jeb,
I know you want to argue about this issue, but I'm here to tell you that you CAN get just as much, if not more, life out of a standard chain with just as hard of riding. It's hard for some folks to fathom, but there are many things that one must be open minded to and not just consider their experiences to be the only way things are.
I am a chain a sprocket man by trade, and I know these things to be absolute facts.
Your maintenance tips are great, but I'm curious...just what do you consider a "good" lube? If you reply with ANY type of a parfin based wax product, then I know what sort of problem you may have had with standard chains in the past. There are only certain types of fluids that are acceptable for chains, be it in the motorcycle industry or in an industrial setting. Many big corporations have had their head screwed on wrong for many years and have spent BIG money replacing things often because of it, when all they needed to to is become enightened on the proper care of their chains and their problems seem to magically disappear. And to their surprise they seemed to find that with proper chain care, they lost the sprocket problems they seemed to have as well.
Just as an example, I had a customer who was replacing a #120 chain (big sucker) every three to four weeks. This particular chain was running 20 hours a week, non-stop. They were caring for it by the book...their book, which was totally wrong. After I enlightened them, and did a little training session with the caretaker of said chain, their next replacement of that very same chain had not occured....three years after my session with them. You figure it out.
I'm not trying to ba a hardass about chains, I just happen to know them and make a good part of my living working with them. Oh yeah, I could keep selling them this chain every month and make good money doing it, (at ~$500 a crack) but I am into helping my customers make their equipment last instead of raping them just becasue they don't have many clues.
los, the strength of sprockets is not a factor if the lighter metal has enough intergity to handle a chain, which in this case, aluminum does.
A stonger sprocket only allows you to run a trashed chain longer. A trashed chain is also dangerous to the rider.