New O-ring chain very stiff, is this normal??
 

As shown in this video, my brand new out of the box D.I.D. o-ring chain resists movement so much that it is stiff.

I have not been able to gather from searching whether this is normal. Without knowing any better, and comparing it to every chain I have ever interacted with, it seems like the plates are sandwiched together wayyyyy too tight.

My bike is in the air on a Saturday night and the place I bought from is closed on Sundays, so I can't go ask them at the moment...

hmm does look a little more stiff then my new chain was. i'll look into this i really dont know if that could have any negative side effects.

They come pretty stiff. The orings are new and tight. It will loosen up after a few rides. Run it.....

That is absolutely normal. You're good to go to install it.

Yeah, they are often pretty dang stiff right out of the box.

Basically you have 2 orings clamped and sandwiched under pressure between the link plates and those o-rings are packed for life with lube.

Its the price you pay for longevity and ease of maintainance, its worth it. :)

yup just go with it, clean and re-lube it around every 400 miles and you should be good to go

Thanks for all the input guys, I'm going to go ahead with it.


Side note: In replacing my sprockets I found out that I have been running 16 teeth up front.

I am putting in a 15t in, and expect the difference to be welcome.

16t is stock (at least for the 04 600RR it is) i went to 15 / 45 (-1/+2) and i love it. your speedo is going to be slightly off though.

Oh sorry, I am on an '87 Hurricane 600!

The stock gears are 15/44, I was running 16/44 (without knowing it!), and now I will have 15/45.

So not a big difference from stock, but should be a noticeable difference from what I'm used to.


FWIW, I tried updating my Details/Signature in User CP, but the Vbulletin message tells me I don't have access to do that.