[dsn_klr650] o ring question

[Tom Simpson]

Juan Carlos Ibarra wrote:

> Hi, > > Why are o ring chains better than the others? My brother gave me Krause > chain that looks quite well made, but it has no o rings.

O-Ring chains are not nessicerily "better". You can have an O-ring chain that is made using inferiour metalurgy than a conventional chain and thus not hold up as well under some conditions. What the O-rings buy you is a degree of reduced maintenence. The major bearing surfaces within the chain run on a little dab of super-slick grease that is sealed in by the O-rings. When you lube an O-ring chain, whay you are mostly acomplishing it to wash acumulated dirt off of the outside and apply some lube to the spockets and the exterior parts of the chain where they make contact. This changes the reqirements for the lube as well. For an O-ring chain the requirement for the lube to have very high film strength and such is reduced, 'cause that function is performed by the lube sealed within the chain. What becomes more important is for the lube to be non-sticky in order to not attract grime and sand, which will rapidly cut the O-rings to pieces. Wehn I got my first O-ring chain (the OEM chain on the KLR) I first gunked it up using Cal-Guard, which as it turns out sand finds to be increadibly attractive.The chain went about 10,000 miles, far less than many KLR OEM chains do. Later I went to Chain Wax which did better but shill caked up over time. Now I run a Scott Oiler with ATF with a cheap RK O-ring chain. Next will be a Tsubaki high-tensile strength non-O-ring chain, lubed with ATF with a little STP mixed in to add some of that film strength that the non-O-ring chains need. There is a school of thought that says that the non-O-ring chain in a constant bath of good lube will hold up best of all. We shall see. -Tom '96 KLR 650