My chain is pretty much destroyed because i've been putting off replacing it for way too long. Curious... would it worth buying to tools to do my own or should i just take it to a dealer? i'm interested in doing a 520 -1/+2 conversion... do dealers even sell these?

 

It depends on how mechanically inclined you are. If you're handy with tools, I say go for it. But if you're not and you're only trying to save a few bucks, then maybe the shop ought to do it. Chain failure can be pretty serious as you can imagine. Most dealers (specially now) will sell you anything. Including that sprocket set-up.

 

Why do you wanna do the 520 conversion? You will NEVER see the advantage it offers. (less reciprocating mass, that may gain you a tenth of a second ON THE TRACK) It's not as strong as the 525 or 530. DONT buy your sht from the STEALERship, get off the web. And YES you should do it yourself. Its very simple, Take off the fairing, and the front sprocket cover, then have a buddy (or your ol' lady) hop on the bike and hit the brake (rear of course), then break the front sprocket nut (only one) loose, then break as many as you can get to loose on the rear sprocket, then roll the bike a lil to access the rest on the rear (6 if you have the F4i), hit the brake again and break the rest loose. Now cut the old chain off, an angle grinder with a cut off wheel works great (a dremmel or drill with a cut off wheel will work too), take off the rear axel nut, prop the swinger up on two milk crates (one on each side= make shift stand), knock the axel bolt through the rear wheel (dont beat on it too hard), finish unbolting everything, then install the new sprockets, reinstall the wheel and adjust it all the way forward, and feed the chain through the front sprocket and pull it through so the ends of the chain come together at the rear sprocket, then mark the link that needs to be cut off. If you get the breaker/press combo tool, use it to press out the pin then hook up the master link and press it (If you get the rivet style master link, which is highly recomended). If you get the chain press tool w/o the "breaker" then use you cut off wheel to grind the head of the pin away and use a hammer and punch to press the pin out. But take the chain off and do it on the work bench, DONT beat on it with it on the sprocket, you'll bend the sht outta it (the sprocket). Piece a cake. Only took me 30 min. but the fairings were already off.

 

+1 to doing it yourself. Its not that hard, you will know how to service your bike in the future and it will save some change. I just did mine and I opted to get the breaker/rivet tool. I have stands but have seen people do it without stands. That looks insanely dangerous to me so I say if you have a stand and are even somewhat mechanical....go for it. Its not that hard.

 

Change?! I didnt know Ben Franklin was on any coins. lol

 

it's not a question of being mechanically inclined enough.. I have a degree in automotive technology (pretty much a glorified mechanic that has to take extra classes like internal combustion physics, and fuel composition analysis). it's a question of if it's worth the money to buy tools i'll probably only ever use once. I dont have a stand either. actually, i wonder if i could just rent a chain breaker/press and a bike stand for the day from a garage.

there are a lot of reasons to do 520 conversions. first of all, my chain and sprocket need to be replaced. so instead of buying crap mass produced OEM parts designed to cut corners and save the company money, opting for better quality after-market parts designed to increase performance and resale value of my bike is a better choice. so that being said, I will alliterate on my choice of 520 vs 525... Even if i dont maximize the performance potential of my bike, there is no reason to keep the extra weight.. especially with the increased quality of an aftermarket chain. Remember that the bike is an entire system and a kilogram or two of weight might not seem like much at all but there are a lot of other parts in the engine and drive-train that are being stressed by that weight. It's just not necessary to keep 525. Now for the sprocket gearing... i rarely go over 120 mph. **** that... i rarely go over 100. there's no way i'm interested in keeping a high top speed. Since I ride with a passenger frequently (small college town girl to guy ratio 5:1) and a little extra low end over max speed seems more beneficial to me.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to insult your intelligence, lol. If you're goint to ride motorcycles for a large part of your life, it wouldn't be a bad tool to have, imo. Neither would bike stands.

 

ahahaha total ownage! Glad you thought this out. I have a similar background to you and came to the same conclusion. I went with a RK XW series chain. Combine it with some renthal sprockets and there is no way you WONT feel a difference as it was 3lbs less then stock [which is 6.5lbs]. As for doing it yourself, I say go for it. The tools cost about the same as paying a shop and you'll need to do it again eventually [this bike or another]. You could always rent it to your friends too!

 

That's the same chain that I went with. The chain and sprockets were in a little bundle for about 130 or so. Anyways.....the dealer quoted me around $300 for the chain/sprocket & installation. I got the breaker tool for around $60 so that saved me a little more than $100. I have already used it twice because I put a new chain & sprockets on my other bike. I still say go for it.

 

First off, no one is insulting your intelligence...Dr. Prime. If you're only gonna use the tools once then a) this is gonna be the only bike you'll ever own? b) you dont plan on puttin 30-40K on it? c) you dont plan on helping any friends wrench on their bikes? And as a "glorified mechanic" you can never have too many tools, and as you'll learn, having the right tools makes any job easier. (especially specialty tools) Nobody suggested buying OEM parts (I agree with your philosophy) Just because its a 525 set-up doesn't mean its factory. You can get an aftermarket kit in any width 520/525/530. And the weight difference between the two aftermarket kits is NOT a "kilo or two". Lets compare apples to apples. If you weigh an RK XW 520 chain and compare it to oh say an RK XW 525 chain, its only gonna be a couple ounces different. Same for the sprockets. Getting the aftermarket kit in 525 with an aluminum sprocket will still cut the weight alot, and its gonna last longer than the 520 kit. The tensile strength of the 525 chain is much stronger than the 520 (same chain mfg.) Thats why the 520 is NOT recomended for "liter" bikes. And FYI afetrmarket parts are NOT designed to increase your bikes resale value, they are designed to increase performance, or to enhance appearance. Just because you spend thousands in aftermarket parts doent mean you'll get thousands more when you sell it, maybe a couple hundred more. The only thing you can do to help the resale value is to maintain your bike properly and keep records. (And dont drop it)