Author: Xiao Lao Wife Locomotive Network
But when it comes to motorcycle chains, many people have only a little understanding. Some even think that the car will move and the chain is not broken.
However, the good or bad chain condition has a huge impact on the riding safety of motorcycles and riding experience, so it must not be underestimated.
However, there are hundreds of chains on the market. How to divide chains and how to choose them may be confused for beginners.
Even if you are a motorcycle veteran, you may have some wrong ideas without knowing it.
The focus of this article is to share knowledge related to the motorcycle chain, and I hope it will be helpful to you.
outline of this article is as follows:
0. Chain brand
1. Chain type
2. Chain structure
3. Chain specification
4. Oil seal type
5. How to choose a chain
6. How to adjust a chain
7. How to clean a chain
8. How to maintain a chain
9. How to connect a chain
10. Summary
0 There are quite a lot of chain brands,
for ordinary people, The more well-known brands include KMC in Taiwan (Yuemeng), RK in Japan, EK in Italy, Regina in Italy, and many numerous Chinese brands
This article will focus on Japanese chain brands as the main introduction objects.
RK Company was founded in 1951. Currently, there are 147 employees.
is a brand that car friends are more familiar with. The editor also has several articles introducing the RK chain.
RK gold chain has once become synonymous with car friends to replace chains.
EK Company was founded in 1941. Currently, there are 186 employees.
once attracted attention with the diverse chain colors, but it is currently relatively uncommon in Taiwan. We don’t invest much in
DID Company was founded in 1933 and currently has 2,186 employees.
is the oldest and largest chain company in Japan, and it is also the chain designated for most original cars of Japan's four major motorcycle manufacturers.
In addition to the transmission chain of the locomotive, the inner crown of the locomotive engine, industrial chain, etc. are all made.
In addition to the four major locomotive manufacturers in Japan, DID has also entered the European market and became a designated chain supplier for European locomotive manufacturers.
is also the world's number one original chain supplier for heavy motorcycles.
Generally common classifications can be divided into oil seal chains and non-oil seal chains.
The so-called oil seal chain means that there is an oil seal in the middle of the inner and outer chain plates (as shown in the red circle in the picture), and wrap the lubricating oil in the middle to help lubricate the chain.
does not have this oil seal, which is called a non-oil seal chain
Comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of oil seal chains and non-oil seal chains of the same specifications
From the perspective of oil seal chains, it can be roughly divided into six major structures, including inner chain plate, outer chain plate, pin, bushing, roller, oil seal.
If you can't understand the picture above, it should not be difficult to understand the actual photos
In the manufacturing of chains, the accuracy and wear resistance of pins and bushings are very important links.
Usually the chain we talk about is lengthened, and the main reason is that the pins and bushings wear.
Don’t underestimate this little difference. For a 100-section chain, as long as each section is lengthened by 0.1mm, the 100 sections will become one centimeter longer.
And when the chain starts to wear, the wear speed will quickly get faster, so be especially careful.
Regarding the chain pin, in addition to high processing accuracy, it must also be a normal cylinder to maintain a fixed gap with the bushing and reduce unnecessary wear.
In addition, chromium carbide must be coated on the outer layer of the pin to increase rigidity and hardness to reduce wear.
. Metals that are too hard are prone to become brittle. The center must be heat-treated to keep the center flexible. The early chain bushing was formed by steel plate bending, although it could reduce costs, under high strength, the joints are easily deformed and caused by unsmooth rotation.
In recent years, the bushings of high-quality chains have been treated with cold forging, and the overall durability is better.
Generally, the common specifications for domestic gear trains are 428, 520, etc. Some yellow and red carts even use 525 or 530 specifications
What does 428 / 520 / 525 mean?
Simply put, the numbers should be viewed like this
4-28
5-20
5-25
5-30
First number (red letter) The length of each link
4 is 4/8 inch , 5 is 5/8 inch
0 The chain below Figure 428 is an example, the distance between the two pins is 4/8 inch, which is about 12.7mm
and the two numbers behind represent the inner width of the chain
428, which means the width is 20 of 2.8/8 inch
520, which means the width is 2.0/8 inch
Take the DID 520VF chain originally equipped with YAMAHA R3 as an example, and the inner width is 2.0/8 inch, It is about 6.35mm
total chain length
Each car requires different chain length. In addition to the size specifications mentioned above, whether 428 or 520, another thing to pay attention to is the total length.
is usually represented by the number of sections, just like the number in the red circle in the figure below
If you buy it too short, you can’t use it when you buy it home, and the chain cannot be connected at all. If you buy it too long, at most, you can use a chain truncator to cut it off with a link
When you purchase, you must pay attention to the length.
What should I do if I don’t know how many sections of my car chain are?
squat down and count it and you will know...
When counting, you can mark the chain in a certain section (like the arrow on the picture). Also remember to count and see how many "pins" there are in total (as shown in the red circle on the picture).
A pin means there is a section, remember to buy the closest number of sections
For oil seal chains, traditional O-ring (O-type oil seal) is the most common.
However, after research, it was found that traditional O-ring will deform under the extrusion state, resulting in a larger friction area with the inner and outer flap, resulting in an increase in friction resistance and a decrease in life
Therefore, the world's chain manufacturers have put all their efforts in the durability and friction of oil seals and have developed oil seals of various shapes, so that everyone will see many different nouns and oil seal shapes
, for example, various models of oil seals such as RK, R-XW, UW, U, etc.,
, each of the different shapes of oil seals, The performance of durability is also different
There are also X-ring
X-ring developed by the DID chain of the same Japanese factory. There are four contacts in total contact with the inner and outer flap. The inner layer is responsible for blocking the lubricating oil between the pin and the bushing, and the outer layer is responsible for blocking the mud and sand and rainwater from outside.
According to tests, X-ring's durability is 1.4 times more than traditional O-ring
X-ring is less than half of the original friction compared to traditional O-ring.
When the same car is replaced with different types of oil seal chains, the difference in friction also affects the actual output force of the rear wheel.
Official information shows that the YAMAHA XJ6N car only changed from the traditional O-ring oil seal chain to the 520ZVM-X oil seal chain
on the horsepower machine, and the rear wheel has one more horsepower.
Is oil seal good?
If we look at the chain wear resistance coefficient provided by the DID website, the durability of the top ZVM-X series oil seal chain is 35 to 40 times that of the oil seal chain......
That is, if an oil seal-free chain can ride 10,000 kilometers, that is, the top ZVM-X chain can ride 350,000 to 400,000 kilometers?!!!
It seems that the bike is broken after riding, and the chain doesn't need to be replaced...
is considered a second-level VX series, The result of using X-ring is still 27 to 38 times
. However, according to the experience of use, because everyone uses it differently and the degree of hard work in maintenance is also different, the lifespan of the oil seal chain will not be really exaggerated to 300,000 kilometers
, but it is still much longer than the oil seal chain
When I heard this, it seems that the oil seal chain is a must-have choice?
not!!
mentioned earlier, because the oil seal chain has an oil seal, the rotational friction will be larger than the oil seal chain.
Generally, light gear cars with horsepower below 20 horsepower do not necessarily have to choose oil seal chains.
is not as good as buying an oil-free seal chain with a higher grade, with less power consumption and greater horsepower transmitted to the rear wheels.
(DID 428VX, SUZUKI GSX-R150/GSX-S150 is applicable)
First look at the depth of your pocket, and then decide the strength of the chain (laughs)
First pay attention to the specifications, first figure out whether your car is 428, 520, 525 or 530
Then decide the level of the chain
chain factory will indicate the appropriate exhaust level of each chain
Take DID as an example, In fact, it is easy to choose
. The commonly used oil seal chains are of two levels. ZVM-X and VX (VX2), all of which are equipped with top-level X-ring
. The commonly used non-oil seal chains are of two levels. D series or high-quality NZ series
(the non-oil seal chain and oil seal chain also have competitive styles ERZ / ERT3 / ERV3, we will explain it later)
Then choose the color. DID oil seal chains have three colors: gold, platinum, iron gray,
DID non-oil seal chains are of gold and iron gray. You can choose
If the above cannot satisfy you, DID competitive chain is also a good choice.
The top-level oil seal chain 520ERV3 is the same as Valentino Rossi's factory car M1
According to the original data, the durability is slightly worse than that of the 520ZVM-X, but the weight is greatly reduced.
The chain width is also slightly narrower than the 520ZVM-X, and the tensile strength is between the average
Although the durability of 520ERV3 is slightly worse than that of 520ZVM-X
, in Suzuka Hayaku, which is a high-intensity competition state of eight consecutive hours, there is no problem.
According to the legend on the DID chain packaging box, the chain adjustment requires the front and rear teeth plates to be placed on the same horizontal plane
and the upper and lower swing in the center is about 20~25mm
If there is no appropriate tool to pull the rear of the car down, I had to ask two friends with large tonnage to load on the car with double loads, try to let the front and rear gear plates fall on the same level
measure the up and down swing from the center point, and must be below 25mm
Of course, it is not enough to be too loose or too tight. It is recommended that you pay more attention to the chain condition in daily life
Chain is most afraid of dead eyes, that is, some of the ears are stuck very tightly, and it takes a lot of effort to relax.
This will cause the chain to run unsmoothly, and the engine power will also be consumed on the rotating horn, which may even cause the chain to fall off, so the normal maintenance and cleaning of the chain is very important.
After you die, you will no longer solve it.
The chain cleaning and skin care products that everyone uses are all kinds of, and each has its own supporters....
Which one is more appropriate?
Before starting cleaning, remember to prepare an oil basin under the chain.
Do not let oily chains come into contact with the ground directly, causing environmental pollution
Most friends will recommend using kerosene to clean the chain, and the effect is also quite good
If it is a non-oil seal chain, you can use kerosene to clean it without any problem
If it is an oil seal chain, it is not recommended to clean it with kerosene.
The reason is that kerosene may cause the elasticity of the oil seal to deteriorate, causing the oil seal to age faster, causing the lubricating oil in the bushing to lose the lubricating effect, and also reduce the life of the oil seal chain.
I often hear the same WD-40 slurry remover recommended by everyone
If it is a non-oil seal chain, it can be used to clean it; but if it is an oil seal chain, it is not recommended to use it.
In addition, acidic substances can seriously damage the chain and are absolutely forbidden.
I have heard of someone who recommends using the red potion for washing the engine to clean the chain. It is said that the effect is fast and effective....
The more recommended method is to buy the original chain cleaner to spray. After all, the oil seal chain is the most important thing.
When using chain cleaner for cleaning, please remember to be opposite to the direction of the chain running
to reduce the chance of accidents (not to be caught)
suggests that you can buy a triangle brush for this chain cleaning special. You can wash three sides at a time. It is fast and convenient
but remember, Don't be lazy to start the engine and let the rear wheel rotate
According to the original factory information, it is recommended to apply oil to the chain every 500 kilometers or after driving on rainy days.
will keep the chain healthy for a long time. After applying oil twice, clean it again.
The main lubrication part for oiling is the oil seal, which keeps the oil seal always elastic, and lubrication between the bushing and the rotor
But what oil should be applied?
usually recommends buying a special chain maintenance oil
, but general chain maintenance oil is divided into three types according to the state: dry, wet and wax
wax chain oil
usually marked with the word WAX, the most common one is MAXIMA
The advantage is that it is fast drying and is less easy to throw.
has the disadvantage of poor permeability and is not easy to penetrate completely into various parts of the oil seal.
Wet chain oil:
Common representative is DID chain oil
The advantage is that it has good permeability, good lubricity of the oil film, long-lasting effect, and significantly lower the chain sound.
The disadvantage is that it is easier to stick to dust and other bury
main components are mineral oil or synthetic oil, plus the additives of solid lubricants to strengthen, wet chain oil is usually recommended.
(Molybdenum Dialkyldithiocarbamate is added to the chain oil of DID, referred to as MoDTC is a solid lubricant)
dry chain oil,
common representative is RK chain oil
lubricating method is to add solid lubricant such as PTFE (Tiefron) to the ingredients
In the past, this kind of shrapnel was used to connect the chain.This kind of shrapnel is usually used in vehicles with smaller air discharge, or non-oil seal chain
However, the most troublesome problem of this kind of shrapnel is directional
Regarding the directionality of shrapnel, there are many different opinions on the Internet
According to the information on the official website, the shrapnel opening must be the opposite direction of the chain rotation.
is correct. If the reverse is installed, it can easily cause the jump of
. The relatively advanced oil seal chain is connected to a different way of joining the chain
. This DID 428VX can be used. It can be used for a light pressing shrapnel called FJ type. Or ZJ style thud joint method
If the outer packaging box has the word ZB printed on it, it means that the stronger ZJ style thud joint
is also a 428-specification chain, without an oil seal (428HD heavy chain on the left) and an oil seal (428VX chain on the right)
has some differences in size
The diameter and length of the fixing plate and pin are also a bit different
Oil seal chain will be accompanied by a pack of high viscosity lubricating oil for chain
In addition to the aforementioned fixation using the shrapnel connection method, the high torque output of large-displacement vehicles are all adopted in the thunder connection method
0 The strength of the three chain connection methods
RJ type can only reach about 70% of the original chain strength, and the FJ type increases to 80%.
really wants to make the contacts of the chain as stable as originally, it is still recommended to use ZJ-type thud joint
ZJ-type pins are a bit different
compared with the general FJ-type shrapnel fixation
Of course, thud joint requires special tools to achieve
DID itself has launched a dual-use tool for intercepting chains and thud joints
Chain latch chain latch after the link is connected, Use the thud joint to fix the chain completely
The appearance of the entire set of tools
linker end
10. Summary of
hope that through this article, more people can understand the relevant knowledge of the gear car chain, and I also hope that everyone will pay more attention to the chain status of their car.
This way you can ride with peace of mind, and you can ride with peace of mind
If you like motorcycles, follow me.
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