I have a 2007 gs500f. Yesterday I took the front sprocket cover off to find a few broken rollers. So I know I need a new chain. I also know that it is good practice to replace sprockets and chain together.

What is a good online retailer I can order parts from?
Can you mix brands? I don't see that being a problem but would hate to ask and it turn out to be a no no.


Chains seem really confusing. Not being familiar with them I'm overwhelmed with options I guess. o-rings x-rings roller width an all that jazz. Not to mention looking at chains on the jcwhitney website the price differences seem to be substantial. I'm sure some of the things i've been looking at are separate links but the website doesn't seem to specify.

I would like to get a colored ek chain. But thats as far as I have gotten.

As I was typing this I was trying to think of anything I needed to ask about sprockets but they actually seem fairly straightforward.

Dank
The Jedi

If u want to go this route u can buy everything as a set.Check around for best value,but keep in mind price is proportional to quality.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SUZUKI-GS500E-F-89-07-CHAIN-AND-SPROCKET-KIT-OEM-or-CUSTOM-ANY-COLOR-/150739003870?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2318bea9de&_uhb=1

Thanks. That actually brings another question to mind. I'm aware of the relationship between price and quality. Im wondering what could one expect to pay for a decent chain for a gs500? Not going to insane and getting top of the line. But also not getting a chain out of the bargain bin at wal mart. So to speak.

Thanks for that link. I had a small heart attack when I saw 65.00 for shipping then I realized it was set to aus.

How would you rate the quality of this chain and sprockets?

Could you tell me the difference between o ring and x ring?

Dank
The Jedi

Quote from: The Jedi on July 31, 2013, 04:32:21 PMCould you tell me the difference between o ring and x ring?

I'm sure there are better diagrams out there, but this shot from the box that one of my chains came in may give you some insight.



The cross-section of the "ring" (the red item in the drawing) is where the name comes from.  An O-ring has a solid, round cross-section.  An X-ring looks like the letter X when you cut through it.  This "RX" ring is another variation.

The idea is for the ring to permanently capture a small amount of factory-applied lubricant where it will do the most good.  With an O-ring there are 2 small "corners" to hold lubricant between the ring and the metal parts of the chain.  With an X-ring there can be 3 such "corners".  With an RX-ring ... I don't know ... maybe 4 "corners"?

Thanks for that picture. I did go look into it further. I read a post on another forum just now about how having o-ring vs roller chain takes away from the power of the bike. Having the rings in there causes more resistance. What are your opinions on that?

Hmmm.  No doubt there is a non-zero amount of horsepower lost to friction when rings are added to the mix ... but I'm thinking 2 things:

• The loss certainly isn't large enough for your "seat-of-the-pants dynamometer" to detect.
• I'd be willing to bet that the friction of a no-ring chain increases more quickly than (and probably surpasses that of) a "ring" chain when the non-captured lubricant washes out and/or gets displaced by steel powder / rust.

Quote from: The Jedi on July 31, 2013, 05:19:00 PM
Thanks for that picture. I did go look into it further. I read a post on another forum just now about how having o-ring vs roller chain takes away from the power of the bike. Having the rings in there causes more resistance. What are your opinions on that?

many moons ago with an old XR350 dirtbike that got ridden on bushtracks, through mud and water, through sand and saltwater, on farm paddocks through cow poo (if i wasnt looking quick enough) ... I always used a plain 'no ring' chain ... nice and cheap, a lot easier to be sure that when i removed it after just about every ride in the bad (for chains) conditions i could dip it in a bath of kero or petrol and wash nearly all the crap out of the nooks and crannies... put a fresh coat of spray wax or whatever on it .. mount it up again and be good to go for next time ...

... the amount of small crap that washed out of between the links and plates and pins every time was my prompt to do it every time! .. and sometimes i would have 'frozen and kinked' links before a wash that disappeared afterwards with lubing.

ok... a road bike wont be usually in the dirt and crud and poo .. but water and grit and salty conditions (snow areas?!) are likely ... and i know chaps who have kept their no ring chains operating for long life with good maintenance procedure and timing.

all depends on how dedicated you want to be with maintenance i think .. any chain will last longer with proper care .. and everyone here pretty much cleans/wipes/lubes their chain regular .. but as i understand it a plain or no ring chain means you need to be more FREQUENT and regular with checking/cleaning/lubing.

the resistance issue ... perhaps its valid .. i 'think' a poorly cleaned/lubed or dry o-ring or x-ring chain could possibly give a fraction more resistance .. (and be slightly/or a lot harder to clean out again properly if you let it get too bad) .. but thinking about it in situ .. the chain rollers flex and change directions at the sprockets which is 30% maybe of the length? .. rest of the time they are travelling straight .. so coming on or off the sprockets is your resistance area .. can cause kinks and such if the chain is worn/dirty/damaged... but the lube is held in there by the rings of whatever type and for a reason.. to make things slide/move easier .. you grease any two metal surfaces of any size and you pretty much always get easier movement with lube than without.... so the people with 'power robbing resistance' theory are perhaps not real good with cleaning and lubing? .. or like me back in the day and just happy enough to use a plain chain and wash it out frequently.

one of the chains i used on the dirtbike early on .. an EK plain roller chain .. i 'wore out' through not knowing/caring/understanding/doing ANY chain maintenance .. in ... i estimate just under 1000km of heavy and bad conditions over 8 months? .. letting it sit and rust up in the links between rides (sometimes for a couple weeks) ... and then "hey the chain was really catchy/noisy when i started riding awhile ago but after the rust dust and squealing stopped its smooth again!!, lets go faster!!" ..  .. the chain didnt break , but when a chap that did know about such things asked then showed me about chain cleaning etc .. we took the chain off , cleaned it .. he flexed it around  ..  and that one was 'flexy' .. laid it flat on the ground with the links flat and he made almost a half circle of it before the metal bits caught up on each other.... tossed it in the bin and told me to get a new one! to start again.... plus new sprockets too this time cos they were also hook toothed and not good at all...

the new chain and sprockets were cleaned and lubed properly and still had good life in them when i sold the thing almost 2 years later.

so .. save money now and get a plain roller chain .. but spend more of your time looking after it ... or get an O or X ring chain, still maintain it ... but have a little more time to be out riding instead of cleaning!? 

Quote from: fetor56 on July 31, 2013, 04:16:22 PM
If u want to go this route u can buy everything as a set.Check around for best value,but keep in mind price is proportional to quality.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SUZUKI-GS500E-F-89-07-CHAIN-AND-SPROCKET-KIT-OEM-or-CUSTOM-ANY-COLOR-/150739003870?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2318bea9de&_uhb=1

So I see the sprockets are JT, but who makes the chain?  I actually need to replace my sprockets and chain on my 93 as well, and I have everything priced out on Amazon for less than this.

Quote from: ctjacket on July 31, 2013, 08:30:17 PM

Quote from: fetor56 on July 31, 2013, 04:16:22 PM
If u want to go this route u can buy everything as a set.Check around for best value,but keep in mind price is proportional to quality.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SUZUKI-GS500E-F-89-07-CHAIN-AND-SPROCKET-KIT-OEM-or-CUSTOM-ANY-COLOR-/150739003870?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2318bea9de&_uhb=1

So I see the sprockets are JT, but who makes the chain?  I actually need to replace my sprockets and chain on my 93 as well, and I have everything priced out on Amazon for less than this.

Good for you.

Quote from: fetor56 on July 31, 2013, 08:50:54 PM

Quote from: ctjacket on July 31, 2013, 08:30:17 PM

Quote from: fetor56 on July 31, 2013, 04:16:22 PM
If u want to go this route u can buy everything as a set.Check around for best value,but keep in mind price is proportional to quality.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SUZUKI-GS500E-F-89-07-CHAIN-AND-SPROCKET-KIT-OEM-or-CUSTOM-ANY-COLOR-/150739003870?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2318bea9de&_uhb=1

So I see the sprockets are JT, but who makes the chain?  I actually need to replace my sprockets and chain on my 93 as well, and I have everything priced out on Amazon for less than this.

Good for you.

I meant that as I know what chain I am buying for the price, but for this the manufacturer isn't listed; I didn't mean anything negative by it.... 

I was curious if you or anyone else knew who the chain manufacturer is for the kit the seller has.

from the bottom section of the ad ..

(scm415 chromoly Japan steel alloy , c45 high carbon Japan steel)

                  and a quality JT 520 x 110 Gold X-Ring drive chain.

                   * ( Exact fit OEM sizes and gear ratio )



... and ... http://reviews.motosport.com/0357/121507/reviews.htm .. 

Like Janx said its a JT brand chain, I've used their sprockets but don't have any experience with their chain.  It's shown on JT site, maybe you can find it on Amazon too.   JT site: http://www.jtsprockets.com/

Thanks!

Found, good price for x-ring:

http://www.amazon.com/JT-Drive-Expert-Series-X-Ring/dp/B00DX8BXT8/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1375402636&sr=1-2&keywords=jt+520x110+x-ring+chain

I sent them an email asking about the chains. Here is the response.


""In Silver, you have your choice of a Parts Unlimited O-Ring Chain, made by DID.
or, the new JT X-Ring Chain (JT, the world class oem supplier of premium sprockets, has just entered the chain mfg. business too)
In Gold, we have the new JT X-Ring chain.

In colors... what's left is made in China, which is why we no longer stock them due to reports of short lived poor quality from the few that we've sold.""

That's interesting to know, I have a parts unlimited chain on my bike now after having used 9 DID and one RK XSO chains.  Been telling folks the Parts Unlimited was as good as the DID that came on the GSs as oem.  I was right, it is a DID.

The new JT chain is probably a good chain.  I've used a couple JT front sprockets and they were good but not as good as the OEM that come on the bike.  Better than average, priced nicely, good quality but not the best.  The OEM are like the Sunstar sprockets, top quality but cost a little more.  My brake, chain, sprocket log:

http://www.gs500.net/gallery/data/500/GSbrakechainlog.jpg