DID chain has crappy x-rings?!

I

itsme

Well-known member
Hi there,

Put these 520 chains last year on a Ninja-650 and now have 18k on them:

DID 520 VX2 PRO-Street X-Ring Chain

Chain has been well lubed-cleaned periodically! Despite of that, x-rings are tearing apart.
1st question: Is this normal?!


20190811_095151.jpg

There are like a dozen of links like the one in picture. They are not seized but some don't move as lose and freely as other good links. Perhaps chain can hold together for few more thousands. I am trying to shop a replacement. But not sure which brand/model to choose.
2nd question: What is a better option than the above, for 520 size road chain?
 
Too clean. What are doing to get it looking like that?
 
itsme said:
Hi there,

Put these 520 chains last year on a Ninja-650 and now have 18k on them:

DID 520 VX2 PRO-Street X-Ring Chain

Chain has been well lubed-cleaned periodically! Despite of that, x-rings are tearing apart.
1st question: Is this normal?!


View attachment 40887

There are like a dozen of links like the one in picture. They are not seized but some don't move as lose and freely as other good links. Perhaps chain can hold together for few more thousands. I am trying to shop a replacement. But not sure which brand/model to choose.
2nd question: What is a better option than the above, for 520 size road chain?
Click to expand...
I agree that chain shouldn't be that clean you are probably damaging it by cleaning it. There really is no need to clean the chain just lube it every 1000k or so and it will last 50k or more.

Sent from my moto g(7) plus using Tapatalk
 
I can see the scratch marks from a steel brush on the inside and outside of your chain. Also see the gritty grime stuck there?

Using a heavy brush on the top side of the chain does 2 things, first it drives grime down between the o/x rings which can grind up the ring, 2) your bristles are likely nicking and tearing the rings, and 3) you are probably using solvents that are getting past the ring and cleaning out the original grease which causes the rings to get hot. Put all three together and you get what you have.

Chains naturally throw grit and debris off, anything on there is unlikely to migrate thru the rings. As others have mentioned, your chain is best maintained with regular lubrication -- that's all. If you like the clean gold chain look, wipe it down with kerosene on a rag after every ride -- not the wire brush!
 
Thanks guys for replies. What we do is lube after 500ish km. Clean after 2000ish (3-4 lubs). Use princess-auto kerosene and towel to clean. Once in a while (like today) use this brush:

YUSHHO56T Motorcycle Chain Brush Car Cleaning and Maintenance Repair Tool Double Head Cycling Motorcycle Motorbike Chain Crankset Brush Cleaning Tool - Black: Amazon.ca: Gateway

No steel brush has ever been used anywhere near the bikes! We clean bike chains together. My bike has 34k with the exact maintenance on the chain and looks like new. I think difference is with o-ring and x-ring. Or maybe really brush is too hard for x-rings!
 
Any brushing at your level of clean is too much. Like Mad Mike said, a rag and kerosene. New looking chains are on new, never ridden bikes.
 
As mentioned by others, the quality of the chain is not an issue, owner inflicted damage is.
 
Time to buy a new maintenance free chain ;)
 
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From the comments, sounds like brushes on your chain are no beuno. I've been using the motion pro plastic bristle chain brush, now I'm wondering if using that can damage the chain?
 
These don't look like scratch marks from a plastic brush.

1565550073466.png
 
Is there anything that you can do to delicate rubber o-rings that is good for them?
 
Trials said:
Is there anything that you can do to delicate rubber o-rings that is good for them?
Click to expand...
Yes, leave them alone.

The centrifugal forces acting on a chain will expel dirt, there is no need to get in there with a scrubber. All the o-ring needs to do is contain a small amount of lubricant (grease) and keep small gritty particles out. Over time the lube contained by the O-rings deteriorate, there is no way to replace it. My last O-ringer had 36K on a 1300cc bike -- it was still in spec when I sold the bike. I do not routinely lube my O-ring chains, the only maintenance I do is and end of season clean with kerosene and a rag followed by a light coat of lube for corrosion protection.
 
you chose wisely
 
guys, picture of my own bike's chain. Near double the millage (33 k) on this chain. Cleaned/lubed on same days with same brush in same garage with same person and same ....
20190811_191055.jpg
 
Too clean.You are messing around with something that you shouldn't be.
 
Phones take amazing good photos, chain does look just fine, if it rolls nice that's what really matters, you can take it off and know for sure real fast if it has a cir-clip master link. How many rings are damaged just a couple? you can in theory rebuild those ones with rivet master links and new rings of your choice if you can source them, probably won't be easy, maybe you can beat up on the DID distributor for some parts support. <- guessing that might be Kimpex
edit: you said a dozen, that's a lot, I would probably not buy an X again.
 
Power wash? <- don't do that.
 
Trials said:
Phones take amazing good photos, chain does look just fine, if it rolls nice that's what really matters, you can take it off and know for sure real fast if it has a cir-clip master link. How many rings are damaged just a couple? you can in theory rebuild those ones with rivet master links and new rings of your choice if you can source them, probably won't be easy, maybe you can beat up on the DID distributor for some parts support. <- guessing that might be Kimpex
edit: you said a dozen, that's a lot, I would probably not buy an X again.
Click to expand...
My chain is fine. I posted the picture to demonstrate there is no brush marks or anything on them. O-Rings look totally fine (can be seen in picture). But I just saw in picture that my chain is EK ZX model. But Ninja 650 comes with DID
Bought that chain from ForthNine. Yes, I can rivet bad links. But as you said, its a pain (putting the exact amount of press on the rings is hard).
 
I picked up on all that :|
except it really isn't that hard to rivet chain it's just expensive.
and I never bought an x-ring chain in my life because I thought it was a gimmick to charge more for a disposable part.
 
guy I used to ride with ended up with his seals hanging out like that
he liked to use brake clean to get the chain whistling clean

can't see kerosene doing that damage
but a brush certainly could

I'm a recent convert to the less cleaning philosophy
chain on my FJ09 went out while on a trip
only made it 30k, too much cleaning
 
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