Chain gang revisited

[Coyote Chris]

I have been thinking about the thread on the BMW zero maintenace chain.

Regina Just Built the First Maintenance-Free Motorcycle Chain - Asphalt & Rubber

BMW is the first to receive a new chain design from Regina, which uses a diamond like coating to make it maintenance-free and more efficient.

www.asphaltandrubber.com

So even if the rollers ARE coated with some sort of zero wearing coating, what are you gonna do when the sprokets still wear out....NOT replace the chain?
I did my 2-3 time annual chain clean today. After 6200 miles, I dont see an appreciable wear on the sprocket but I keep that aweful mix of lube and road dirt off the chain.

 

[Mellow]

They are zero maint chains.. NOT zero maint sprockets...

Next you'll want zero maint engines...

 

[Coyote Chris]

They are zero maint chains.. NOT zero maint sprockets...

Next you'll want zero maint engines...

So, your advice is to let grit build up and replace the sprockets and not the chain? Not even lube it?
That would certainly be possible....but I would like to see the wear dimensions on the chain after 20K....

 

[Mellow]

So, your advice is to let grit build up and replace the sprockets and not the chain? Not even lube it?
That would certainly be possible....but I would like to see the wear dimensions on the chain after 20K....

Nope, I have no advice to give.. lol

 

[Yoda]

I’ll bet Chris wants ice cream and coffee with his apple pie, too.
You can’t have it all, man.

 

[Coyote Chris]

I’ll bet Chris wants ice cream and coffee with his apple pie, too.
You can’t have it all, man.

When someone coats the sprocket teeth and the rollers and there is no wear, THEN I will be impressed. Till then, its all just a bunch of advertising El Toro Poo Poo. You can pay them now or you can pay them later. Cleaned the XT chain today at 9,000 miles. Sprocket looks good. Next I clean the bike.....

 

[DirtFlier]

At least in my mind, the only truly "maintenance free" chain would live inside a chain cover to prevent water/grit from getting to the chain.

Until that happens, keep cleaning and lubing your chain!

 

[Coyote Chris]

At least in my mind, the only truly "maintenance free" chain would live inside a chain cover to prevent water/grit from getting to the chain.

Until that happens, keep cleaning and lubing your chain!

You're killing me, DirtFlier. I am really missing my Yamaha XV920RH now...the one with a 630 chain fully enclosed in a lithium grease bath.

 

[Phil Tarman]

The new Pan Am has a chain because rocks can get in between belts and pulleys.

 

[Coyote Chris]

The new Pan Am has a chain because rocks can get in between belts and pulleys.

Frosty has a hole in his belt of his BMW 800 GT.

 

[Phil Tarman]

How long has he had it?

 

[NewTo700V]

So update on this supposed zero-maintenance chain. It was tested in real life and only lasted 12K. To quote the video "it's snake oil". Chain talk starts at 18:40

 

[DirtFlier]

On my 2013 NC700/w DCT, I've only used WD-40 as a cleaner/lube and performing a cleaning using a chain brush & paper towels about every 350-500 miles. I got more than 20k out of the standard chain & sprockets which many people called "junk." I bought that bike from a riding pal with under 750 miles on the odometer and it now has 35k+. Obviously, the NC with its low RPM torque is the antithesis of a sport bike so it's easy on the drive chain and sprockets.

Chuck - directly spraying the WD-40 on the chain will not drive it past the O-rings. Now using a pressure water directly on the chain is another story!

JustPassinThru - many small bikes sold in 3rd world countries are fitted with plastic chain covers because of the harsh conditions and knowledge that owners would ignore maintenance...and none of them have hydraulic lifters.

 

[NewTo700V]

I don't know how there could ever be a "lifetime" exposed chain. Even if this ta-C coating could somehow prevent all wear on every metal component of the chain, the O-Rings and grease would at some point be toast. I purchased a bike a few years ago which I was sure had the original chain from the factory. At that point it had 28K on the odometer and was 15 years old. The O-rings, or those that remained were shriveled dried husks, and there was side-to-side slop between plates and rollers. I don't know how it didn't break on the previous owner. I compared the stretch to the new one and remember being shocked at the difference. There was something like an extra inch in length over the new chain.

 

[Coyote Chris]

How long has he had it?

Years. It just takes one small shard of quart or any sharp rock. Like a chain, there is really nothing wrong with a belt if its enclosed.....

 

[DirtFlier]

As I understand it, belts do not like the variation in tension caused by swingarm movement. Many (most?) of the Harleys have very limited rear suspension travel so it isn't a problem on those bikes. And from a design standpoint, the pulleys are much wider than sprockets so extra allowances have to be made at the rear wheel and countershaft area.

 

[DirtFlier]

I believe the belts on most (all?) scooters are similar in construction to the drive belt on my lawn tractor and are V-cross section because they have to cope with pulley diameters/widths that change with RPM. They are not the cogged belt used as a camshaft drive on many autos and final drive on some motorcycles.

The first few years of the Honda CG (Cargo) motorcycle for 3rd world countries had a typical for Honda overhead cam, fitted to an air-cooled single. Honda soon discovered that lack of oil changes and the dusty environment destroyed the cylinder head so the next generation CG had a simple pushrod engine. Now, if the oil is dirty it only results in noisy valves, not destruction of the alum cylinder head's bearing surfaces! In Brasil nearly all of Honda sales are with the CG model to the tune of nearly 1-million units per year and that model does almost equally well in India, Southeast Asia, etc.

Honda cars from the earliest Civic were fitted with cogged, rubber cam belts that required periodic replacement. In 2003 Honda decided to go in another direction so the next generation of 4-cyl engines used a metal (silent-link type) timing chain. My 2006 Accord (4-cyl) had one and was trouble free and as far as I know, the 4-cyl cars are still using that type of cam drive. My current 2016 Accord has the V6 engine with a rubber belt but I just read they changed those the metal chain in 2018.

 

[Hondafan]

As I understand it, belts do not like the variation in tension caused by swingarm movement. Many (most?) of the Harleys have very limited rear suspension travel so it isn't a problem on those bikes. And from a design standpoint, the pulleys are much wider than sprockets so extra allowances have to be made at the rear wheel and countershaft area.

Often wondered why most bikes do not use belts. Now I know.

 

[Warren]

I believe the belts on most (all?) scooters are similar in construction to the drive belt on my lawn tractor and are V-cross section because they have to cope with pulley diameters/widths that change with RPM. They are not the cogged belt used as a camshaft drive on many autos and final drive on some motorcycles.

The belt on my Yamaha XMAX maxi scooter has cogs on both sides. They do not engage anything like a motorcycle drive belt however. They are there to allow the belt to flex as the pulleys change diameters.

 

[NewTo700V]

I'm trying to decide what they meant by "lifetime". Initially I think there was hope it would be like a drive shaft replacement, so lifetime-lifetime AKA the life of the bike. It was getting hyped like an indestructible chain, so I could see where that view came from.

Now I'm thinking it makes more sense no maintenance for "lifetime" of the chain. But if that's the case the life is 12K and would also make any old chain "maintenance free for life". Think about it, you could slap a DID or RK on and do
no maintenance. They would last xx miles.