I have just replaced chain & sprockets on my '91 with the standard 17 front / 42 Rear sprockets + 114 link chain (DID50VX).

My problem is, the adjuster arrow is pointing at the far end of the green chain wear label... refer attached photo. I would've thought the arrow should point at the 'NEW' end of the green part ?

I have a suspision the chain wear label may have come off in the past & the previous owner stuck it back to far left ?

Can someone please take a piccie of their chain wear label so i can compare with mine.

any help appreciated....

fwiw, the old chain was well & truly in the read area + the drive sprocket was poked but still... i might've been able to get a few more 0000 k's outta the old one.

 

Don't worry about it mate.

The chain wear label is just a guide when the bike is new, and should only be used as the roughest of guides once the original chain and sprockets have been replaced.

As long as your chain is correctly tensioned and lubed you're good to go about 2.5-3.5cm of travel in the centre between the sprockets.

 

yep +1 ............. I'm missing both my "guides" lol ....... really they don't mean jack !

Keep my chain slack at between 1/2 to 3/4 inches


ooooouuuu them is some nice shiney sprockets tho ' !!! lol

 

You should see the front one ! 90,000 odd k's of sploog so I gave her a real good scrub up, she's looking real smart down below now. I can almost feel extra HP from all the gunk removal already

If you have no wear indicators how do you know when the chain is due for changing ? sorry for being such a noob.

 

Record the miles , they're well oiled and cleaned , at around 12k miles I'll cut 'em loose
and replace ! Being DID & RK chains I know they'll hold up this long before getting too
thrashed

 

I use mileage as well as pulling on the chain at the back of the rear sprocket (while tensioned) to see how far it lifts off the rear sprocket. This is pretty rough, tho.
The best way is really to measure the links and see if it's still in spec.
Also, if the sprocket teeth are all worn out, it obviously will need replaced.

I have about 15,000 on my current RK XSO. Lubed with WD40.

 

...... proof slow going and Dubbya D preserves chain life

 

Ha! Seriously..... I can't wait for 20k. Pics of that chain will be plastered all over this site. (and likely your house) LOL...

But anyway, Mr. Chips....yeah, the stickers don't really mean much. I do use the center indicators, though, for alignment, and they seem to work well. Since I have a larger rear sprocket, it pulls the wheel forward anyway so my indicators would be useless to show replacement. It would never reach the "replace" mark.

 

I've found a good guide to chain replacement is when you put the bike on its centre stand/paddock stand and run the bike in gear, the chain "snatches" and even when lubed thrashes around and is noisy. Mine is just about there now.
You will also feel more "vibration" through the bike with a worn chain, compared to a new one. Really big difference there too.
The stickers are put there to guide you but shouldn't be a real yardstick IMO.
Up to 1" of slack, but turn the wheel slowly and feel for any tight spots in the chain and don't over tension.

 

Yeah, +1 on not over-tensioning.

Remember it's set up on the centre stand, so the chain isn't really stretched. When you lower the bike it adds tension to the chain, when you sit on it this tension increases (dramatically in Sprocks case). When you hit a bump, the shock travels through the chain and where does this all end up? At the front sprocket and the drive shaft bearing