Poor quality chain - DID 420D

Hi all.

Not long ago I replaced chain and sprockets on my Suzi. I didn't want to get any crap parts so I got said chain + JT sprockets.



And I must say, this is total piece of junk. Before, when I bought my Suzi, I didn't do anything for about 3k miles. No lubing, no cleaning, nothing. Yes, I know, I should, but I didn't. It was ok-ish, there was not much slack etc. Now I have to adjust this fecker every 400-500 miles, and it's hanging like a rag. Now, I have about 220 miles since last adjustment and it is so loose, that every time I let the gas off, it hits swingarm and makes loud noise. Not the quality I expected.

And just to clarify - this chain is lubed every 250-300 miles, evey other session includes cleaning and adjusting.

CRAP!

We had the same make DID chain onthe fazer - very briefly - a link plate snapped at "speed". I don't use them or white grease any more Got a nother one and tens of thousands of miles later it's still good (albeit abused and rarely cleaned) and yes, it's slack, but it's a fazer - they're meant to be at 40mm slack!

Did you change the sprockets at the same time?

Of course I D.I.D . I've put sprockets on first, then straight after chain.

Meant to be slack or not, nobody will tell me it's normal to have 70mm slack after fraction over 200 miles .

Major wrote:Of course I D.I.D .

Hehe

Major wrote:I've put sprockets on first, then straight after chain.

Meant to be slack or not, nobody will tell me it's normal to have 70mm slack after fraction over 200 miles .

No I would say that that's slightly excessive - although if you're riding her daily through the winter expect a bit of extra wear if you're not keeping on top of keeping her lubed. It IS alot of stretch but you'll find one day it'll just stop stretching

Forgot to add - every time my bike has contact with any kind of wetness, I lube the chain.

It will stop stretching, cause I have left about 13mm of adjusting screws left . And as son as I adjust it last time, I will order new one. Shame a little, cause sprockets are good yet.

Just need to find diffrent chain this time. Not gonna change them 3 times a year .

Just done this on another bike - remove 2 of the links, all your adjustment's back

If it's down to shoddy chain, then not much you can do - but even with a stretchy chain - the chain is still "good" if you can't pull it off the sprocket at the back of it (grab one of the rivet pins at about "3pm" on the rear sprocket - pull it back as far as it can go - if it lifts anywhere near the height of the teeth, time for a new chain [whether it's well adjusted or maladjusted lol])

Another thing to consider is the condition of your drive kush's - if they're worn, or allow any kind of movement of the sprocket carrier - you won't get nice smooth acceleration, it'll snatch and stretch. Same goes for riding styles - heavy handed throttle or quick clutch work can cause the chain to "snap" tight and that will stretch as the rollers wear out quicker.

I wouldn't want to put a new chain on old sprockets - the life of the sprockets AND the chain will be drastically reduced...

Think of it like a bullet(chain) in a gun(sprocket) - as the bullet travels down the chamber it picks up unique wear marks... the same can be said of your chain and sprockets - if the teeth have worn slightly to accommodate the chain you have on now, putting a new one on will cause not only accelerated "normal" wear, but more wear on the sprockets as the new, "thicker" parts wear in, and accelerated wear on the chain as the worn sprockets eat into it.

Sorry for the double post

Will have to remove links, ain't having chain for two months ffs .

Forgot to mention, cush drive was brand new as well - I replaced it all at once.

Chain looks ok in terms of how far I can pull it. It's about 3mm, pretty much always was, so nothing wrong here. Also my riding style, well, I am heavy handed, but it's just due to the fact that Suzi lacks power. However, no rapid take-offs, no whelies, nothing. With my old chain I did try to wheelie her for quite some time, yet I learnt it reduces chain's lifespan, so don't do it on the new set. It just seems so soft.

Will order new clip and will cut the fecker down .

No worries - don't use another split link though... Well. I cannae say off-hand whether it's legal or not (I've just driven 200 miles to find out my new car was a con so I'm having a couple drinks) but, well... I wouldn't....and that probably means sane people shouldn't either

I know she only has 13.5 BPH, but will it be safe to heel old split link?

I re-use split links... I keep them clean and make sure the clips clean lol.I just don't use two in one chain... Dunno why, I've only ever had two chains snap on me; one had two links, one was brand new using white grease lol. You can probably guess I don't use white grease any more either

I guess I kind of know the reason now . And of course I wouldn't put two links on it - I may be a beginner wrench, but am not ignorant .

Okies, my confusion cleared