Chain Selection Help

 

And the Dave Ashley chain saga continues ...

Have a Honda 2006 VT600C.  Went to www.honda-partsdirect.com (where I
normally order my parts), and noticed that there are two chains listed
(under the "Swingarm" parts list).  One is around $75, the other
approximately double that.

Any ideas why two chains listed with a huge price difference?

I'll call on Monday to figure it out ...

Thanks, Dave.

 



The steel used and the o-ring design.

Chains are rated in tensile strength. That's not tensile strength in
pounds per square inch, it's the strength of five links of chain with
a weight suspended from the last link, and there is a safety factor of
about 6 to 1,

IOW, the chain you buy will withstand a pull of about six times what
the motorcycle can generate in low gear.

Some manufacturers use a premium o-ring chain which has wide flat o-
rings with two sealing ridges. They cost twice as much as the typical
aftermarket o-ring chain which may have a round, donut shaped o-ring
or an x-shaped o-ring which is touted as "low friction" to attract
Ricky Racers looking for an imaginary "edge" in competition.

Real racers use non-o-ring chains and throw them away after a few
hundred miles.

Round o-ring chains are good for about 8000 to 10000 miles.

Premium o-ring chains will last 20000 or more miles, but cost twice as
much.

If you want to read up on chain technology from the chain
manufacturer's (or distributor's) website, go to www.mawonline.com and
click on products, then chains.

This will lead to a list of all the common chain manufacturers and
there are links to their websites.

 


I'm guessing the motorcycle shipped with the $75 chain rather than the $150
chain?

Thanks.

 



The last three new bikes I've bought had the expensive RK premium flat
o-ring chain.

Yamaha wanted $250 for a new one when my first one wore out at only
18K miles.

But I shopped around and found one on sale for half price...

 

Dnia 2008-09-14 David T. Ashley napisa³(a):

Buy the more expensive one.  


Quality.  The cheaper one may be even an order of magnitude worse.  I've
see it over and over again.  People rarely listen and that's why you
have that cheap shit still on the market.


Andrzej Rosa