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MX | Off-Road Gear Info & Reviews
Primary Drive (RockyMtnATV's brand) Chain Opinions?
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[QUOTE="Jaybird, post: 1099727, member: 22283"] Rick, Surely you don't think Rich is going to waste.... wait...I'll hold that thought for awhile... From having experience in debating some of these issues with you in the past, I am pretty sure this will be a pissing match. But, I am going to give you the real scoop. It more than likely will not match some of the information you have posted, nor will it match up to the information you provided in your recent article...but misinformation and half of the facts are fairly common in many moto articles anywho. Chains do undergo a slight bit of elastic "stretch" when they are first put into service. It's mostly due to a "tightening" of the molecular structure of the side plates. This phenomenon happens with all new metal chains. This elastic stretching causes a brand new chain to require an adjustment only a short period after mounting it up. Many mfg's today are "proof stretching" brand new chains during the mfg process which places up to 60% of the total tensile yield load on a section of the chain. This straight pull force actually tightens up the molecular structure of the side plates, and virtually eliminates the need for the initial adjustment required by all chains that are not proof stretched at manufacturing. Many times you will hear of a rider pitting on a new chain, and stating they had to almost immediately adjust it, but that it settled down and didn't grow near as fast after the first adjustment...the initial elongation of the metals described above is why this happens. But, once the metal has had it's initial stretch period seen, it will not stretch further due to the side plates elongating, as long as the tensile yield force is not seen again...and it won't be. This sounds good, albeit not factual. But it is close to what many folks would think. The fact is, the chain will not see an elongation as long as the lubricant inside of the sealed pin/bushing area remains intact. And the lubricant in there will not remain viable forever, as you are eluding to. Shelf life of the hydrocarbons is one thing, but in-service chains are seeing work load. Actually, there is a change in the chemistry of the lubricant taking place in a working chain. Oxygen is present with the lubricant, and with work, so is heat. These factors work to break the lubricant down through chemical and mechanical process'. Even in a perfect world, the lubricant will see a time when it's ability to keep the metal surfaces from wearing is gone. Once the integrity of the lubricant is gone, or it has been "consumed" by workload, then the metal surfaces will start to wear against one another, and the resulting loss of metal at these friction points is what causes the chain to "stretch" or elongate past it's original pitch length. And with a ring chain that has seen lots of hours, and has started to see a depletion in lubricant, there will be some metal particulate that is present after it has been worn off. There is no place for the particulate to go, and as a result it comingles in the lubricant...thickening the viscosity of the lube, and contributing to the degradation of the surfaces. This particulate is also in the form of pure Fe, and as such will oxidize very quickly. The resulting Iron Oxide is a fantastic abrasive. Knowing these things, we can see why a ring chain will last and last, but when it does start to need adjustments, it needs them often and early, as it is on a quick road to killing your sprocket teeth from there. The only way to stop this elongation from wear it to replentish the lubricant. And obviously we can't do that easily with a ring chain. As far as keeping a standard chain alive...well, I agree that conventional wisdom, as well as slick marketing schemes, state that a ring chain will outlive a standard chain by more than 3 times. But it is simply not true. Well, not true if you maintain the chain properly. Wear ratings you see from the mfg's are just as useless as tensile strength ratings. They mean absolutely nothing for comparisons, other than possibly comparing two similar sealed chains. The ratings you see is bench testing data that is biased. First of all, the chain materials of any given mfg will be very similar within their product lines. So you are essentially seeing the same animals when they compare their ring chain to their standard chain. Now, if a standard chain of the exact same materials of a ring chain were placed on test machines at the same time, only the chain that was deprived of lubricant would theoretically start to wear first. If the standard chain is given equal amounts of lubricant as the ring chain...why would it not live as long as the ring chain did? It would. They would live the exact same amount of hours. The thing is, the lubricant that is in the ring chain will become useless at some point. And there is no way to replentish it. The standard chain, on the other hand, can continue to be lubed and cared for. It can, and will, outlive the finite lifespan sealed ring chain. The issue most folks contend with is the "proper" care thing. If you have trouble seeing your lube getting to where it's supposed to be going, you probably are using the wrong lubricant. If your lubricant collects grime and creates a grinding paste mess, you also have a lubricant problem. Many of the moto-specific types are the wrong products to be using in this application. No matter what the slick marketing campagin trys to get you to buy off on, their products are outdated and obsolete for dirt bike applications. In Rick's attempt at explaining why a standard chain wears, the conditions he describes is that of a chain that is being cared for improperly. The wrong products and methods often times will bring folks to conclusions that are not really correct. The fact is you can keep enough lube on the friction surfaces to protect them from wear, and for lengthy periods of time. And when you use a chain lube that is suited for our application, you will find that it collects no dirt or grit. And with a regular cleaning/lube/adjustment schedule, you can keep your chain in top notch condition. [/QUOTE]
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MX | Off-Road Gear Info & Reviews
Primary Drive (RockyMtnATV's brand) Chain Opinions?
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