

[@nobodyshero200]

Great video

[@mark0decker827]

Brilliant sir.

[@cw2126]

belta watch, thanks for sharing

[@spicy110]

Thank you!

[@thedownwardmachine]

From this video I’ve learned that I should get a shaft drive

[@nicodior]

Thanks you very good information

[@Aivaras83]

I think it snaps because of loose chain... I just back with snapped chain... I put it last week. 600cc 89hp bike It's cheap, paid £35 with bicycle connection 🤦‍♂️ So, it's not because of maintenance... It was just wobbling and jammed at the casing and now I have hole in my engine 😢 again 😢 second time in 3 years 😭 Well, first time wasn't because of chain...

[@gamingSlasher]

Very good.

[@hiltonmcconnell2563]

I have a 428 on my Honda Trail

[@forevercomputing]

That's how Americans brake, remove all drive from the wheels and brakes only. A lot of emergency braking shots always show 2 feet, clutch and brake like it's the perfect way and can't stop any sooner or quicker.

[@Ravan_Caw]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@GlocksNCrcos]

Grease ur chain yall🤣🤙

[@sreeharis7944]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@maycrotch8576]

PALPUSZTAI!!!!!!!