I boughta gearing kit for my '06 1000rr and put about 6k miles on it so far. I got a 15 tooth front (steel) and a 45 tooth rear (aluminum) both Vortex with an RK chain. I thought I bought all good stuff, but it appears my rear sprocket is already starting to "saw-tooth". I am meticulus about my chain tension and cleanliness, so I figured it wasn't a maintenance issue. Anyone else have a similar problem? Should I go with a steel rear, or I think there is a "tri-moly" type as well? Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

 

"I am meticulous about my chain tension and cleanliness, "

Not sure how many total miles you have racked up on the '91, but mung collects under the countershaft cover. It molds itself into a viscous and abrasive mirror image of the sprocket and chain. That stuff is lying in wait to jump onto your chain and cut the sprocket like valve grinding paste. Have you cleaned that are thouroughly?

You really should be getting way better wear from those top quality components.

Any possibility ofa mismatch like 530 chain on 520 sprockets?

 

JBrown: I have 15,000 miles total on the bike. The 520 chain was purchased with the two sprockets from Sum-of-all-Parts as a kit, and I checked it all out prior to installation. As far as the crap sitting around my coutnershaft spocket, it has been cleaned regularly with brake-cleen. as well as the chain and sprockets. It looks pretty good to me at least. I am using Bel-Ray chain wax, do you think there is something better to use? I have heard a lot of people complain about aluminum, and I was just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience. Thanks!

 

Steel does resist wear better than alloy and may be the better choice for a street bike. Having said that, I have at least 15k on my 93. Same brand of chain and sprocket (aluminum). Negligible wear.

I switched from WD40 to Repsol chain lube in january of this year. What I like about both these is the fact that they leave a non "tar-baby" surface that road grunge has a hard time sticking to. This means that I always have really clean wheels after a ride. No chain lube fling-off for the brake dust to stick to.

WD40 doesn't last very long and needs reapplication too frequently. The Repsol dries quickly into a non-stick film that stays put. I've only applied once in the last 600 miles to my 05RR.

Only other thing I can think of to cause premature wear like that is misalignment. You seem pretty hip to this kinda stuff, but factory markings are suspcious at best. Right?

 

vortex is known for its low quality AL sprockets.
what you are describing has happenend to a lot of people all over the internet.
AL sprockets are fine as long as they are hardened. vortex doesnt harden theirs like AFAM or sprocket specialist.