Old School ummm.. Stuff

[spc]

The 1987 gix750 I'm picking up has 530 chain/sprockets.  I need to buy a new chain and new sprockets and I was wondering if converting to 520 is worthwhile.  I know that converting to 520 reduces your rotating mass thus enabling faster acceleration.   But, seriously the thing already puts over 100hp on the wheel
Yama, Dgyver, Srinath, Werase??   Also I've been looking online for almost an hour, anyone know of somewhere that sells chain/sprocket kits for this overgrown frankenbike??

[bettingpython]

A quality 520 chain can easily handle the power put out by the 87gixxer. My question is going to be why would you want to shave off rotating mass? You are not going to be racing. Go with steel sprockets either way. as far as which chain to go with I would go with the lesser of the 2 expense wise. I would also recommend that you  get a rivet type master link.

[yamahonkawazuki]

yup what bp said 

[The Buddha]

OK slow down there SPC, drowningbird ... people convert those from the stock 532 chains (yup 532) to 530, not down to 520. Your chain will handle the power, but will likely wear faster. Now here is  the synopsis of the research between 530 and 520.
The 530 has longer pins than a 520 ... which means its weaker in bending at the pin for the same pin diameter (which its usually not, 530 is larger) its not going to affect its shear value (one end plate is tugged forward, the next one is tugged backwards) and a chain's critical failure is due to shear, never due to bending of the pins. You may have a bending situation if your rear wheel is waaaaay crooked. Your pins are going to shear, no question ... so in conclusion 530 resists shear atleast as well as 520 due to same pin diameter, a 530 resists bending far less than a 520 for the same pin dia ... OK.
Now wecome to sproket wear. The teeth wear due to contact, impact due to shock loads. Wearing sprokets will unevenly load the rollers in your chain and wear them as well as induce shear and bending in the pins. You are dealing with a smaller (narrower sproket with a 520) so it will put that load on a smaller area and wear it out faster.
That will cause chain to wear faster and hence you'd have to replace them more often.
530 is better, it has thicker pins anyway, and you'd definetly not replace it that often. I'd do it to a GS if not for that stupid clip on the front sproket. The gain is chain and sproket life, the loss is some power (though you're not freaking Rossi so you'd never notice in a million years ... )
Old GSXR's they convert from 532 (wider and longer pitch) to 530 ... not down to 520 ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[spc]

OK, 530 it will be whenever I find somewhere to get it all from.  Damn, I must have found a jacked up resource.  It told me 530 was stock    There was never any question about steel sprockets I don't wanna be replacing the damn things every oil change