CHAIN OF FOOLS.....

[GETFURIOUS]

OKAY.....I CHANGED MY CHAIN AND SPROCKETS ALMOST 1 YEAR AGO.....

I USED JT SPROCKETS AND A TSUBAKI 530 CHAIN.....I STAYED WITH THE STOCK NUMBER OF TEETH ON BOTH SPROCKETS.....

AFTER 12 MONTHS AND ABOUT 6,000 MILES.....I NOTICED THAT MY CHAIN WAS STRETCHED TO THE LIMIT AND HAD SOME KINKS IN IT.....

FOR THE RECORD.....
I LUBE AND ADJUST MY CHAIN REGULARLY.....
I DON'T DO WHEELIES.....
I DON'T "HOLESHOT" MY BIKE AT EVERY STOP LIGHT.....

AFTER DISCOVERING THE ISSUE WITH THE CHAIN....I CONTACTED THE SUZUKI DEALERSHIP WHERE I PURCHASED THE PARTS.....

I EXPLAINED THE ISSUE TO THE PARTS MANAGER.....I GAVE HIM THE INFORMATION ON MY BIKE AND THE PART NUMBER AND INFORMATION FOR THE CHAIN THAT HE SOLD ME.....

I THEN ASKED HIM IF THERE WAS ANY WARRANTY ON THE CHAIN.....THE PARTS MANAGER TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS "NO" WARRANTY ON MOTORCYCLE CHAINS.....

I TOLD HIM THAT I GOT 20,000 MILES OUT OF THE FACTORY CHAIN.....SO I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS CHAIN FAILING IN ONLY 6,000 MILES.....

HE THEN ASKED FOR THE PART NUMBER AND CHAIN INFORMATION AGAIN.....

I TOLD HIM THAT IT IS A "TSUBAKI 530X120 OMEGA".....

HE GOT VERY QUIET FOR A MOMENT.....THEN HE ASKED AGAIN....."WHAT SIZE BIKE DO YOU HAVE?"....

I TOLD HIM.....2001 SUZUKI BANDIT 1200S.....

HE THEN SAID.....YOU HAVE THE WRONG CHAIN ON YOUR BIKE.....YOU HAVE THE 530 OMEGA AND YOU SHOULD HAVE THE 530 SIGMA.....THE OMEGA IS ONLY RATED FOR 750CC AND BELOW.....

(JUST SO THAT YOU KNOW.....THE TENSIL STRENGTH IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO CHAINS).....

AFTER A LONG CONVERSATION.....AND POINTING OUT THAT HE (THE PARTS MANAGER) WAS THE PERSON WHO SOLD ME THE WRONG CHAIN.....HE DECIDED TO SELL ME THE CORRECT CHAIN.....AND I WOULD ONLY PAY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CHAIN THAT I BOUGHT AND THE CHAIN THAT I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT.....

I THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS A REASONABLE COMPROMISE.....

SO.....IF YOU EVER NEED TO REPLACE YOUR CHAIN.....MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE RECEIVING THE CORRECT CHAIN FOR YOUR MOTORCYCLE.....

AND NOT THE CHAIN OF FOOLS.....

[Cruisecontrol]

I thought the number denoted its strength and not the name...

[GETFURIOUS]

I thought the number denoted its strength and not the name...

NOT IN THIS PARTICULAR BRAND.....

[Cruisecontrol]

That is why it is RK all the way...

[GETFURIOUS]

That is why it is RK all the way...

I REALLY WISH THAT I HAD ORDERED THE D.I.D. OR RK CHAIN INSTEAD OF USING THE DEALER RECOMMENDED CHAIN.....

HOWEVER.....I CAN'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE TSUBAKI CHAIN.....SINCE THE CHAIN THAT I WAS GIVEN WAS NOT THE CORRECT CHAIN FOR MY BIKE.....

I WILL POST AN UPDATE ON THE "CORRECT" CHAIN AFTER SOME MONTHS AND SOME MILES OF USE.....

B-T-W.....

THERE WAS ONE THING THAT I FORGOT TO MENTION BEFORE.....

THE ISSUE WITH THE CHAIN ALSO DAMAGED BOTH OF MY SPROCKETS.....AND THE DEALER DID GIVE ME 2 NEW SPROCKETS AT NO CHARGE.....

[Red01]

I thought the number denoted its strength and not the name...

The number denotes the size of the chain.  The first number denotes the pitch (distance between the pins) in 1/8" increments.  The next number denotes the width of the chain between the inner plates in 1/8" increments and if the 3rd number is a 5, add 1/16".

So your most common m/c chain sizes are:

420 = 1/2" pitch, 1/4" wide
425 = 1/2" pitch, 5/16" wide
520 = 5/8" pitch, 1/4" wide
525 = 5/8" pitch 5/16" wide
530 = 5/8" pitch, 3/8" wide
630 = 3/4" pitch, 3/8" wide

Exceptions:
428 = Same as a 425, but has a larger roller diameter.
532 = Same as a 530, but has a larger roller diameter.

[Fordtech]

Personally I have used RK, EK, etc......The last one I installed was a DID, cannot say enough about it, in the last 20 or 30,000 Km's it has barely stretched.
Please Note: False economy to just replace chain and not sprockets.......
99 B12........91.000 km's and counting

[britxbike]

Errrr... Yeah I went through a RK in about 6k miles and after talking with my suzuki mech friend he had me switched to D.I.D. Can't say enough about them!

[pmackie]

As Getfurious mentioned, chains are available in different tensile stengths. Higher usually means ablility to handle more power, and also tends to have lower wear.

That being said, I have just put 37,000 kms(23,000 miles) on my Regina/JT sprocket set on my 600. Not the best chain, but for under $200 for both sprockets and chain, I'm satisfied. The factory 600 chain/sprockets only went 1/2 that before completely worn, and I might leave this set on for another 2-3000 kms. Their worn, but not toast yet, but it is starting to make some noise.

However, any chain and sprocket set had better last more than 10,000 kms (6000 miies) or I'd be complaining.