on average how long to chains and sprockets last

[paul]

How long do chains and sprockets last on the b12's?

The guy at the cycle shop that did the valve adjustment at 7500k miles told me chains and sprockes only last 10 to 12k miles. Most of my riding is on the freeway at one steady speed. I have 12k miles now on the bike and the chain seems OK to my untrained eye. I do adjust it every couple of weeks and there are still 5 notches left on the adjustment scale.

Thanks

[theroamr]

If taken care of a stock chain will last 10,000-18,000 miles. A good after market 15,000-20,000 miles. Extreme cases have been noted as short as 7,000 and as long as 35,000 miles. Care of a chain is easy. This is all I do. About every 500 miles I lube it up with wd-40. Let it soak in for about 10-15 min. Then take a cloth and wipe the excess of. I then go for a short 10-15 min ride to put some heat in the chain, then simply add your prefered chain lube. The type of chain lube is not really important reason being it only protects the chain from rust. It can not really lube inside your o rings or anything. It can help to keep them from drying out from the outside in. This normally will not happen if you ride your bike on a regular basis because you will wear your chain out first. So get a good chain, wd-40 or equivelant every 500 miles or so, then apply chain lube. Then just ride the snot out of it.

[Ranger]

[Red01]

1) This has been covered a lot... the search feature is your friend.  

2) If your chain is having to be adjusted that often, time is probably getting short on it. Typically, chains "stretch" a little when new and stay pretty stable, needing only occasional adjustments, until near the end of their life when they'll need frequent adjustements.

[ray nielsen]

It's possible to "over adjust" a chain.  I prefer a slightly loose chain and I find the need to adjust less frequently.

With the bike on the center stand I adjust the chain so it just hits the uncerside of the swing arm at the mid point.  This translates to the maximum end of the range in the owner's manual.

I've got 23K miles on the original chain and have adjusted it only three times, at 2500 (initial adj.), 11K and 23K miles.  In each case it required only one sixth of a turn or "one flat" to correct the slack.  

I do use a Scott Oiler adjusted to give about one drop per minute.  That seems to keep the O-rings "wet" and the chain kink free.  The negative is that the rear wheel gets a bit grungy what with the fling off from the chain, but it's easily wiped off with a rag -- no cleaner needed.

[pmackie]

OEM Chain on my B6 lasted 23000 kms, but needs replacing now. I'm expecting a little more life from the next aftermarket one.