Stiff chain link

[Piercee100]

I noticed when lubing my chain this morning that one of the links on my chain was stiff and coming off the rear sprocket at a strange angle. I always keep my chain clean and well lubed and is in no way rusty so was surprised to find a duff link.

Will this free up with more grease and use or is it time for a new chain? More importantly, is this a change now or am I good until next weekend and 300 miles in between?
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Rides: Honda H100a (Retired), VT500e (Sold), Kawasaki ZX400 (sold), Kawasaki GT550 (Sold), Suzuki Inazuma (Daily), Honda CD185t (Broken), LML Star 2t (Last run edition).

[Copycat73]

rust inside is not always visible .. lube up .. keep an eye on it and save for a chain & sprocket kit as these things usualy get worse with time.
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Whatever I post I have no citation and no intention of providing one..
caveat emptor

[Beehive Bedlam]

Give the stiff links a squirt of pluagas or similar whatever you have to hand roll the stiff links on to the rear sprocket and give them a good firm twat from all angles with a 16oz or bigger rubber mallet. This should free them up.

[Rogerborg]

Clean thoroughly, wiggle it with a couple of pairs of pliers to free it up while continuing to brush and flush out any crud that's in there. Lube. Ride then check it again.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Matt B]

Ghetto quick fix methods aside, if you have a stiff link then it is most likely because an O ring has broken down and you have crud/rust building up on the internal roller where the lubrication has escaped.

If that's the case it will only get worse. 300 miles may be OK if you keep it lubed but look at getting it replaced soon as you can. No matter how much you try and lube the chain it's not going to penetrate and stay in there once an O ring has gone.
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stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[Rogerborg]

So you're telling me that I haven't been riding with a seized, freed-up and then regularly lubed link on an X-ring chain for over 5,000 miles?

Sorry, my mistake. I should have listened to internets wisdom and binned it.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Piercee100]

I've given it a good clean out with some handy carb cleaner and then packed with grease to free it up but still doesn't seem right. I'll free it off the sprockets over the weekend and see if its anything easily fixed. Thanks peeps.
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Rides: Honda H100a (Retired), VT500e (Sold), Kawasaki ZX400 (sold), Kawasaki GT550 (Sold), Suzuki Inazuma (Daily), Honda CD185t (Broken), LML Star 2t (Last run edition).

[Matt B]

[Vincent]

What type of chain is it? Has the bike been off the road recently?
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Space Is Deep

[Rogerborg]

[mauzo]

[Matt B]

[chris-red]

[stinkwheel]

But, but. Racers use non o-ring chains oiled with gear oil. Often very thin ones.

Got a couple of mates running post modern classics in club racing. They are quite happy to put a non o-ring 520 chain on a GSXR1100 and utterly horse the arse off it .

OPs list of bikes suggests an over-abundance of horsepower isn't going to be a major issue.

I like using a mix of ATF and paraffin to free up stick stuff. Works wonders on a chain with stiff links.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Matt B]

[Rogerborg]

[Matt B]

Nobody is wrong but there should be balanced advice given.
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stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[Rogerborg]

Look, just because I took something overly personally and posted an unnecessarily belligerent and non-constructive retort, there's no need to get...

Hang on, I had something prepared for this. It'll be a real zinger when I remember it.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[stinkwheel]

I've always wondered, see if anybody knows.

If o-ring chains have grease sealed inside them with o-rings. Why do you have to lube them?

If you have to lube them, how do the o-rings klnow they are supposed to let the lube in but not out?

Not calling you out in any way Mark B. But does anyone actually KNOW that a well lubed (for sake of argument, constantly lubed with an automatic oiler) non o-ring chain actually does wear more quickly than on o-ring one? The chart you posted is a fabrication drawn up by an x-ring chain salesman, nothing gives you a clean curve like that, it's not showing actual data.

I once tried to do some empirical research myself but ran into a brick wall after accidentally letting slip what bike the chain was for to the M&P sales guy. He then took it upon himself to send an o-ring chain anyway because "It isn't our policy to supply non o-ring chains for that model of bike." Had to fit it because the old one was broken.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Vincent]

My take on it is that the idea of the O ring isn't just to keep the lube inside the link pins but also to keep grit and crud out. For that reason they should last longer....but only if you let grit stay on a non- oring chain by not cleaning it. When you lube an o ring chain, you're not lubing the whole link, just the outside plates.

Non O ring chains certainly took a dive when Oring ones came out, bit daft really because O-ring chains aren't that much better IMO, by the time the lube's escaped the link pins, the chain is probebly stretched or worn and ready for replacement anyway. It's all about wether or not you want to have to maintain the chain. O rings are definitely easier to lube and clean as you don't have to get the grit from the link pin rollers when doing so.

Best thing to get the most out of your chain...and by far the easiest...is an enclosed chain guard. They may look naf but are very efficient at looking after the chain. IMO, it's usually grit that kills chains prematurely.......and wheelies of course
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Space Is Deep

[mauzo]

[Vincent]

[Vincent]

[Robby]

My take on it is that chain lube from a can is a bit like penetrating oil for the first few seconds. It's a mixture of lube and solvent, and the solvent flashes off very quickly, leaving lube behind.

Now that mix of lube and solvent may be thin enough to get past the O rings. We always say not to clean an O ring chain with petrol because it will get past the O rings and rinse out the grease, so by the same reckoning chain lube could past the O rings and lubricate in there.

That line of thought does fall over when I think about automatic chain oilers, unless the chain is getting hot enough to thin the oil and let it penetrate.

[Vincent]