Chain Questions

[stewyb]

Hi Everyone,

I have a few questions about chains.

Background, I have a FB (Phoenix) running a K8 Suzuki 1000 with a Taylor racing Diff.

How long should I suspect a chain to be used for?

When should I change the rear aluminum sprocket?

What kind of tension should the chain have? Is tighter better then lose?


Thanks in advance

Stewart

[Farrout48]

Chains can last a long time as long as they are well taken care of. Some people change them after 4 weekends. Mine last a lot longer. You can measure chain stretch by holding a new chain up against the older one. There are plenty of discussions on this forum about chains, etc.

The two sprockets need to be in the same plane and aligned. Get then cockeyed and you will see abnormal wearing on the sides of the rear sprocket. Bad enough and you will see metal shavings. The rear sprocket will start showing deformation in the teeth just by normal aging. Bent forward and even with a rounded indentation where the chain rides. Put a new sprocket up against the old one and you can judge the degradation. Front sprocket will deform also but being steel it takes a lot longer to do so. I tend to err on the side of caution and change sprockets when the deformation is showing.

Grease the chain frequently. Some do it after every session while the chain is hot. I use a product called Chain Wax. Do not use WD40 or a similar product. Again this forum has a lot of information about chain products. Everyone seems to have a favorite that has worked well for them.

Chain tension can be judged by the movement in the center of the chain. 1/4 to 1/2 inch of movement is fine. No movement and the chain is too tight. New chains will show some initial stretch but then level out. Check it after every session. A shift aid like a Flatshifter or Geartronics which will cut ignition on upshift and blip on downshift is a lot easier on a chain than most people can get doing it manually. You should also check each link to see that it moves easily. Find some stiff links that do not move and it is time to replace the chain.

[EYERACE]

Second the Chain Wax, shake well, use on hot chain

[Racerex1]

Everything that Craig says . I have added braces from the Wf-1 Frame to the spar and get more races before everything Craig talks about starts to happen. It also depends on how rigid you have mounted the 08 engine. I have milled special mounts for the 08 engine and special spacers to get alignment correct.

Racerex1

[stewyb]

Thanks Guys for your replies.

I generally change the chain and sprocket after a year of racing here in Australia whish is around 5000km.

Sometime the sprocket and chain are really worn but this year, both of them were not too bad. I have tried a different chain lube (a wax version) so I guess that might have helped.

I try to run my chain reasonable tight but was just wondering as I see most bikes are pretty lose but I guess that's because the rear arm moves whereas in the car its all fixed.