Favorite chain and sprocket brands?

Otto Man

John
Control Rider
I have yet to see anything get past a serviceable O/X ring chain...so that being said, I've never seen the point in using anything other than WD40. We don't lube the chain, we're only cleaning the outside so the dirt and grit doesn't eat away at the o rings. Lots of videos on youtube and such that have tried soaking chains in WD40 or whatever for days on end, they disassemble the links, and nothing crept in past the o rings. You can also experiment for yourself if you feel like it.

I'm with Vinny, I like replacing the chain every season, maybe every other year pending on how much (or little) riding I did that year. Cheap insurance.

I switched to steel sprockets years ago, got tired of going through sprockets left and right. I'd love to shake the hand of anyone that can feel the difference between a steel and aluminum sprocket.
 

Menotomy

World's Okayest Racer
Control Rider
So I did my bit of research while unwinding with a beer. One thing I didn't realize is that WD-40 is primarily a hydrocarbon similar to kerosene or mineral spirits. WD-40 denies kerosene is in it, and they keep the formula a secret. But if you look at ingredients lists that are on mandatory safety sheets you can see it's about half aliphatic hydrocarbons (non stable hydrocarbons that ARE FLAMMABLE, AWESOME!), a quarter of it is petroleum oil, and the rest of it is propellants and negligible BS. Wired did a study and found there were a lot of alkanes and mineral oil using gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Alkanes (single bond aliphatic hydrocarbons) like decane are found in kerosene. Based on the data sheet and that article it seems like WD-40 is pretty much a magical mix of kerosene (solvent) and mineral oil (household oil and laxative if food-grade).

So WD-40 is half solvent, and quarter oil. To me that means it does a half-ass job cleaning and a quarter-ass job of lubricating. There are better solvents (straight up kerosene), degreasers made specifically for chains that may or may not be more environmentally friendly if that's important, and no-fling lubricants out there (Dupont Chain Saver!) that really aren't that expensive and can be picked up locally. WD-40 does a decent job of cleaning which is what it's probably most well known for when talking motorcycle chains, and I'm sure fixes a squeaky door hinge easily. But use a better lubricant on your chain, is my recommendation.

Also I agree about aluminum sprockets being unnecessary, but the Vortex ones look so cool!

https://www.wired.com/2009/04/st-whatsinside-6/
https://www.wd40.com/files/pdf/msds-wd482671453.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decane
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkane
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliphatic_compound
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

A good summary video if reading isn't your thing:

The beer I'm drinking right now:
https://untappd.com/b/old-ox-brewery-seeing-double/2800147
 

djhurayt

Member
BP Blaster actually makes a chain and cable specific lubricant. Although it is describe it as being for light duty and the can shows a bicycle chain.
 

meowculpa

Member
I had a lot of problems with the rear aluminum sprockets.
Went with Superlite steel sprockets / EK MVXZ chain this season. No issues thus far.
 

Otto Man

John
Control Rider
I had a longer post wrote up, but my poor internet lost it, so I'll just post a summary of my experience. I've never thought WD-40 to be the best at anything (cleaning or lubing), but for a one stop shop product, you can't beat it. Would I use it to clean a really nasty dirty chain? Nope, like others said there are far better products out there specifically for that. Would I use it to lube a chain that won't see any love for the next 3,000 miles? Probably not.

Do I use it on a track bike that gets the chain wiped down on average 2-3 times a weekend? Absolutely. Does it still provide a serviceable chain life that is more than acceptable for me? As my experience has shown...yes.

You don't "lube" anything on a chain anyways. I have yet to see a chain lube that can penetrate the o ring on a chain. For all intents and purposes, those chains are lubed for life. All we do is keep the outside clean so dirt doesn't destroy the o rings.

Pressure washing can penetrate those o rings. It'll also blow em apart and your chain will fall apart in short order. :D
 

Menotomy

World's Okayest Racer
Control Rider
I was going to make that comment that WD-40 is probably fine if you're using it very often.

I can't edit my post, or I would, but one thing I thought about later is most spray products are going to be a mix of solvent and some sort of lubricant. I think the difference between WD-40 and a typical chain lube is the type of lubricant. WD-40 seems to be mineral oil, while something like Teflon Chain Saver is a wax, and in that specific case, some Teflon. For a street bike that has less frequent lubing, the wax will probably last longer. And no, the lubricant isn't keeping rollers in a low friction environment, but it is keeping the chain from rusting and the o-rings from drying. Wax might do a better job than mineral oil in terms of longevity. But you already made that point.
 

bmart

Control Rider
And so...just for fun, I took the official measurement of my everlasting chain. Spec for end of life is 10 links measuring 150.1mm. Mine measures 148.24mm-148.83mm, well within spec. Not bad for WD-40 and PB Blaster only after 15,6 miles, 13k of it track time.
 

bmart

Control Rider
Thanks for the info, all. I ended up with a Driven kit. RK 520 Max X 120 link chain, steel Driven 15T/50T sprockets. I'm currently running 116 links,but I may try 118 to give me a little more room for the warmers. Taking bets on whether it will go the same 15k miles with PB Blaster only...
 

bmart

Control Rider
And for folks who like facts, I discovers this:

A 5XX chain has a 5/8″ pitch. Sorry to those fond of metric units. Similar to the way pipe is measured worldwide, chain is measured by the “king’s thumb”. 5/8″ is the center-to-center distance between pins. Most chain manufacturers limit chain wear to approximately .006″ per link. So if you take that number and multiply it by 100 links, the accumulated clearance that some refer to as “stretch”, is close to a full pitch or 5/8″. So if 99 spaces fit in the distance that 100 spaces were suppose to measure, your chain is shot. So here are two ways to inspect your chain for wear:

Break the master link and stretch your chain out on a work bench in a straight line. Now count out 100 spaces and mark the first and last pins. Now take a tape measurer and measure the distance, center-to-center between pin 1 and pin 101 (It takes 101 pins to create 100 spaces. Just like it takes two pins to create one space). If the distance is greater than 63-1/8″, then it’s time to replace your chain. A brand new chain will be 62.5″. Don’t get confused by the “tape measure” in the diagram. I like to “shave an inch” on the starting end and measure starting at 1″, rather than trust the accuracy of the clip on the end of the tape.

The second method is not as precise, but will save you time in breaking your master link. Suck a wrench between your chain and rear sprocket by rotating your rear wheel by hand, until the chain along the top of your swing arm is tight. Using the method above, count out 24 intervals, and measure the distance center-to-center between the first and last pin. A new chain will be 15″ dead nuts. If you measure more than 15-3/32″ it’s time to get a new chain.
 

2blueyam

Member
An even simpler method I have seen is try to pull the chain off the rear sprocket at the back center. If it pulls away, the chain has stretched, as the spacing on the sprocket doesn’t change. Try this at a couple of points because chains don’t always wear evenly.
 

bmart

Control Rider
So, four track days and over 600 miles later (and with the new 520 kit on the bench still waiting to go in), I took some more measurements of my 532 setup using multiple methods. Here's what I've discovered.

From chain manufacturer, my 16 links measure 256mm, limit is 256.6.

Service manual (R6) shows service limit at 150.1mm for 10 links but R6 (and VFR with new chain) measure 150.6mm, or over the limit. The manula for my old R1 has the same info. The CB-1 lists no measurement for end of life.

If you have a new-ish chain handy, feel free to post your measurements to compare (and help me out).

One would think that this would be pretty standard stuff...
 

Mike:p

Don’t be a Hero, be consistent.
Is there a chain and sprocket set that can give better than stock longevity for the same price as stock set?This is for a non track 07 Yamaha FZ6 that I ride to and from school 5 days a week 35 miles each way plus running around twisty mountain roads whenever possible. I’ve got 34,000 miles on my original and it is finally beginning to show its age.
 

bmart

Control Rider
34k is quite impressive. What is on there, a 530?

I finally had to put the chain/sprockets on this weekend at a track day. It still measured in spec, but two rollers broke (keep an eye on those, folks!). 16.6k on the factory 532 chain w/only PB Blaster. Not bad...I suspect that I won't get anything near that with the 520 chain and steel sprockets.
 

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Mike:p

Don’t be a Hero, be consistent.
I assume the chain is a 530. I bought the bike used with 800 miles on it. The chain looks totally stock and original. My chain was still well in spec for length and very little side to side movement. I also couldn’t pull it away from the rear sprocket but the rollers are what are done. I can shake the chain and hear them rattle. It probably would have lasted longer but I was very busy last semester and didn’t clean it for at least 2000 miles on 2 separate occasions. Yes I know, shame on me. :unsure:

My dealer quoted me $150 including tax for both sprockets and chain. So the question remains can I find a better chain and sprocket combination that is not stock but will give me a longer life or a set that is equal but will be less expensive. I’m cheap and very busy so I’m not really interested in performance on this bike just longevity.
 

Mike:p

Don’t be a Hero, be consistent.
Wow! I just looked at your pictures. If my chain looked that nice I never would have noticed that missing roller.
 

Mike:p

Don’t be a Hero, be consistent.
I see now that you point it out. I knew that elongated hole and worn links is how a chain “stretches” but I never saw an actual picture or example.
Is there anything else I should look for when inspecting my chain both on my street bike and track bike? I do understand that the track bike’s chain will wear faster but it has a stock chain as well.
 

bmart

Control Rider
There are many variables to chain wear. Cleanliness is likely the biggest culprit. O, X, and other ring chains are sealed at the factory (and with proper master link installation). Consider grime from the track (minimal) with what you pick up on the street (likely a lot more) and you can see how keeping the chain and sprocket clean can really extend chain life. Ditto for keeping it properly adjusted. Chains don't really stretch very much from new to end of life.

Consider that you're running on a much narrower chain if you run a 520 vs. a 532, so wear will occur faster. I'm going 520 on the track bikes mostly for availability of parts. Otherwise, I'd put on a 530/532 which will wear less and last longer. Sticking to DID or RK will likely produce the best results. Your current chain likely has a stamp on the side of some of the plates stating what size it is (520, 525, 530, 532).
 

Mike:p

Don’t be a Hero, be consistent.
Great, thanks for your help identifying my chain and pointing me in the right direction.
 
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