Help! Gotta buy the right chain tomorrow.
 

I'm going ot defer to the experts on this one..... I am keeping the front sprocket w/ stock, but i am going to 43 teeth on the rear sprocket. I have to get a new chain, but i am not really sure what type of chain to get since im not doing a 520 conversion, per se. any suggestions? master link??

I am no expert, but the advice I can give is that I have always been told by my racing friends that you stay even/odd on sprockets to keep chain/sprocket wear even.

Rivet type is much stronger than the clip type.

If you are keeping the stock front sprocket, then you would need to stick to the stock 530 sized chain.

I've never had a problem with my DID or Regina chains.

No chain guru either, but I know the OEM 530 chain is 102 links and that length is supposed to work fine with the +2 rear sprocket.

i appreciate it, guys. im just trying to find a balance with the gearing, so im hoping this is what im looking for. i just bought some power2 tires, a new windscreen, changed the fork oil, new grips, new sprockets, and i bought the jardine hi mounts from Supermarto, so hopefully ill get to put those on next weekend. definetly not hard things to do, but im trying to clean her up some and stop using her for a commuter so much. stuff that i have been putting off doing basically. She is on stands off the side porch right now and looking pitiful. its amazing to me how when you start working on something the $ starts to skyrocket (i new a new one of those, new one of those...THAT needs replaced....et cetera). hopefully it'll be back together and ready to go by the weekend (next weekend) as parts trickle in through UPS / fed ex.....


BY THE WAY: while i was out looking at stuff today, i was listening to the shop tell some guy CRAZY prices for some routine maintenance. i havent paid for something like that in so long, it kinda blew me away. some of these shops are straight up price-rapists. Im glad i started learning how to do some of this stuff myself....

Well... I constantly look at my list of parts and think Ouch...$$$....:(

But then I'm reminded what the work cost would be to have the local shop do it... and I start feeling good again...:) That argument works semi-good on the significant other thoo... She sees right through me, she know I would tear stuff apart even if it's cheaper to pay for the work... but she doesn't argue...:)

BTW... how does this affect chain wear?!? Mayby I'm just dumb... but I don't see how...

I have two wheels that I use for street and track days. 1 is stock sprocket the other 43 tooth. no problems with stock chain length at that gearing. I am just too cheap now to upgrade the street sprocket also to 43 tooth as I prefer the gearing - better accel and makes 6th gear actually usable occassionaly at highway speeds otherwise its almost useful unless very high speed. So I'd vote for stock length replacement chain. Most recommend replace chain/sprockets as a set- worn sprockets will wear a new chain much faster (oops, didn't see you said you bought new sprockets already). Be sure to get a riveted master link - I would never use a clip. If you don't have the tools or experience to press the riveted link let the shop do that part - its a minor but critical part of replacement. sorry if you know all this

bill

Just get any O W or X ring 530 chain from Tsubaki, Reynolds, Enkei etc.ANy major brand. No need to spend more than 85-100 bux.
434josh.....what in the heck are you talkin bout? "odd/even"
Chain wear has nothing whatsoever to do with odds or even numbered anything. All due respect etc.

odd front, even rear sprocket or the other way around. Maybe an urban legend, but a bud of mine used to race for team suzuki and now builds/tunes bikes for other racers and that is what he told me. He explained that if you ever get a roller that is odd shaped or worn, it will wear the alum rear sprocket unevenly if you have an even/even sprocket or odd/odd setup, ie 15/45 vs 16/45.
Like I said b4, no expert here, just what I have been told. I have always used this advice and have had excelent sprocket/chain wear.

Here she is now. should i get rid of the woody woodpecker decals? i like them, but others might find them fruity..... all of this should be pretty quick fixes. My little helper's name is Nietzsche. always there to lend a hand.

The even/odd thing is true, though really the only real bad ones are something like 15/45, where 45 is a multiple of 15. The front sprocket would only see the same three links every wheel revolution. They build propulsion parts for Navy ships similar to this, such that the same gear teeth only see each other every 1031 revolutions or so.

I talked to some guys at the shop today and none of them said they have ever heard anything about it. exactly how much do you think it would effect the wear of the sprockets/chain? HOW does it make them wear out faster if your chain tension is correct? crazy stuff.

Just off the top of my head but, before you could calculate chain position repetition on the sprockets, wouldn't you need to factor in chain roller count as well?

Anyhow, like Greg said, if you avoid having a rear sprocket count multiple of the front one, and your chain roller count isn't a multiple of either of them, I can't see how it could be a problem.

Well... the multiple thing makes sense... How, is if one tooth is warped or uneven and it keeps hitting the same link... then that link becomes weakened... If the sprockets are not multiples of each other the chain "moves" one or more links each rotation in reference to that one tooth... and it takes several rotation to get back to the starting position... thereby spreading the differences in wear out over the whole chain...

gotcha. makes sense.

Let me in on this one..what I was taught many years ago was to never use even-even on gearing, even-odd is OK..odd-odd is better..I wish I could remember why this is so but I don't. I just remember "the rule".

this still didn't make sense to me as the ratio of front to rear sprocket shouldn't be as important as the ratio of either sprocket to chain links - irrespective of the other sprocket. Fortunately there is the internet. For those wanting to truly know here is a link. (nice tables that you can assess number of hits per tooth based on entering sprocket changes and compare to stock (bottom tables) and then links at the top with infor for wear factors etc - nice write up.

http://www.gearingcommander.com/.

To sum it up, here is a quote from the section on wear factors:

'Same tooth - same link' situation
This happens when the number of links of the chain divided by the number of teeth on a sprocket is a round number

cliby;

"ratio of front to rear sprocket shouldn't be as important as the ratio of either sprocket to the chain links-irrespective of the other sprocket."

BINGO!

Worrying about sprocket to sprocket ratio without factoring in chain roller number is a waste of time.

Maybe, just maybe, a 15 tooth front with a 45 rear AND a 45 roller chain would shorten the life of chain/sprockets by a few dollars.

The VTR has a chain with 51 rollers. As long as you don't have a 17 tooth front sprocket or a 51 tooth rear, it isn't anything you will ever have to worry about.

Condor, I too run 15/43 with stocker chain with no problems, so your 16/43 should be fine with stocker chain...make sure you go with either all 520 or 530 gears and chain combos so it's all compatible...:spam:

not the sprocket tooth but the actual roller on the chain.

Wasn't trying to start a big discussion here, sorry about that. Just wanted to give my 2 cents. Take it for what it is, i will always buy my sprockets this way for my own piece of mind. :D

Tooth hitting roller or roller hitting tooth? kinda like the chicken and egg that one...

:oops: Oops, yeah, that's what I meant. :oops:

Thanks for the correction. I'm thinking gears. Navy ships don't use chains. :mrgreen: