snapped chain

[icenian]

A minor plug for Two Wheels in Edinburgh, who fitted an OE front sprocket, pattern rear sprocket and DID VM (X-ring) chain for 145 quid. That's the price the parts would have cost me, not including delivery, bought elsewhere.

He said he did the labour at a knock down price as they'd serviced the bike the previous week He was clearly embarassed that it had happened, even though the chain wasn't too badly worn and I've no reason to believe they should have spotted the problem; I'd seen nothing dodgy.

A bit of a contrast with giving me the bike back with spongey brakes (which is why this is a minor plug).

:idea: It was the service manager who dealt with the chain issue... but he wasn't there the day I got the bike serviced and they didn't bleed the brakes properly... So, next time I want work done on the bike, how can I find out when he's off, to make sure book it in when he's in?

[piguglyshandydrinker]

Can I get this straight;

Your bike gets serviced at a dealer, you recieve it with v.spongey brakes and within a week the chain snaps

Nuthin' suspicious there then......

Phil

[icenian]

Your bike gets serviced at a dealer, you recieve it with v.spongey brakes and within a week the chain snaps

Nuthin' suspicious there then......

:idea: so that's what he was doing witih the angle grinder when I arrived to collect it from the service...

Seriously, I've used these guys for about 5-6 years and they're usually OK. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on the chain. I'd had the bike on the paddock stand a week before (just before the service) and checked it out (was looked for tight spots etc. as I was contemplating asking them to put a new one on), and there wasn't anything visible wrong with it. Don't know why they left the barkes spongey though. P*ssing off a long standing customer for the sake of 15 minutes with a vacuum bleeder makes no sense.

I'll eat my words if next week when it drops a valve, seizes and the wheels fall off because of other stuff they mangwed to forget to do

[Lord Stig]

This is so scary. Exactly as happened to me last year, at least there is a cheaper, better built alternative if you want to replace it instead of resoldering (about £30). Are we all doomed to have the same things go in order of mileage and age. It's getting to be like a clairvoyents convention.

Calling Yen (and any others out there with >60,000 miles...)! This is intriging. Could be coincidence, but what you said here started me thinking last week. You see, it turns out I've just heard I've got a further three months contract here at the NHM - I was supposed to be unemployed as of the end of this month. This (good) news means I'll be doing the 750 mile a week commute for a bit longer. This will take my mileage from the present 75,000 to around 87,000 miles. Not much by Yen's standards, but it'll push a lot of borderline worn out components beyond the limit. I can't afford to change the bike for a newer one (especially as it would be difficult to sell for enough that would allow me to get another, even if it can be sold at all...), so I'm restricted to keeping what I have going. In a way I get a perverse pleasure from doing this (other people enjoy putting plastic bags over their heads and wearing underpants lined with fibre glass insulation...), and let's face it, I know the history of this bike since 8,000 miles, and any other machine could be a time bomb of neglect.

My question is what else can I expect to go up to the 100,000 mark? I need to get a better idea because I'll probably have to take a loan out to get the parts. I need to budget for what I'm likely to need.

I already know I need fork seals; the nearside is leaking. Probably I should also get new springs, and perhaps a new rear shock (or the existing one rebuilt). Yen, I remember you saying somewhere that you changed the camchains (and tensioners?) around my mileage as a precaution, but found they were fine. How long are they likely to last? It's probable the swing arm bearings and linkages are past their best, particularly as I haven't managed to get round to greasing them yet. I imagine the clutch and battery, though showing no sign of problems now, will need replacing during this period.

Although they are consumables I already know the chain and sprockets have had it - yesterday it took 6 notches to take up the slack! It's possible the slack had been building for a while because it normally doesn't need doing from month to month, and I don't check it very often. However, wear seems to have accelerated, and that and the fact it's on notch # 28 now makes me concerned about the subject of this thread - the dreaded SNAP! Does anyone know the parts numbers for the front and rear sprockets? I ordered from TE spares last time, but they need the parts numbers and I can't remember what they are. I'll be using a + 1 tooth sprocket on the back again this time.

So, any experiences or advice?

Thanks,

Stig

[icenian]

[chain] wear seems to have accelerated, and that and the fact it's on notch # 28 now makes me concerned about the subject of this thread - the dreaded SNAP!

changing them seems like a good plan...

Does anyone know the parts numbers for the front and rear sprockets? I ordered from TE spares last time, but they need the parts numbers and I can't remember what they are. I'll be using a + 1 tooth sprocket on the back again this time.

So, any experiences or advice?

(This is from my recent, rather rushed, C&S buying experience, and others may have better advice).

If I was on a budget I'd be tempted to get the DID C&S kit, 89 pounds. That uses their o-ring "V" chain (rather than x-ring "VM" chain), but that's not exactly low grade. The chain alone cost about 70 pounds, so buying the kit is like getting one sprocket for free.

The VM chain can be got for a bit over 80 pounds but then you have to buy sprockets separately, and I doubt you'd manage to get them for under 40, so that's a cost of at least 120, or a third more than the kit.

You'd be stuck with standard gearing with the kit, of course. BTW do you really mean you want a +1 sprocket on the back, for lower gearing?

[Lord Stig]

Thanks for the reply Icenian - useful stuff! I think I'll probably go for the O-ring unless I can get an X-ring for similar money (unlikely). I find I normally get around 30,000 to chain (don't know what this one has done), but bear in mind that it has a Scottoiler and is in pretty much constant use, so it doesn't corrode much or get stiff links.

Yes, I had in mind to lower the gearing. I ran this set up (the same as for the RD04) with the set before the one I have now, and also tried a 15 tooth front. The standard set up is a good compromise but as my engine gets older I'd prefer to take some of the load off it. Increasing the number of beats per mile can do that, though the engine will have wizzed around further....

Anyone who doubts this logic should try pedalling a bicycle up a hill or against the wind in top and then in first. Which one makes your legs hurt the most....? Actually, I prefer the extra ooph of the lower final ratio. Being able to travel at 108 mph is a bit of an irrelevance for me, and if I wanted to be able to cruise at 4000 rpm at 80 mph I buy a Varadero.....or a car!

Anyway, that's the why, but I'm well aware there are a lot of people here who really want a Varadero that just looks like an AT and I certainly don't want to be guilty of blasphemy!

Stig

[YEN_POWELL]

I'll look through my maintenence folder and see what went at that mileage. I would add that I changed my camchains because of a noise and that turned out to be a sparkplug that had loosened a little out of it's thread. You know how you don't go mad tightening the front deep one, cos you don't want to have to deal with the consequences if you strip anything eh!

[Cie]

I think I'll probably go for the O-ring unless I can get an X-ring for similar money

Just fitted a DID Gold H/D X-Ring Chain 525VMx124 to mine, which cost £70, it was the best price I found

[Lord Stig]

Thanks Yen, and I do know what you mean about fear of stripping that front thread! I can't tell whether mine sounds right or not now - I remember you saying that yours seems to make a new noise every week. So does mine, and it's easy to become paranoid about it. On the other hand I have a leak that comes from somewhere at the back of the crank case, and to be honest, I can live with it so long as it doesn't dump the contents of the crankcase in one go. Not so much a lack of paranoia, more a lack of time and inclination!

Cie, wow - I had a look and I recon I might just order one of those now!

Stig

[Cie]

Cie, wow - I had a look and I recon I might just order one of those now!

Get yourself to the meet in Hook on Sunday and you can check it out!