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Posted by Troll
- September 03, 2017, 07:28:32 AMQuote from: CDNRatMan on September 02, 2017, 20:55:44 PMSo are you saying that "O" and "X" chain are the only ones that develop tight spots? I am trying to understand all this....
Any chain can develop tight spots, due to wear or intrusion of dirt, but "sealed" chains keep you from really flushing out any contaminants. I put a really expensive O ring chain on my '78 Superglide once..after about 6 mos, it started to get stiff in several places. I took it off and soaked it in oil for a couple of days (like I would have any other chain with the same problem) and it didn't get any better...
Posted by Tfrank59
- September 02, 2017, 23:46:51 PMSo how many miles are you getting out of a chain? I've got 17K on my bike now, most of it mine, and as far as I know my chain and sprockets are OE. Everything still looks brand new. So here's a little confession, I have never done anything to my chain except clean it once in awhile and spray chain wax on it for Lube. It has never needed adjusting the slackness is within spec and it is smooth as can be. It is the most maintenance-free chain I've ever had on a motorcycle. Anyway I recommend using chainwax rather than WD-40 or some other chain Grease cuz I've had better performance and chain life with chainwax on my bikes, even off-road bikes (even going through water like you been doing) so I'm going to keep using it.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- September 02, 2017, 20:55:44 PMSo are you saying that "O" and "X" chain are the only ones that develop tight spots? I am trying to understand all this....
Posted by Troll
- September 02, 2017, 19:15:02 PMOne of the reasons I don't use o ring chains
Posted by CDNRatMan
- September 02, 2017, 16:55:54 PM So I feel pretty good about my ability to adjust the chain on my 800. I think I have been doing correctly since i followed the manual the first time. So 2 years ago I developed a noise in my chain, I was not sure why or what it was, I was on my way home from Pikeville and Drift In 15 at the time. I stopped at a H-D dealer and asked for some chain lube and the mechanic asked why and I old him, he suggested I just had a bit of dirt in a link, so he gave me a part tin of WD 40 and sold me a second can and told me to soak the chain with the WD-40 and hope that what ever was in the link would be forced out. This seemed to work and the noise was gone for the rest of the trip. Over the winter I replaced that chain.
So this trip I got caught in a huge rain storm, I was on some really rural roads and had puddles that actually almost came over my floorboards at times. PEI has its own type of earth, and it is a red dirt that is not like normal dirt. Up to this point I have not had any issues with the chain, after this rain I was really surprised to hear some noise from the rear end and it was bad, I could feel it through the floor boards and my seat. So I checked the chain and it was a bit loose so I tightened it, but the noise persisted, on my ride from PEI the Antigonish it went away. Cool, then the morning MikeakaFred and I went to ride the Cabot Trail, it cqme back and with a vengeance, checked the chain it was with in tight specs. So after checking with a few people I decided to stop and buy a new chain. The noise is gone......500 kms later did an small adjustment to tighten it and now to ride home.
So wondering if anyone can tell us what and why a chain gets tight spots, I did google that and had to much to read just want a simple answer.
Is there a way to prevent a chain from getting tight spots?
If not then how can we fix it if it is fixable.