Chain life

so i've had my bike a little over 8 months now and just passed 12k on the odometer. i know, that's a lot of riding for a 8 month old bike. but i seriously don't drive my car unless i have to. ie: rain (in so cal? not likely), or shopping.

now i have a trip to vegas planned in the near future. big surprise i'm taking the bike. a mere 4 hour ride. should i be concerned about the 12k on the factory chain? (which by the way is a DID. honda doesn't fuck around there) i've adjusted it only twice. or do you think i should be fine? that little gauge or chain measuring stamp inside the rear sprocket is so difficult to determine if the chain is stretched or not. a little lean to the right and it looks fine, a lean to the left and it appears it's time for a new chain.

thanks for the input
Bob

 

I replaced mine at 12k. It had some "Red Dust" in places that indicates a shot o-ring. The tech that replaced it for me ($35 for them to do it was cheaper than a chain breaker and riveter) said that if I got 12k out of it I did pretty good since he seldom saw them go past 10k.

 

I've got 15K on mine and the Honda Dealership said it was fine. when I asked him about replacing it about a month ago. Anyone else?

 

I don't replace my chains until they can no longer hold an adjustment. I consistently get 25k from stock vfr chains. (4 of them so far) When i replace them I buy the stock chain and sprockets.$600 parts and labor. I just replaced my chain with an RK X ring chain which was $200. I replaced the stock chain my 92 vfr with a midlevel chain an it was dead at 9k. I was not happy. You don't need to replace your chain yet just keep lubed. Stock honda parts are expensive but they are worth it.

 

I've got 19.7K on my stock chain and it's just now starting to get some tight spots. I've got a new 530 DID chain and sprockets coming this weekend from Sprocket Center. Less than 200 bones, shipped. Bladrnr - 600 seems kinda of high, but probably in the ballpark with dealer mark-up. I'm going to try and DIY, I've got 2 friends with chain tools so it shouldn't (fingers crossed) be that bad.

Action

 

24k on the original chain and sprockets. I thought they still looked great. Had a Honda mechanic look at it for a professional opinion. He said the chain and rear sprocket were fine, not much wear on either. Required adjustment once in the last 12k.(Since I've owned it). Keep lubricated and inspect often.

 

$200 for a chain and sprockets? Cheap,but I bet you don't get 10k out of the chain. You get what you pay for I found out the hard way.

$213 chain,$135 labor,$55 rear,$56 front =$459 That $600 included front and rear brake pads and rear pad install. I forgot about that.

 

Ok, I'll take your bet. Case of Beer? It's a DID 530VM X'ring Chain & Steel Sprocket Kit (LINK). Should last as long as the stock chain if not longer.

Action

 

I have the DID 530VM X'ring Chain on my bike and it replaced the original stock Honda chain. So far the DID 530VM chain is lasting longer than the replacement and holding up well.... bladrnr, you owe Action a beer!

 

a quality chain should last about 20k miles or a little more.

 

Wow, another chain thread go figure. like most, you should be fine with 12K on it just keep an eye on it like you would normally, I'd like to think you'd see at least 18-20K out of it. I've seen 20K+ on all but this last one. So figure it to be a freak, all thou there could be something to the lube question, which will be answered in the next 20,000 miles.

 

I just put an RK x-ring chain and sprockets on, they were about $180 shipped, and I paid $95 to have them put on at a dealer. The chain/sprockets that were replaced were the stock ones, and they went about 25k miles. If you're getting <10k on a chain, you're doing something wrong.

 

Clean it-inspect-lube-ride

 

Ok.The next time Bugs and I take that left turn at Albuquerque I'll stop by. I like Full Sail Amber Ale. How about you? By the way where are you guys getting these cheap parts?
I didnt know DID made an Xring chain. I thought you were buying a low priced regular
o-ring chain.

 

Sounds good to me! My favorite kind is whatever you're buying. There is a small local brewery here that has everything from pale to stout. You stop by and we'll trade rounds and BS about Cool Motorcycles, Hot Women, and Cold Beer. I put a link in my earlier post for Sprocket Center if you want to see what I ordered.

Action

 

I got mine at Sprocket Center.

 

With same type of chain did 34k kilometers,with proper maintenance.
Original lasted only 24k kilometers.
From now on my favorite is DID X ring.

 

thats exactly what my chain is doing about 17k on it was very noticeable after doing a track day. i guess its time for a new chain. i thought it was always better to replace sprockets @same time or am i just wasting money?