I know the subject of chains has been beaten to death lately but I don't remember anything about which is better or if it matters.
The only difference I know of is that the OEM has a damper so its a bit quieter than aftermarket.
Anyone prefer one or the other?

How much do the OEMs run? I'm staying with the stock size anyway though.

I can't tell the difference. Been using an AFAM 16t for the last 30k or so.

Just called my stealer...the OEM is $48.46. :shock:

I'm paying a bit under $30 for the AFAM I think. Not a huge difference. The AFAM does wear slightly faster though, maybe due to the size difference.

i prefer the 1T down, 16T aftermarket front. imho, puts the rpms in the right place for my style of riding. I'm on my 2nd one, after 16k on the first and 13k on an oem (29k total)

it shaved 3-5mpg off, but i made it back tweaking my power commander for my commute.

only thing that kinda bugs me, but it's not a huge impact, is my odometer is climbing faster than reality, but it's prolly insignificant.

cool thing about it, is that the aftermarket sprocket is usually less than $30 and piece of cake to put on and take off if you don't like.. and at 16T if your chain isn't too stretched already, you can use the oem # of links.

I went form aftermarket to OEM........... I can't tell





OEM left .............. aftermarket right





J

I just put an aftermarket 16 tooth sprocket on mine. It makes a little more noise, but I am starting to like it. I paid $23 for it, JT sprocket through my local dealer. I won't go back to the 17 tooth spoocket for nothing.