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Checking chains and sprockets.

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showcrop

Well-known Member
There have been a number of posts recently about chains and sprockets. I learned at an early age about chains and sprockets wearing during my brief and uncelebrated dirt bike competition period. During these competitions chains are normally lubricated with mud for rides often over 100 miles. What I learned is that you can check a chain in just a second by grasping it at the larger sprocket, and trying to pull the chain away from the sprocket. A good chain will not pull away while a stretched one will. If it does pull away you can also see some teeth, and you can see if they are pulled to one side as a stretched chain will do to the sprocket. And as we all know you replace the sprocket as well as the chain if it shows leaning teeth.
 
My first zero turn mower was chain drive. We used to try to run the chains forever on it, as we didn't know any better. We'd just keep tightening them. After we had replaced a few sprockets, someone told me to run the new chains til they needed tightened, adjust them once, and when they get loose again just replace them.

I don't think we bought any more sprockets after that.
 
Funny you bring that up. I learned the same way although I wasn't smart enough to give it up after a short period. It took me 20 years of it until I got tired of getting busted up every weekend and spending allot of money keeping a bike going and buying a new one every year.

I will add though that the O-ring chain would last longer than 2-3 regular chains. I can't remember ever breaking or having a problem with a O-ring chain either. Although they do cost more and took a little more power to run one.
 
I too learned the check chains by way of my motorcycle days at an early age. Started riding motorcycles at the age of 13 and legal at the age of 14 on the road. I leaned that trick of pulling the chain up but also learned if the sprocket teeth where sharp on the ends the sprocket was bad and need to be replaced
 
I went to shaft drive on my last two touring bikes. Their engines had 2 valves per cylinder compared to 4 valves on the chain drive models, so performance was sacrificed for reliability and lower maintenance.
 
For some chains and some sprockets due to the size of them it is a wash whether to change the chain to save the sprocket or run them till they are both shot then replace them both.
 
I cannot afford let lone find the motorcycle I want but it is a classic so few and far between plus if you find one who knows if it will still run. I want a 1967 R60S BMW
 
(quoted from post at 08:16:42 07/13/18) I cannot afford let lone find the motorcycle I want but it is a classic so few and far between plus if you find one who knows if it will still run. I want a 1967 R60S BMW
Click to expand...

I am sure that I have seen one because at that time it seemed that there were much higher proportion of BMWs to everything else than there is now. Here in NH it is very unusual to see motorcycles being ridden in the winter, but when you se one, 98 times out of a hundred it is a BMW.
 
(quoted from post at 20:01:52 07/13/18) x2. Leaning teeth.
Click to expand...

What teeth?? As a kid I ran my Trail 90 to the point of having to grind off a link to get the chain to tighten up....then ran it till it started jumping the front sprocket....when I replaced it there was just little nubbins where the teeth should have been LOL.
 
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