hey everyone. I tried to search for this, but didn't find much. I replaced my chain about 1500 miles ago, and its already pretty much worn out! I usually lube it every 200-300 miles, and I've tightened it 3 times already, and its almost to the "new chain" mark on the adjustments. I know 1500miles isn't normal for the life of a chain!I'm a pretty easy rider, no stunting,usually just ridin round town, work, or occasionaly about 100 milesto the parents house. What do you guys think is goin on? Sprockets bad? Im pretty sure they're original. here's some pics I took of the rear sprocket last night when i tightened it for the 3rd time. I got the chain off of ebay which doesn't help matters (pretty broke at the time). Let me know what you think is goin on and if I need new sprockets. mite have to go up a couple in back now... PS: posted this in the f4 area, but didn't getmuch help[:-]

 

how do you know its bad? is it stretching or is your wheel moving.

 

the wheel isn't moving. When I put the chain on, the adjuster wasclear on the other end (screwedmost of the way in) and now i've tightened it all the way to where it's on the edge of the "new chain" area. I don't know whats going on with it. I just know that its not lasting worth a $hit. I was thinking maybe my sprockets are bad, but I haven't been riding long enough to know when they're bad or not.

 

Are you leaving any room for deflection, or are you making the chain really tight?

 

What kind of chain and sprockets are they? The rear sprocket doesn't look bad. I had a 520 RK chain that constantly needed tightening. I've sence went with the DID 520 ERV xring chain and a hardened alloy sprocket with excellent results. Got about 5 or 6K miles on them and I haven't needed to adjust it. DID chains are a little more but worth it, stay away from aluminum sprockets because they wear fast, and heat your chain by riding around the block before lubing it so it draws the lube into the o rings.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, Tacoma25, yeah I always leave about an inch of flex in the chain to account for suspension travel and what not.
WellarmedCr@ckerI don't rememeber what kind of chain it is. I bought it "new"off of ebay [&:]. As for the sprockets, my best guess is that they're the origional ones from Honda. I haven't counted teeth or anything.I don't know the entire history of the bike, as I bought it with a previous salvage title cuz it was put down and totaled by the insurance co.

 

Generally when you buy a new chain you should install new sprockets too. As for your problem the sprocket don't look real bad, probably just a cheap chain. Again i would save up and buy the whole set this time, and use quality components.

 

Those sprockets don't look bad to me, but without a perfect side veiw it's impossible to tell for sure. The chain shouldn't need to be adjusted so often and something is wrong. Ask about tensile strength next time and get something rated high.

eBay cheap stuff can last a long time. I bought a chain and sprocket set for $99 last year and have put 4,500 miles + on it and I've adjusted it three times so far. I still have a lot of adjustment left as well. Considering the cheap price, I'll probably just replace everything again when I change out the rear tire in another 6-10k miles. The brand of the chain I got was KMC, but when I found the specs on it, the chain easily equalled the measurements of chains that cost $100+ The sprockets were standard steel from the big bike parts supplier advertised during AMA races. (mind went blank)

 

Thanks for the help guys. About the only explanation I can come up with is "you get what you pay for". I'm probably just going to have to save up the $$$ and put a chain and new sprockets on it at the end of the summer.

 

Bump... Anybody else have any opinions?