How long should a chain last?
 

I have 25,000 KM's on my stock chain. It's still in great shape and I lube and clean it frequently (or as frequently as I remember to. :skep:).

How long should it last?

KM? What that be. We deal with miles, holmes.

If it's well taken care of then I see no reason why it can't go for 50,000km (bout 30,000miles)

If well lubed, your sprockets will wear out faster than the chain. When the sprockets wear out, replace chain at the same time.

www.onlineconversion.com :whatwhat:

never forget zee sprockets

Mine lasted 17,000 miles. Seems to be about average.

Also seems to depend on how well its maintained, most of mine lasted between 10 and 20, one quit earlier but I didnt realy clean it that often.

Tom

25,000km = 15,534mi

Asking such is like asking how long should a car last. All dpendant on how well cared for

How I should have worded the question was.....at what point should I start really keeping a closer eye on it for signs of wear.

15,000km

One of the chain manufacturers used to offer a 100,000 mile guarantee if you maintained your chain properly. Sidewinder made a Ti chain and sprocket set they used to warranty for life. It's really hard to say but if you clean and lube every 600 miles (as recommended) and have it perfectly aligned, I'm willing to bet that your chain could last the life of the bike, seriously.:idk: I just replaced the master link on my chain because it blew an o-ring, I think that most people replace chains way before it's necessary. I've seen nasty/rusty industrial chains get soaked in kerosene for a couple days come back to almost new with some elbow grease.

My only chain (cam) sits behind an engine case, and should last for the life of the engine...

:p

Oh, you mean final drive chain. Haven't seen one of those in quite a few years...:rockwoot:




:scared:

Pay attention more to the rear sprocket. When it wears out, change all 3 pieces... the front sprocket, chain, and rear sprocket. Unless the change stretchs out beyond adjustment. Then same result on replacement.

I replaced the chain and sprockets on my bike at the rally, I have no clue what the miles were on the previous chain, but the swingarm had adjustment marks, and the old chain was past its limit according to the tick marks. So I replaced it, better safe than sorry

Thats when its time to be replaced.

Tom

Yep total agreement here!

Yeh no shit thats why it got replaced

A bunch of the seals on my last chain started leaking out the grease so I figured its time for a new one. Only had a few thousand miles on it so I was kinda surprised but I think between riding on the construction sites and all the road salt without proper cleaning caused its ealry demise. I am pushing 5k miles on this current chain and all is well.

Tom

Yea my biggest fault has been lack of maintenance. Besides, new chains are so shiny!

I replaced mine right before I went to the Gap. It was the stock DID and it had 23,500 on it. It went from a leaking o-ring to 5 kinks in about 300 miles. The sprockets looked surprisingly good, but the rear was showing some wear.
That is the most mileage that I've ever gotten out out of a chain.

If it ran out of adjustment, that sounds like it had extra links, making the chain too long to begin with. My chain didn't stretch very far according to the adjustment marks, but it wore unevenly. Several links got a red stain, it kinked more often, and had large differences between the tightest and loosest sections.

I have heard of touring riders getting insane mileage (30k+) out of a chain, but I can only assume the bike rode like shit for so long they simply got used to it. Even a small amount of slop is noticeable to me. I adjusted the chain last week after washing the bike and cleaning the chain. It was just outside the loose end of spec- took two flats on the adjustor nuts to bring it back to the tighter side. I can't imagine using up all the adjustment on the swingarm.

I agree with that! I can't imagine a chain gaining that almost 2'' on the adjusters. That just sounds like a lot to me.

My chain on the Zuk lasted me all 5 years I had it. Plus I have no idea how long it was on there to begin with. Proper maintenence FTW.

That and ultra low mileage...:lol:

You're so funny.

On my 250 the chain lasted about 20,000 miles. It was easy to tell it needed to be changed. When it was up on the center stand, I would check the play in the chain then spin the rear tire a little then check again. It was loose at some spots and tight at others. Knew it had to go.

I was fastidious about cleaning and lubing the chain on my 04 GSX-R750....didn't replace the chain or the sprockets in the 3 years I owned that bike as there were no obvious signs of wear.

The M109-R has shaft drive...and to be honest, I'm in no real hurry to ever go back to chain drive. :idk:

21k MILES outta my OE sprockets, 2nd set about that long too, on 3rd set right now.

OE chains will last a long time, many miles if taken care of. They are really heavy duty...where as after market chains are lighter and might not be as "durable"

Check for "Play" in your chain, and if it is past the adjustment span in your rear swingarm...change it out.

one day I will own a shaft drive motorcycle just for that reason. I'll still have my chain driven bike but I wouldn't mind the ability to ride in the rain without having to come home and clean the stupid chain.

by the way, welcome :lol: