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Chain stretch question


TFT

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Last week I noticed my chain was loose and adjusted per recommendations. I rode it for a couple hundred miles and the chain is loose (stretched). I adjusted it again Saturday and after riding about 100 miles Sunday it had stretched again. It has 20,200 miles on it and still is not in the "red" zone. My guess is that its time to replace. I never had a chain stretch like that quickly before.

Is this normal for a worn chain?

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I presume you are feeling the play in the chain to make that judgement.

1. Be sure to check the chain at multiple places...it does not "stretch" evenly.

2. Note where the adjuster is and be sure that your wheel is not shifting...which would make it seem the chain is stretching.

3. The more worn the chain, the faster it wears.

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I presume you are feeling the play in the chain to make that judgement.

1. Be sure to check the chain at multiple places...it does not "stretch" evenly.

2. Note where the adjuster is and be sure that your wheel is not shifting...which would make it seem the chain is stretching.

3. The more worn the chain, the faster it wears.

There were "tight" and "loose" areas on the chain. I adjusted it so that the tight area had about 1" of flex. I didn't notice any shifting.

No "red dust of death" and no kinks.

What chain do you recommend? I called the local Honda dealership Saturday and they said they will replace the chain for about $40 bucks labor, even if I supply the chain.

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Just a question while on the topic of chains, one of the guys on the local MC board here in Perth was talking about his Suzuki having a "532" chain - does anyone know anything about them, from a quick look on a few chain sites it just seems they are quite scarce and just are slightly wider plate-plate :icon_confused: Are they a stronger chain ?

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Just a question while on the topic of chains, one of the guys on the local MC board here in Perth was talking about his Suzuki having a "532" chain - does anyone know anything about them, from a quick look on a few chain sites it just seems they are quite scarce and just are slightly wider plate-plate :icon_confused: Are they a stronger chain ?

My old Katana 1100 had a 532 chain. I could not find one anywhere, I toyed with the idea of doing a 530 conversion (it had been done by others) but the cost was more than I wanted to spend, since I wasn't keeping the bike anyways. I ended up having to order a new OEM one from the dealer. That's where it got interesting: It's a continuous chain, with no master link. In order to replace it, you are theoretically supposed to drop the swingarm. I WAS able to get my local cycle store to order a 532 rivet master link, and I ended up cutting the chain and replacing one link. Of course... as it turned out, I ended up having to do an entire frame swap and ended up dropping the swingarm anyways when I was doing that.

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Just a question while on the topic of chains, one of the guys on the local MC board here in Perth was talking about his Suzuki having a "532" chain - does anyone know anything about them, from a quick look on a few chain sites it just seems they are quite scarce and just are slightly wider plate-plate :icon_confused: Are they a stronger chain ?

My old Katana 1100 had a 532 chain. I could not find one anywhere, I toyed with the idea of doing a 530 conversion (it had been done by others) but the cost was more than I wanted to spend, since I wasn't keeping the bike anyways. I ended up having to order a new OEM one from the dealer. That's where it got interesting: It's a continuous chain, with no master link. In order to replace it, you are theoretically supposed to drop the swingarm. I WAS able to get my local cycle store to order a 532 rivet master link, and I ended up cutting the chain and replacing one link. Of course... as it turned out, I ended up having to do an entire frame swap and ended up dropping the swingarm anyways when I was doing that.

So are they stronger than a 530 or is it just some bullshit idea that Suzuki have done to make you buy their chains :icon_confused:

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There's more metal, so in theory, it would be stronger.

I checked a few sites, and the tensile strength didn't seem to be anything appreciably better.

I suspect you'd get more variance from your lubing schedule than the upgrade itself....if you'd want to call it an upgrade.

If someone really needs more strength in a chain, they'll go to a 630.

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