Chain toast?
 

I've got about 25,000 on my 98, i'm getting close to the red replace mark on the swing arm. If I get a new chain should I replace sprockets too? (they seem to be showing signs of wear. getting pointy) Is this something a rookie mechanic should tackle? Are there better chains and sprockets than others? Help is appreciated!:D

Unless the sprockets or chain are fairly new, I'd replace the whole set. Sprockets aren't that expensive.

If you have some mechanical ability, doing your own sprockets and chain is a cinch. All you need is a torque wrench and/or breaker bar to get the bolts loose/tight. You may need a chain breaker to install the chain. A rivet master link is stronger than a clip-style master link.

As for which brand, I had AFAM sprockets and an RK chain with no problems.

Hey ryan. Yes, it's deffinitely time to replace them both. You should change them at the same time. If you do one or the other, the new part will wear out faster than normal. I spun a chain on a borrowed bike one time because the sprocket was in such bad shape. The chain cracked the case, it was a major nightmare...all because of a worn back sprocket.

As far as brands, DID, AFAM, and JT make good quality products. You have your choice of aluminum or steel sprockets. Alum is lighter, but doesn't last as long. For the hawk, I would (and did) save some money and go for the steel sprockets. JT makes some sweet ones that come in black.

Dude it's time. Change that sh#t out brah. You should be able to do this yourself if you have the tools listed above. If you don't get some friends to chip in and buy them cause trust me you'll all need to use them someday. You should be able to a good chian breaker set for 50 or 60 bucks.

I just replaced my chain and sprockets this weekend. If you know to use a wrench you'll be fine. There's plenty of tips and tricks listed on other threads also.

As far as tooling goes, I got a good deal on a 104 link chain so I brought it to my dealer (bikes, not drugs) and they cut the two links out for $5. I then rented a chain press from them for $10 (you can also rent chain breakers). All in all, $15 and 1.5 hours of my time sure as hell beats paying for 2 hours of service at $60/hour.

so you took the bike, and replaced the chain in the lot or trailered it home. where can i rent a breaker ?

Put the bike up on a stand, brought the chain in to get cut (5 min job), rented the chain press, took the newly cut chain and the press home, put everything together.
Now that I think about it I forgot to return the press today, damn. Oops.
My local dealer rents tools for $5 or $10 a day depending on the tool.

thanx for the info, planning on tackleing the project this weekend. luckily the hawk is not my main mode of transport, just a really sweet toy. any opinions on changing sprocket sizes to get better performance?

There are stock length kits out there. Don't need to do the $80 chain tool kit. I think DID lists sprockets/chain kit for around $150 - check around!

If you have a vice and a hand grinder you can simply mount the new chain in the vice between two pieces of wood and grind the pins off flush where you want to cut. Them simply use and old flat blade screw driver to pry the link cover off and remove the extra chain.

Then mount new chain and master link using a good set of channel lock pliers.

Stick with stock sprocket size, or change up for better performance? Anyone that has experience running different sizes imput appreciated!