Chain Caution

[JB1]

Hi all. Was out in Mid Wales at the weekend for a ride round the awesome roads near Llandindrod Wells. Having always kept my chain slack to avoid the problems with the output shaft I think I overdone it.

After turning right at a junction, went to accelerate up a hill and lost power. Pulled over to check and found the chain had jumped off the rear sprocket. Fortunately not too much damage to the wheel hub and managed to fix at the road side. Think I need to monitor it more when I fit the new chain and sprockets sat on the garage shelf

[tendays]

was it too slack, or just worn out? did you get any other symptoms of chain wear before it happened e.g. difficult or 'spontaneous' gear changes

[pale rider]

just changed the chain and sprockets on my alp and that turned out to be an education..

sprockets went on straight forward but went to open the packet with the chain which i thought contained a split link but out dropped a normal link which had to be crushed together using a special tool.

went to our local motorbike shop to try and get a split link that would match the chain but was informed that the chain manufacturers dont recommend split links as they dont have o-ring seals and pose a risk as if badly maintained will dry out before the rest of the chain and fail first alledgedly....

he did sell me a very cheap tool to try my luck with but it would have been more useful for holding a mudflap on a car.

finished up having to push the transalp into town(about 2 miles) to get it done with the proper tool at the shops workshop(at least they did it for free having sold me the "novelty tool") .

i dont think I've been that knackered on a hot day for a long time...

so beware of the missing split-link

[angelo]

I never use a split link I don't trust them but I use a small g clamp to assemble the normal link and hold it together and then with the wheel off and the chain hanging about I stake the pins using a lump hammer as an anvil and a centre type punch and smaller hammer on the protruding pins on the outside of the chain - tapping away you will soon see the pin spread and you need to only spread it enough to be secure but not too much that the link becomes stiff.

Done a few without a problem. Removal - angle grind the pin flush and knock it through.

Roadside - anything that will remove the link and only in emergency I would use a split link as a get me home unless it's in RAC territory!

[JB1]

I think it was a bit of both really, worn chain and too loose.

[Farmboy]

Palerider you should have asked and you could have borrowed mine

[pale rider]

cheers farmboy.... and angelo, your method sounds good for me but the link also came with some odd-shaped wires that you are supposed to fit in between the links while putting it together so that the o-ring seals dont get damaged when you apply the force to close the link together.

[tendays]

I stake the pins using a lump hammer as an anvil and a centre type punch and smaller hammer on the protruding pins on the outside of the chain - tapping away you will soon see the pin spread and you need to only spread it enough to be secure but not too much that the link becomes stiff.

Done a few without a problem. Removal - angle grind the pin flush and knock it through.

There's a good garagenight vid on how to do this.

Ep 7: Changing a chain and sprockets at Garage Night

I've got a new chain & sprockets waiting to go on dr z, but I think there's still a fair bit of life left in the current ones. I'm going to have to borrow a lump hammer from outlaw dad but i've got a cheap chinese grinder.

[Axe]

Done a couple of the non split link types,

Seem easy enough,

get everything on (chain, wheel, sprockets)

put large (4lb) lump hammer between rear tyre and inside of chain (4lb seems to be just the right thickness so you don't twist the chain)

whack 7 shades of Sh1te out of the spreading pin, make sure you don't hit it so hard that bits drop off it, but hit it hard enough and enough times so that it spreads nicely.

Take it to nearest MOT/Bike centre and get their mechanic to look at it and Ok it.

job done.

(never had to do it at the roadside though, hope to god I don't have to!)

Axe