Chain Breaking Question

 

Just got my $200 Honda chain staking tool (looks more like a $125 tool).
Chain and sprockets should arrive next week.

Just a question or two.

I understand the process of "staking" the master link of the new chain.  The
tool instructions are quite clear, the shop manual is quite clear, etc.  The
essential process is to expand the heads of the master link posts to a
certain range of diameters.  I've got that part straight.

However, I'm less clear on how to "break" a chain per the instructions.
Here are my questions:

a)How does the the "chain breaking" functionality work?  What does the tool
actually do to the chain?  I'm assuming chain breaking is non-reversible
(you actually break something)?

b)In the event I botch a master link installation and need to remove the
link again, what is the best way to get the link off?  I personally would
grind the heads off with a moto-tool, but the instructions seem to imply
that the chain-breaker is OK for this.  I just need to be more clear on the
process of how chain-breaking works and that it won't damage the chain
attached to the master link.

Thanks.

 



You just had to throw away $200 on a tool that you will seldom use,
didn't you?

The closest I ever came to owning a chain breaker was my $6.00 Beaver
Tooth that had a tool steel frame and a hardened steel bolt which had
to be turned with a wrench.

I used it once or twice.

A chain breaker forces the staked ends of the hardened pins through
their holes in the softer side plate.

(The staked part of the pin probably isn't as hard as the part of the
pin that rides against the bushing. If it was that hard, you couldn't
stake it.)

The side plate is ruined, and the two end bushings in two links are
probably ruined too.

But most riders are going to install a new chain when they break the
old one anyway.

 

. wrote:

I got a chain tool after doing a few clip links with vice grips, hammer,
etc.  I never had a chain fail, but I was never totally confident in the
result either.  (I think once I even used a drill to ream out a side
plate hole so I could get the pin in, how dumb is that).

I got the RK tool, which is about $115.  Compared to taking it to a
shop, it'll pay off after a few uses.

As for chain breaking, I just cut the old one with a Dremel cutting
wheel, like David thought of doing.

 


It isn't thrown away.  My support of the Honda Parts Empire (a) helps parts
availability for the rest of y'all and (b) lowers parts and bike prices for
the rest of y'all.  I'm actually doing you a favor.

I don't trust the dealership fully.  I'd rather do it myself.

Besides, when our petrol is running low and we're all riding around like in
Mad Max spearing each other, I'm figuring that the training in motorcycle
maintenance will come in handy.


It isn't immediately clear to me how you would make a small pin hard in one
place but not another.  But, no matter, all the mysteries will be answered
when the new parts arrive and I get to look them over.


OK, you answered my question, non-reversible destructive operation.

Maybe not, though.  One place in the shop manual or elsewhere they recommend
using the chain breaker to cut chain down to 120 links.  I'll re-read it
all.  When my new chain comes, I do expect it will consist of exactly 120
links (or 119 + the master link).

I haven't looked at a chain closely (I just spray chain lube on it), but it
may be that the side plates are trashed but the bushings are unaffected.
All of these mysteries will be answered when my new chain arrives and I
break the old one.

 



If it's a genuine OE chain, probably. Aftermarket chains, in my
experience, always come with a few extra links. Some riders change the
sprockets, you see, so a chain that's the 'correct' length may not fit.


--
BMW K1100LT  Ducati 750SS  Yamaha XT600E  Honda CB400F
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com
"What you're proposing to do will involve a lot of time
and hassle for no tangible benefit."