New chain and sprockets

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by Kerry_129

You ain't right.



There is - #50 chain is .625" pitch (pin-to-pin distance).
But the wear point is toward the drive-face of the tooth, and not something you can simply measure with calipers. You're right that heavy wear and/or play between the roller & tooth is easy to see - once it's badly worn and pretty obvious. What I'm saying is that even if it looks/feels 'fine', it will still be worn a bit and that wear will accelerate the chain wear due to the elongated pitch between teeth (I believe due to the 'rollers' rotating a bit more as they engage under load rather than seating into the circular tooth 'roots' with minimal rotation).
How much & at what point will it 'use up' $20 worth of chain-life? Dunno, but I think best-practice is just to do it right & swap the damn thing!



Actually, what I wrote was:
I agree on not skimping on the chain - though that $45 one is probably just fine for street/commuter-duty & a great deal if it's up-to-snuff. But wearing out a bit quicker is one thing, breaking a link is another. In my mind, it's somewhat of an unknown as to the actual quality (material/heat-treating - and I'm guessing it's made in China), and given the potential consequences of slinging a chain I'll stick with a top-notch established mfg. vs. saving ~$50 over 10~20k miles.

If I were considering buying a $5000 Hyosung vs. say, a $10,000 Suzuki - would the same ASSumptions regarding the possibility of lower quality/materials/lifespan/failure-rate not be valid? How 'bout a HarborFreight socket wrench vs. a Snap-On?

Ah I love a good argument...

Okay, used the example of a HF socket wrench vs a Snap-on correct? I agree that the Snap on should be a better tool BUT is it a $75- $10 quality increase? Did you know that the largest cc bike made could operate on a 4000 lb chain?