chain - mileage

[OgGy]

A question for people who had to change ther chains: how many miles did you manage to get from it?

[Mk1inCali]

18K from the stock chain with decent, but minimal maintenance and indoor storage.

12K from a cheapy RK replacement (rusted itself to death from sitting outside at work, a seafood restaurant right on the water).  Replaced the stock sprockets at this time with a 14T front, and 39T (stock replacement size) rear.

Now I've got a non-O-ring DID MX chain that I'm going to try to lube every 500 miles religiously, see how long it lasts.

[mp183]

18 K from stock.
Just lube mainly with chain wax.
Have DID now but only 8 K on it.
Looks brand new.
Using a dry lube now.

[gsJack]

On the 97 GS500E, I changed the chain at 18.9k, 37k, 54.1k, and 68.5k miles.  On the 02 GS500, I changed the chain at 21.5k, 37.2k, and 51.3k miles.

I used the same DID o-ring replacement chain with a clip type master link each time:

http://www.chaparral-racing.com/Chaparral/productr.asp?pf%5Fid=312%2D1910&gift=False&HSLB=False&mscssid=D1AFE05F109C4BB594C96D6317C558F2

I usually put a chain on each spring, the salt water streets here in NE Ohio finishes them off every winter and they come out pretty kinky in the spring.  I attribute the declining chain life mostly to the decline of my annual milage from a high of 15-20k a year to about 12k or so now.

[CndnMax]

When exactly does a chain need to be replaced, other then being stretched all the way back... 

[ben2go]

My chain makes a clicking sound when I push the bike around,and it feels like the brakes are binding.I checked the brakes an they are not binding.It must be the chain.Should I replace it?It's been lubed 2x recently and still does it.

[reminor]

IMHO if you buy a used (6+ years old) bike I think it makes sence to replace the chain anyways. Especially if it's rusty like mine was. You just don't know if it was lubed regularly. Even though the mileage may not be too bad on paper, but the speedo cable on  GS is soooo easy to unscrew (so the spedo and the odometer are not working) and ride like that for thousands miles.. You get the point.

I read reports of a snapped chain while at speed. Wrrrr.... And replaced mine ASAP.

[OgGy]

to CndnMax: When its worn out in some places way more than others. You can see that when you tighten it properly (I think it should move about an ich or so), and then turn the wheel and see that somewhere it moves almost 2 inches, and on other places less than 1/2. That's what happened to me anyway...and after only 12k :icon_confused:ok so I might have lubed it more often, but I wasn't neglecting it. Any chance there could be a difference in material? My bike is made in Spain, for European market.