How many miles do you get out of your chain? All 3 of my previous bikes (78 CX500, 86 700 Nighthawk S, 83 BMW R100RS) were shaft drive. 150,000 miles combined with no chain worries.

My old canyon riding buddies from the 80's were replacing chains every 10,000 miles back then, on bikes with much less torque than a VTR. I know O-ring chains have much longer life, but how long? I have 25,000 on my 05 with the stock chain, and the adjustment is just outside the "new" range on the left swingarm. The rear sprocket looks good as well.

I use the torque our bikes have, that's why I bought a VTR, but I don't clutch up wheelies. Shaft drive sure was easy and clean, but I don't miss the added weight.

 

I got 15k out of my old chain before it started getting noisy (I replaced it with a D.I.D. X-Ring Gold chain which was noisy as hell out of the box.). It really depends on how you keep up on your chain maintenance,. I buy a lot of bikes that have clapped out chain at less that 10k miles some less than 5k.

 

I lube it about every 500 miles, but I rarely clean it other than wiping it with an old sock before lubing. Cleaning seems too messy and a pain in the ***, but maybe I'll do it more often now that I'm retired.

 

Teflon spray lube and wipe with a clean rag when I think about it, 28K mi and very little wear. The beauty of teflon is that, unlike chain wax etc, road dirt and grime won't stick to it. No grit, ergo, little chain wear.

I also use it to clean the switch internals, lube the cables, clean and lube the clutch push rod etc.

 

Teflon chain lube? I don't get out to the local bike shop much, and I always used synthetic gear lube on my chains.

Can you tell me more about this teflon chain lube please?

 

Lowe's home improvement store, multi-use teflon lube is what I use, safe for O-ring chains. And it even has a little graphic of a motorcycle there on the side of the bottle.

 

Until recently I'd been doing the chain per Honda's recommendation- brushing/flooding with kero or diesel at the rear sprocket, letting it drip into a pan, wiping with a clean shop rag, then painting it with gear oil and wiping again. Works fine but the gear oil picks up a lot of dirt and grit.

Lately I've been flooding the chain with Walmart Super Tech version of WD-40 and wiping it every 200 miles or so. Chain seems to stay cleaner this way.

I've got about 14k miles on the original chain and it's in excellent shape. I'd be surprised if it didn't last for 30k.

 

Thanks for the info. I going to try this stuff myself.

 

I've used 3 different types of chain lube, based on recommendations of guys who work in mc shops. Each one seems to have his own favorite. The last one I used slings all over the wheel and tire the first time I ride after a lube. So I'm going back to a lube with teflon...it leaves a white film, but it doesn't sling off.

 

With proper maintenance the chain will last a very long time. BUT, it's not the chain that is the limiting factor. It's the front sprocket. That sprocket sees a tooth 3 times more than any tooth on the rear sprocket. So, if you are starting to show wear (sharktoothing) on the rear then you damned well better pull that countersprocket cover off and check it there. And ALWAYS replace chain and sprockets as a set!