Chain snapped! Best type to replace with?

[goto10]

On my ER5 - I pulled away from the lights in 1st then heard a fairly loud 'KLINK' followed by no drive in any gear, I was in the middle of a peloton of pushbikes and motorbikes pulling away from the lights so I wasn't very popular when I lost drive!

It's the first time I've lost a chain so it took me a moment to twig what'd happened (I thought the clutch had failed to start with!) Luckily it happened at fairly low speed so no drama.
Is it worth going for an X-link chain or just go for a normal one? (It does some heavy mileage, 22k a year but I oil it up every weekend)
I'm going to go for a new sprocket with longer gearing too, see if I can squeeze a few more MPG out of it.


Side note, 'cool story Bro' follows: During this incident I also discovered that Balfour Beatty employ more than its fair share of complete and utter wankers. I had enough momentum to make it to the mouth of Blackfriars tunnel along the embankment (no footpaths anywhere along there!) and then turned left and pushed it up the shallow hill to the first slip road, Balfour Beatty have a building site there at puddle dock (opposite the Mermaid conference centre), I pulled slightly off the main road and alongside some cones. After I'd made my breakdown call I then stood there waiting, to then have a stream of these workmen telling me to go away (I was broken down on a public road), at one point I had 4 of them surrounding me, 1 of them said I needed to give them money if I wanted to stay there (!), it was quite intimidating but I told them to clear off only for another 3 guys to come along telling me to push my bike to the other side of the road (across the kerbed central reservation, err no) - I was causing absolutely no problem to them so have no idea why they took exception to me being there and felt the need to try and bully me! If I were in the same position I'd offer the poor guy the use of a phone and a cup of tea rather than just being a dick! (They clearly had a coffee machine inside because they were walking about with paper cups of tea) Tossers. I was stuck next to these cretins for 2 hours in the end whilst waiting for recovery.
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'12 NC700S & '12 CB600F Hornet [Stolen by some dickless twat] Suzuki GT500 shed

[P.]

Learn to maintain chain - Don't look a tit when pulling away

You can launch a complaint with the Balfour Beatty group, brother in law works for them They'll get a slap on the wrist though

Unlucky, I'd go for an O-ring chain. If you chain went, I reckon your sprockets aren't far behind.

[Serendipity]

Shame about the helpful builders. If you’d gone back across Puddle Dock and pushed the bike 100 yards back along Queen Victoria St you’d have come to Baynard House underground car park. It’s under cover, secure and free for motorcycles. Would have been a warmer and dry place to wait.

As to chains I tend to stick with DID X rings in combination with a Scottoiler. Next best thing to shaft drive for “fit and forget”. There’s another high quality manufacturer of chains I’ve seen recommended on here, but I forget the name.

AVOID Regina or IRIS.
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2016 CBF1000F - Commuter heaven | 1994 CBR600FR - Awaiting defibrillation

[ms51ves3]

Clicky

[robbieguy2003]

Just ordered another DID X-Ring for my 600. I've had a few of them before, one of which was really badly maintained by me when commuting through the winter and just being a dick and not keeping on top of it. That lasted just fine, looking back, that chain put up with a fair bit of crap really.
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Current Bikes: Honda CBR 600RR - '07, Suzuki GSX1250 FA ST '11
Old Bikes: Suzuki Intruder 125 LC - '2001, Honda CBR 600F - '92, Honda CBR 600RR - '03

[DrDonnyBrago]

DID O/X ring.

[stonesie]

[P.]

[DrDonnyBrago]

[dangerousdave]

You were lucky the chain didn't snap at speed

I have a liking for DID chains. I go for X-Rings for the longest service life.

https://www.wemoto.com/bikes/Kawasaki/ER-5_ER_500_A1/96-97/picture/Chain_DID_VX_X-Ring_Premium_Gold_&_Black/
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1988 Kawasaki KMX 200

Previous: Yamaha YZF1000, ZZR600, KMX200, DT50, KX80, CG125, PF50

[Walloper]

I thought the ER5 was standard o-ring sealed.

I would not consider any chain unless sealed. They cost a bit more but well worth the cost as they do not suddenly break.

And ten points off for Zero Chain Maintenance.
The Balfour Builders are all Avid Bikers and because your chain broke they were not impressed.
Had you run out of petrol then they would have helped/got you a brew...


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W-ireless A-rtificial L-ifeform L-imited to O-bservation P-eacekeeping and E-fficient R-epair

[goto10]

Cheers for the feedback, the kits look good.

I grease up the chain every weekend so it's not totally neglected! the bike's got 50k on it (in fact it was around about 50k-dead when the chain went), probably on the same chain since the year dot.
However I did notice the chain was a bit slack and it was always a case of "...I'll sort that out next weekend"
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'12 NC700S & '12 CB600F Hornet [Stolen by some dickless twat] Suzuki GT500 shed

[ms51ves3]

I'm ordering the kit off eBay next week as my chain is screwed now.

[UKRedwing]

[andys675]

get a chain lubricator, shop around as you can get an electric one for about half the price of a scottoiler

[goto10]

[dudders7]

[Kickstart]

[WannaBeDude]

What's the best chain, that needs little adustment, for aboout a 100 quid ?

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Jogging on, destination living.

[G]

[WannaBeDude]

Want best chain, i keep chain in pristine cond .. 3000 miles per year and stored in hallway

Really want less adjustment one tbf
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Jogging on, destination living.

[stonesie]

If you treat it right then any chain except IRIS should last you a few years, I like DID myself but a bike mechanic mate won't fit anything other than Tsubaki.


The DID o ring chain I fitted to my SV did 8K miles before I traded the bike in against the Daytona, it was NEVER adjusted after being fitted. It was checked every month for slack and the cheapo Tutoro oiler did a bang on job of keeping it lubed, as long as I remembered to turn it off

[Serendipity]

I treated the CB500 to a new D.I.D. chain and new sprockets in September. At the same time I fitted a Scottoiler with high capacity reservoir.

I adjusted the chain once after about 400 miles just before its MOT. The new chain may have just needed to bed in or maybe I just didn’t get it quite spot on when I fitted it.

Now its 4000 miles later and I’ve still not had to adjust it again. Plus, because of the high capacity reservoir, I’ve not had to refill the Scottoiler either. Hopefully there’s another couple of thousand miles of oil left in it. That’s 60 miles a day with plenty of crappy wet, salty weather and the chain still looks fresh and clean.

Not the cheapest solution. The c+s kit was about £110 and the Scottoiler touring kit was just under £100. However it saves me farting about with chain lube and should extend the life of the chain considerably. The chain I recently replaced on my CBR600 had probably done over 30k due to a Scottoiler.

But the main win is lack of adjustment. For a lazy bugger like me that makes it worth it.

P.S. I did about 3000 miles with a Loobman oiler on the CB500 and really didn’t bond with it. It was one of the newer style AB oilers with the push button. It sort of did the job, but needed a lot of care and attention to keep it working. The main downsides were that the bottle filled with water in bad weather and sometimes the button would jam so it spunked the entire bottle of oil onto the chain in the space of a few minutes. I reckon the squeeze type would do a much better job. I’ve put the Loobman to one side for the moment and may use it on the RXS100 if I ever have to cover some miles on it.
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2016 CBF1000F - Commuter heaven | 1994 CBR600FR - Awaiting defibrillation

[Walloper]

A Scottoiler will cost you about £80.

It will avoid the need to pamper the effing chain.
It will keep it clean
Keep it Lubed and
Reduced adjustment hassle
And it will last more than twice as long.
The oil reservoir will hold oil for about 1500 miles. OEM recommend chain lubrication every 250/300miles about every tank of petrol so most chains don't get enough care. Really...

You don't need to buy and fit now but you should consider it.
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W-ireless A-rtificial L-ifeform L-imited to O-bservation P-eacekeeping and E-fficient R-epair