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The only thing i really dont like about my bike

MZ5 said:
Are replacement belts more costly than chains?
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I had a belt break on my Ultra while on a trip. The parts and labor charge was over $700.00. It took the dealership around 4.5 hours to complete. That didn't include new pulleys, just fluids, gaskets and the belt.
 
670cc said:
Motorcycle owners are a different bunch, I know. Plenty of Honda owner's want to have something to do. But my NC owner's manual tells me to inspect and lubricate the drive chain every 500 miles. But why should motorcycle owners put up with an antiquated design? If a salesperson tried to sell an automobile that required the owner to get down on their knees with gloves, and rags, and a lubricant spray can, and perform a drive train maintenance task every 500 miles, the customer would surely laugh and walk away.

I plan to ride 600 miles tomorrow on day one of a trip. I can't even go one day without tending to the drive chain? I had to pack gloves, rags, lubricant can, and axle wrenches for my trip. I'm just about done with this chain nonsense. I hope I never buy a chain drive motorcycle again. It's belt or shaft for me. also says shift into 6th at 37 mph. I don't clean and lube the chain every 500 miles.
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Your NC owners manual also says to shift into 6th at 37 mph :) I don't do that either.

You could spend more money for a bike than an NC costs and get a belt or shaft drive. I see your argument akin to the guy that buys a cheap house under the approach path to O'Hare then complains about the noise.
 
670cc said:
Motorcycle owners are a different bunch, I know. Plenty of Honda owner's want to have something to do. But my NC owner's manual tells me to inspect and lubricate the drive chain every 500 miles. But why should motorcycle owners put up with an antiquated design? If a salesperson tried to sell an automobile that required the owner to get down on their knees with gloves, and rags, and a lubricant spray can, and perform a drive train maintenance task every 500 miles, the customer would surely laugh and walk away.

I plan to ride 600 miles tomorrow on day one of a trip. I can't even go one day without tending to the drive chain? I had to pack gloves, rags, lubricant can, and axle wrenches for my trip. I'm just about done with this chain nonsense. I hope I never buy a chain drive motorcycle again. It's belt or shaft for me.
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I'll never forget the time my can of lube ran out on a long trip. Had to divert 20 or so miles off my route to the nearest bike shop. Didn't have cell service at the shop so I asked what the difference was between PJ1 Blue and Black labels. Got the wrong advice and picked up the Black Label thinking it was better.

It is better— for non O ring chains. Not only did it make my rag nasty, awful black gunk got flung all over my bike. And I had to do it again on the way home. And stop in godawful heat to do so. Ugh
 
dduelin said:
Your NC owners manual also says to shift into 6th at 37 mph :) I don't do that either.

You could spend more money for a bike than an NC costs and get a belt or shaft drive. I see your argument akin to the guy that buys a cheap house under the approach path to O'Hare then complains about the noise.
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Yeah I shift into sixth around 30 or 35 :D

Planes sure are loud....
 
Wheels said:
Ditto here , prefer a belt.
Wonder if a stone would break or cause a chain to derail.
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Doubtful, as chains are what comes on hardcore offroad bikes and I've never heard of or had it happen on any of the ones I owned. One reason stones would be so prone to getting stuck in belt drive systems is the wide, flat, grippy surface of the belt. A small stone would likely be deflected if flung into where the chain meets the sprocket on a chain driven bike, whereas a belt/pulley system has a nice wide, flat, grippy surface for the stones to land and be lodged.


My $0.02 on chains (probably worth much less than 2 pennies): They don't bother me too much. No way I'd carry anything more than a bottle of chain lube with me on a long trip if I were to be really killing miles. I'd worry about the cleaning and wiping down once I returned home. I probably wouldn't worry about the 500 mile lube intervals too much either, as it's unlikely it will be highly detrimental if you stretched that interval to 1k miles before lubing so long as it was lubed properly before leaving the house. I see the chain lube intervals as more of a blanket, safer-than-sorry rule of thumb that the manufacturers do to reduce chances of the owner experiencing problems, while taking into consideration that different people ride in different conditions. Someone who rides rain or shine or on dirt roads will need to lube/clean their chain more than the fair weather rider. Another thing to ponder is, would 500 miles spread out over the course of a month be better or worse than 500 miles ridden in one day on the first leg of a road trip? I'd think 500 miles in one day would be better in terms of not needing lubed as badly after the 500 miles ridden as compared to the 500 miles spread out over the course of a month, but I could be wrong. Then we must consider the consequences if you go too long without lubing...what's the worst that could happen? Chain get a little squeaky then quieten down after finally lubing again? Shorten overall chain life by 1-2k miles or so if "neglected" like this a few times? We're also talking about a consumable part that only costs $85 too.

I just feel like the whole chain maintenance thing is often overthought. It'd be different if we were talking about neglecting something more vital and costly, like the engine. But I do, however, understand why some are so anal about chain maintenance, and all other maintenance. It's typical of being a responsible, dedicated person in general. I'm like that about a lot of things, just learned to not be like that about the chain. I don't like blowing money on chains or anything, but before I worry myself to death over maximizing the life of my chain, I'll let it go a few extra miles without lubing, or wait until it's filthy to clean it, and when it's in bad enough shape to be replaced, I'll replace it and ride on.
 
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TacomaJD said:
Doubtful, as chains are what comes on hardcore offroad bikes and I've never heard of or had it happen on any of the ones I owned. One reason stones would be so prone to getting stuck in belt drive systems is the wide, flat, grippy surface of the belt. A small stone would likely be deflected if flung into where the chain meets the sprocket on a chain driven bike, whereas a belt/pulley system has a nice wide, flat, grippy surface for the stones to land and be lodged.


My $0.02 on chains (probably worth much less than 2 pennies): They don't bother me too much. No way I'd carry anything more than a bottle of chain lube with me on a long trip if I were to be really killing miles. I'd worry about the cleaning and wiping down once I returned home. I probably wouldn't worry about the 500 mile lube intervals too much either, as it's unlikely it will be highly detrimental if you stretched that interval to 1k miles before lubing so long as it was lubed properly before leaving the house. I see the chain lube intervals as more of a blanket, safer-than-sorry rule of thumb that the manufacturers do to reduce chances of the owner experiencing problems, while taking into consideration that different people ride in different conditions. Someone who rides rain or shine or on dirt roads will need to lube/clean their chain more than the fair weather rider. Another thing to ponder is, would 500 miles spread out over the course of a month be better or worse than 500 miles ridden in one day on the first leg of a road trip? I'd think 500 miles in one day would be better in terms of not needing lubed as badly after the 500 miles ridden as compared to the 500 miles spread out over the course of a month, but I could be wrong. Then we must consider the consequences if you go too long without lubing...what's the worst that could happen? Chain get a little squeaky then quieten down after finally lubing again? Shorten overall chain life by 1-2k miles or so if "neglected" like this a few times? We're also talking about a consumable part that only costs $85 too.

I just feel like the whole chain maintenance thing is often overthought. It'd be different if we were talking about neglecting something more vital and costly, like the engine. But I do, however, understand why some are so anal about chain maintenance, and all other maintenance. It's typical of being a responsible, dedicated person in general. I'm like that about a lot of things, just learned to not be like that about the chain. I don't like blowing money on chains or anything, but before I worry myself to death over maximizing the life of my chain, I'll let it go a few extra miles without lubing, or wait until it's filthy to clean it, and when it's in bad enough shape to be replaced, I'll replace it and ride on.
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Agreed. I put on simple NEMO 2 chain oilers simply because I'm one of those guys who would never remember to do a 500 mile clean and lube. I also think much of the chain maintenance stuff is over-hyped and over-blown. It is a simple and reliable mechanical part. It can be easily maintained by another simple and reliable mechanical device. Or it can be reasonably maintained by the rider at various intervals. But ultimately, as you noted, it is a consumable part that is relatively inexpensive and even if ignored it will still last a long time.
 
Long trip , 8,400 miles, 20 days. I just sprayed oil every day and rode.

At 24k miles, strange chain noise, sprockets looked ? ok , even to dealer , so they replaced
only the chain. Now a slightly different noise, sent me to sister dealer, they replaced the sprockets, now OK.
1,000 miles later, clang, clunk. Lost the master link. Towed to different dealer , they pinned it.
100 miles later, kink in chain at the master link, they pinned it too tight.
Went to another dealer and they put a new chain on pinned.

Spritzing with some oil is tolerable, still messy on the rear end.
Cleaning, adjusting and the filthy cardboard in the garage is a nuisance.

Used Loob Man oiler on one bike (with transmission fluid) , that was better
but had to check after any dealer maintenance to see if they disturbed the mounting.

Ridden shaft, belt and chain drives ...
 
Wheels said:
Long trip , 8,400 miles, 20 days. I just sprayed oil every day and rode.

At 24k miles, strange chain noise, sprockets looked ? ok , even to dealer , so they replaced
only the chain. Now a slightly different noise, sent me to sister dealer, they replaced the sprockets, now OK.
1,000 miles later, clang, clunk. Lost the master link. Towed to different dealer , they pinned it.
100 miles later, kink in chain at the master link, they pinned it too tight.
Went to another dealer and they put a new chain on pinned.

Spritzing with some oil is tolerable, still messy on the rear end.
Cleaning, adjusting and the filthy cardboard in the garage is a nuisance.

Used Loob Man oiler on one bike (with transmission fluid) , that was better
but had to check after any dealer maintenance to see if they disturbed the mounting.

Ridden shaft, belt and chain drives ...
Click to expand...
Dang, more evidence of clip style master links failing. Further backing my decision to never run a clip style link.
 
I had good luck with a Scott oiler years ago. Once set up it worked well. I remember my old 72 H2 Kaw had a little knob near the oil injection. You’d pull it up while riding and it would slow drip a few cc’s of oil on the chain. Worked fairly well..
 
TacomaJD said:
Dang, more evidence of clip style master links failing. Further backing my decision to never run a clip style link.
Click to expand...

Did you miss the part about the riveted master also failing? It was installed incorrectly, just like the clip one before it.

That post does not support your position.

**EDIT: Tacoma, my post was not intended as an ‘attack’ at all. I’m analyzing data today, and I was in that mode when I replied. Sorry if I seemed acerbic.

I take no issue with you (or anyone) using a rivet-type master. I merely meant that the one post in particular showed the same failure rate for both types.
Cheers.
 
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TacomaJD said:
Dang, more evidence of clip style master links failing. Further backing my decision to never run a clip style link.
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To each his own, no problem there. When the stock chain is replaced I use a clip master link on the replacement chain and have never had a problem in 50,000 miles on NC chains or any chain before to 1970. I'm only talking about bikes with 70 or less hp. With the NC I clean the master link really well with solvent and fill the void in the clip with RTV to sort of glue it to the side plate on the link. With a new chain I also use the chain breaker tool set up for pressing on the side plate to seat the side plate and fully compress the O/X rings so the clip is for sure seated in the grooves in the pins.
 
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No big deal, you can probably get true story from any viewpoint.
Funny thing, I was day riding with friends when the master link clip disappeared.
The chain was still hanging on by the pins, side plate was gone. Looked on my
phone and lo and behold a Harley dealer was 2 miles away. I think (wire wrap the link)
I could limp that far. I called the Harley dealer and explained the situation ...
they told me they don't do chains anymore , no supplies or tools !!!!
 
TacomaJD said:
Dang, more evidence of clip style master links failing. Further backing my decision to never run a clip style link.
Click to expand...
I've recently switched from rivet to clips. Will let you know if the clip type fails.

One difference in the outcome may be that I am installing the clip, not a dealer.
 
Interesting fact; the Harrier Jump Jet uses two motorcycle chains on each engine to rotate the engines. I was told that the engineers were stumped while trying to create a solution for engine rotation, the conversation was overheard by a building maintenance employee who rides, and he told them because he rides like a jerk all over the world and had never broken a chain. The use of chains is fact, the building maintenance guy element I had never seen confirmed (my second favorite jet). Kind of tangential to the convo but saw the opportunity and took it!
 
My DID chains have never needed any maintenance at 500 miles. Maybe because of my Motobriiz chain oiler mounted under the pillion seat. Just don’t over tension the chain. The NC likes lots of slack. You gotta get used to taking up the slack before cracking the throttle.
 
Oldbear said:
No reason, except economy of manufacture, for chain drive on any street motorcycle these days. Guzzi’s have been shaft drive for what 9 decades? Maybe, on a race bike where you want every last bit of power, but on a street bike? Nah. Just cheaper to make
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BMW has only been using shaft drive on their bikes since 1923 but they're still having trouble getting them to be reliable LOL
 
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