ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Energica => Topic started by: jotjotde on September 12, 2023, 12:08:58 PM
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In spring I had the sprockets changed at 17,700 km and decided to get a Regina HPE chain. Yesterday I reached 27,700 and want to share my experience.
For my '22 Ribelle RS I needed a 525 chain with 112 links. IDK if non-RS needs more links because of the larger front sprocket.
BMW offers this chain for their bikes as an option. The price for the Regina HPE is about double what a DID would cost. HPE stands for high performance endurance.
This chain came (early commercials) with the claim of being maintenance-free. As far as I understood they changed that to being now 'low-maintenance'.
The latter I can definitely confirm. I clean the chain every 4 weeks or so by using dry lube spray as 'cleaner', i.e. I spray on one coat, spin the wheel a bit so the lubricant is spread and then wipe off the surfaces. Thats's it. The rollers look as on the first day and the sprocket teeth are also still looking very good.
The claim of the chain being not-lengthening I cannot confirm. I had to re-adjust twice (1/16 turn of the screws), but that is considerably less than with the OEM chain I had before.
For me as a dry-weather rider, this is a major improvement worth the money. Less time spent cleaning and maintaining.
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Excellent review. Thanks!
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Among all the one-sided glowing or damning reviews on this chain on other sites, a pleasantly nuanced and informative assessment. Thank you.
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Thank you for this!
Why can't the other reviewers understand that we all want a review of the actual product, not BMW's marketing claims?
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Good feedback, I'll likely go this route when its time based on your experience.
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I think BMW originally said it would last as long as a shaft. This from the company who decided the drive-shafts in their GS Adventure bikes are "wearable items" that need to be periodically REPLACED!!
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I think BMW originally said it would last as long as a shaft. This from the company who decided the drive-shafts in their GS Adventure bikes are "wearable items" that need to be periodically REPLACED!!
Especially when they break as mine did on my 1991 K100RS at 48K miles. >:(
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I think BMW originally said it would last as long as a shaft. This from the company who decided the drive-shafts in their GS Adventure bikes are "wearable items" that need to be periodically REPLACED!!
Especially when they break as mine did on my 1991 K100RS at 48K miles. >:(
Dang! I had 158,000 miles on the original driveshaft on my 1985 K100 when it was stolen in 1995. Currently still have the original driveshaft in my 1999 K1200LT with 237,000 miles...
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Currently still have the original driveshaft in my 1999 K1200LT with 237,000 miles...
Around that many miles on my 1971 BMW R75/5 as well. Still has the same shaft when I purchased the bike new in May of 1971.
-Don- Reno, NV
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Currently still have the original driveshaft in my 1999 K1200LT with 237,000 miles...
Around that many miles on my 1971 BMW R75/5 as well. Still has the same shaft when I purchased the bike new in May of 1971.
-Don- Reno, NV
Other than "Faulty Manufacturing" I can't explain what might've happened to Richard's driveshaft. As for the GS driveshaft failures, those began with the new generation of GS bikes. The added suspension travel and para-lever rear-drive setup apparently stresses the metal more than on the pure street bikes which don't get nearly as much off-road abuse. Still, replacing a driveshaft is a helluva lot more time consuming and expensive than replacing a chain. I have NO idea what goes through their engineers' minds any more. I gave up on the brand five years ago and wouldn't touch ANY new vehicle with that "Roundel" logo on it no matter how many wheels it has.
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Currently still have the original driveshaft in my 1999 K1200LT with 237,000 miles...
Around that many miles on my 1971 BMW R75/5 as well. Still has the same shaft when I purchased the bike new in May of 1971.
-Don- Reno, NV
Other than "Faulty Manufacturing" I can't explain what might've happened to Richard's driveshaft. As for the GS driveshaft failures, those began with the new generation of GS bikes. The added suspension travel and para-lever rear-drive setup apparently stresses the metal more than on the pure street bikes which don't get nearly as much off-road abuse. Still, replacing a driveshaft is a helluva lot more time consuming and expensive than replacing a chain. I have NO idea what goes through their engineers' minds any more. I gave up on the brand five years ago and wouldn't touch ANY new vehicle with that "Roundel" logo on it no matter how many wheels it has.
My bike had the Para-Lever rear drive design. What broke was the front U-joint. The rod going from one side of the "U" to the other broke in half, The broken part spun around and took out the adjacent swing arm bearing and inside of the swing arm housing. Everything had to be replaced and the parts had to be flown in from Germany as none were available from BMWNA.
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I know it had the para-lever. So does my K1200LT. I'd only heard of issues with the GS drive shaft and I think it had to do with the greater suspension travel (and more likely to get abuse off-road). First I'd heard of a road-only paralever bike having a drive shaft issue. Did BMW cover it? In 1991 they still had three years/unlimited mileage. When my bike came along it was 3 years or 36,000 miles; whichever came first. Though my rear wheel bearing went at 40K miles they still replaced it at no cost. That was back in the days with BMWNA actually gave a **** about their customers though...
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I know it had the para-lever. So does my K1200LT. I'd only heard of issues with the GS drive shaft and I think it had to do with the greater suspension travel (and more likely to get abuse off-road). First I'd heard of a road-only paralever bike having a drive shaft issue. Did BMW cover it? In 1991 they still had three years/unlimited mileage. When my bike came along it was 3 years or 36,000 miles; whichever came first. Though my rear wheel bearing went at 40K miles they still replaced it at no cost. That was back in the days with BMWNA actually gave a **** about their customers though...
BMW did not cover the repairs, because the warranty had expired 4 years prior. The bike had 48K miles on the clock at the time.
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Other than "Faulty Manufacturing" I can't explain what might've happened to Richard's driveshaft. As for the GS driveshaft failures, those began with the new generation of GS bikes. The added suspension travel and para-lever rear-drive setup apparently stresses the metal more than on the pure street bikes which don't get nearly as much off-road abuse. Still, replacing a driveshaft is a helluva lot more time consuming and expensive than replacing a chain. I have NO idea what goes through their engineers' minds any more. I gave up on the brand five years ago and wouldn't touch ANY new vehicle with that "Roundel" logo on it no matter how many wheels it has.
Many people these days believe BMW is living off the great reputation they had in the past.
I think part of the problem is BMW keeps on coming out with more and more models. Back in 1971, they basically only had three versions of the same bike and many of the parts were interchangeable between them. Any part needed, no matter what it was, was always in stock at the BMW shops.
And no matter what breaks, you usually could fix the bike on the side of the road. if you carry the right stuff (cables, etc.). BMWs came with a very good stock tool kit that could pretty much take the entire bike apart on the side of the road. Those days are long gone with the newer bikes.
Anyway, years pass and so all the old engineers who design the bikes are now long retired. So we can no longer expect much to be the same as it was back in the 70's.
It seems BMW discovered they can make more money with less reliability and bikes that are more difficult for the home mechanic to repair. But it is not only BMW. These days it's all about profits, they do not care about much else.
-Don- Reno, NV
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Back on topic: I've had bikes with chains, belts and shafts. I've gotten spoiled by the latter two final drive systems and can't see ever wanting to go back to a chain. That's the one big strike I have against Energica (not to mention the chain adds even more noise to the gear noise already produced by their motor).
The only issue I ever had with a belt was with my 2018 S. I still think the front pulley used by Zero is too small and forces a more radical bend in the belt than its design can tolerate because with less than 10,000 miles chunks of rubber were cracking and falling off the outer layer that protects the carbon fiber fabric. Zero did NOT consider this a warranty item so I had to buy a new belt out of my own pocket. I now wipe down the outer belt once a month with Armor-All to keep it from drying out and that seems to be working. It also forces me to check the belt regularly (I confess I never did that with my previous belt-driven bikes but I never had issue with those either).
I'm actually surprised by this design flaw, as it was Abe Askenazi who championed a belt drive for Zero when he was hired by them. Considering his YEARS of experience with belt drives while working for Erik Buell, you'd think he would've taken that into account. In fairness, the smaller/thinner belt on my 2016 S never had this problem and the belt drive was originally engineered around that belt and not the thicker one used in later years. Still, they've had enough time to figure this out and DO SOMETHING about it!
The only chain-drive system that I liked was the enclosed oil-bath chain used by my 2009 Yamaha TMAX and 2013 BMW C650GT. That was also pretty much maintenance-free but I never kept either scooter long enough to know how long they'd last.
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Back on topic: I've had bikes with chains, belts and shafts.
I used to only buy street bikes with driveshafts, such as my 1971 BMW, 1984 Yamha Venture and my 2013 TTSE. But unlike the past, driveshaft problems are getting more common, especially with BMW.
These days, I cannot say I have a preference between chains, belts and shafts. All of them occasionally give problems. I don't find chain maintenance to be a big issue, just keep it lubricated. I don't bother to clean chains, some people say it is best not to, normal riding gets most of the junk off. Just make sure it doesn't get dry.
But what I don't like is not having a centerstand on my Energicas to make the chain lubing job easier.
-Don- Reno, NV
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I literally dropped my Ribelle trying to get it on the paddock stand the other day (first time I've done it) and it reminded me how much I miss centrestands.
Broke one of the plastic panels but don't worry, the empty paint tin definitely came off the loser ...
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Stonewolf sorry to hear that. I tipped mine in the garage a few weeks ago, I was moving the bike forward to get it all the way in so I could close the door because a T storm was coming and the kick stand snagged something and sprang up, (it's a real bastard about that!! ) I leaned the bike just a little and that was all it took, away she went. Thankfully it leaned up against a work stand I had in there and didn't go totally down, so I was able to squeeze onto the other side of it and grunt it back into an upright position.
People don't realize how top heavy they are and it only takes a few degrees of lean for that sob to tip, and if you are sitting on it, or standing aside it, NO you are NOT going to stop it ! :-X
Do yourself a favor. Get yourself an extra set of turn signals too, and potentially mirrors. those all are in the 'fall path' if it tips totally.
So is the brake handle and the rear brake leverl.
For the cracked fairing. You can kind of mesh the parts together and glue them to hold them together until you get new ones if you are going to get new ones. Also, if you got the black bike, a black sharpie works wonderfully for covering up the scuff / blending in the break mark back with the rest of the fairing color. (ask me how I know this :-[ ). If it's a bit shiny just rub it a bit with your finger and it'll blend right in.
Aaron
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I literally dropped my Ribelle trying to get it on the paddock stand the other day (first time I've done it) and it reminded me how much I miss centrestands.
Broke one of the plastic panels but don't worry, the empty paint tin definitely came off the loser ...
I wish those stupid (IMAO) paddock stands were never invented. Then our bikes would still come with centerstands, like they all used to.
-Don- located here (https://www.plugshare.com/location/305386)
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What annoys me most about the paddock stand actually is the precision Italian engineering ... it doesn't quite line up with the ergal bolts and that's what I was trying to resolve when I dropped it ...
Meanwhile the panel isn't falling off or anything, it's one of the higher up red ones and the crack hasn't caused any of it to hang off but it's really obvious. I'm only 2k short of my next service so I'll get on to EEMC and have them order a part now so I can get it done when bring it in.
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Order your parts NOW and you may get them in time for Christmas.
I ordered a brake handle for my bike 3 months ago and the fucker still hasn't made it to the states yet, so the dealer claims. I also ordered the rear shifter lever too, and it's still not here either. THIS I don't understand, these are common parts, not highly advanced machined parts, and also are shit that one should expect will get buggered up in ANY tip over. WHY isn't there an abundance of these in parts / repair bins?
If there was one complaint I had about Energica besides the software bugs, this would be it. The supply chain is well.... not very well.
Aaron
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@Stone: Had a fall with my Ribelle as well. One guy told me, you never really own a bike until you dropped it at least once :P
For paddock stand, consider getting a one-hand operated one. like from Pitbull (https://www.pit-bull.com/single-swingarm-rear-stands) or from Kern-Stabi (https://www.louis.de/artikel/kern-stabi-mono-zentral-grundstaender-2038/10002675?filter_article_number=10002675).
The fairing cost about 450 €. Delivery time to Germany was approx. 7 workdays.
Gave the splintered fairing to a repair shop. They fixed and re-painted it for 200 €.
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Order your parts NOW and you may get them in time for Christmas.
I ordered a brake handle for my bike 3 months ago and the fucker still hasn't made it to the states yet, so the dealer claims. I also ordered the rear shifter lever too, and it's still not here either. THIS I don't understand, these are common parts, not highly advanced machined parts, and also are shit that one should expect will get buggered up in ANY tip over. WHY isn't there an abundance of these in parts / repair bins?
If there was one complaint I had about Energica besides the software bugs, this would be it. The supply chain is well.... not very well.
Aaron
Only one explanation that I can figure. Cash flow problems.
Makes no sense if there is inventory of parts that they are not being shipped.
Parts are probably not being made because someone is not getting paid.
Unfortunate.
It is a good idea to change both front and rear sprockets when installing a new chain.
Can't get a front sprocket nut removal tool, and dealers don't expect availability for months...
Here is an alternative to the Energica tool:
https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?products_id=210006¤cy=USD
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I love the Energica and wish them only the very best, but man, how can you sell an item then have no repair parts available for it?
I get it they got behind with producing all the Experia's for the rollout and the backorder on those but geez, can't you hire a few more people, or outsource the simple to make shit?
A rear brake lever, it's a piece of aluminum that is knurled FFS. Any machine shop can make these w/o much effort at all! Why not contract out to a local shop in the US, order 100 of them, or 500 of them to get a bulk discount, and that's one part already on hand, when the rest of the bike gets shipped over for final prep / pre sale bolt up? Rinse, wash, and repeat the same process for the other countries you sell in as well. OR one time run a box of them over there so you have them. You can't find an apprentice machinist, put him on the CNC and say here, run out 100 of these?
I wonder if they have union goons and THAT typical bullshit strangling their business over in Italy like the cancer is doing here in the USA?
I believe they have their own machine shops and stuff Pard,and make most of their parts in shop. Still, no idea why simple stuff is not being made. Irregardless of their annual month off vacation they take in the summer months.
I really want to see them succeed, it's an awesome bike, but not having parts available is really a BAD look for any company !
Just my opinion.
Aaron
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^^^ Agree 100%, @Specter
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It's because they're low volume, nothing they make is mass manufactured.
You want a part? Sure, they'll page Giuseppe down in the 3d printing room and he'll get right on it.
My big impression with their parts is it's transport more than anything else, the lead time depends on how far away you are from Italy and how often stuff is shipped to your geography.
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I love the Energica and wish them only the very best, but man, how can you sell an item then have no repair parts available for it?
It's been the way Piaggio (Aprilia, Vespa, Piaggio and MotoGuzzi) has been operating for DECADES. Fortunately they build fairly reliable machines but if you need a part? God help you!! Must be an "Italian thing" (though I've never heard that said about Ducati).
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I love the Energica and wish them only the very best, but man, how can you sell an item then have no repair parts available for it?
It's been the way Piaggio (Aprilia, Vespa, Piaggio and MotoGuzzi) has been operating for DECADES. Fortunately they build fairly reliable machines but if you need a part? God help you!! Must be an "Italian thing" (though I've never heard that said about Ducati).
There is still a worldwide parts shortage causing many issues for many companies.
Here in Reno, there is a sign at Eurocycles that reads:
"Because of the worldwide parts shortage, we will no longer service any bikes more than ten years old."
But the problem is more than just the older bikes. It is affecting many things, even new RVs and such. I guess we still have not yet recovered from the pandemic parts supply issues.
And even the war in Ukraine is causing parts issues. Surprisingly, a lot of parts normally come from there. For an example, I hear most European motorcycle harnesses come from Ukraine.
-Don- Reno, NV
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I know it had the para-lever. So does my K1200LT. I'd only heard of issues with the GS drive shaft and I think it had to do with the greater suspension travel (and more likely to get abuse off-road). First I'd heard of a road-only paralever bike having a drive shaft issue. Did BMW cover it? In 1991 they still had three years/unlimited mileage. When my bike came along it was 3 years or 36,000 miles; whichever came first. Though my rear wheel bearing went at 40K miles they still replaced it at no cost. That was back in the days with BMWNA actually gave a **** about their customers though...
I had a 2006 R1200 GS, I had it for about a year before I tied the keys to a brick and gave it back through the front window of the dealership.
Just kidding. I wanted to though. I had so many problems and the dealership proved how good they were at denying warrantee claims. The Rear final drive failed 3 times in the span of two months. I blame it on BMW not racing in any series. That was the first model year after Paris-Dakar and Baja banned multi cylinder bikes. BMW had to continue to innovate but they were answering questions no one asked. (Dual plugs, Hydraulic assist boosters on the brakes, the new Duo-lever front end on the K bikes, elastomer vibration dampeners in the shafts). Its the reason I'm selling a KTM to offset the cost of my Experia, instead of a BMW.
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Hi, does anyone has an info, where to buy this chain ( REGINA HPE) for an esseesse9+ as a complete
kit?
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Fitted a new DID ZVMX 520 chain, new sprockets and new tyres to my Experia last weekend....much better than the OEM chain which felt harsh to me.
Tyres fitted are Conti Road attack 3 on the rear and Sport attack 4 on the front.
Believe it or not, the OEM rear sprocket is aluminium on the Experia..
Bike has just passed 13k km (~8k miles) thus far.
Smithy.
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Well, the experia is not really a racing bike, so should not have massive torques put to it.
Besides, a sproket is a lot better failure point than an axle or bearing IMO.
Aaron
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Well, the experia is not really a racing bike, so should have massive torques put to it.
Besides, a sproket is a lot better failure point than an axle or bearing IMO.
Aaron
I've been running an aluminium sprocket on the rear of my BMW S1000XR for several years, it has over 50k km on it and is still in good condition.
Smithy.
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I've been running an aluminium sprocket on the rear of my BMW S1000XR for several years, it has over 50k km on it and is still in good condition.
Smithy.
Does that 1000cc BMW use an 3/8 inch wide sprocket?
Post 1 calls for 525 chain while your reply #30 states 520. With the 530 or industrial 50 vs the 532 the roller diameter is 2mm larger for the 532. Searching the chain on line it seems the 25 in 525 chain means 2.5 eights of an inch wide. 5=5/8 pitch second digit was width in eights I thought.
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I've been running an aluminium sprocket on the rear of my BMW S1000XR for several years, it has over 50k km on it and is still in good condition.
Smithy.
Does that 1000cc BMW use an 3/8 inch wide sprocket?
Post 1 calls for 525 chain while your reply #30 states 520. With the 530 or industrial 50 vs the 532 the roller diameter is 2mm larger for the 532. Searching the chain on line it seems the 25 in 525 chain means 2.5 eights of an inch wide. 5=5/8 pitch second digit was width in eights I thought.
The BMW S1000XR uses a 525 chain & sprockets as standard. The Experia comes with a 520 chain & sprockets from the factory.
The EGO, Ribelle and SS9 all use a 525 chain & sprockets.
Smithy.
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Hi, does anyone has an info, where to buy this chain ( REGINA HPE) for an esseesse9+ as a complete
kit?
@jscho
What do you mean with complete kit? In case you want to buy the stuff separately, you can find the necessary info here:
https://www.electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=12557.msg119266#msg119266
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UPDATE AT 14,000 km
The chain is as good as dead!
The last 2,000 km the chain began to rattle and I tried to tension it at least twice which helped for let's say 50 km.
The problem is that the chain is lengthened inhomogeneously, i.e. there are tight spots and loose spots. With a chain gauge I measured regions which are nearly good as new as well as regions where the chaing is lengthened more than 1 %.
Because I must use a tight spot for tensioning, the chain keeps being too loose, causing rattling noises which drive me nuts.
That is so dissapointing, having payed a lot of money for a chain that doesn't even perform as long as a conventional one! This chain never saw rain or excessive speeds!
So, IMO this Regina HPE chain is an utter failure and nothing more than a marketing fad.
I hope someone in the US will sue and make them pay for this!
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UPDATE AT 14,000 km
I hope someone in the US will sue and make them pay for this!
The Regina chain is Italian made so I doubt suing somebody in the US will help.
Smithy.
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UPDATE AT 14,000 km
I hope someone in the US will sue and make them pay for this!
Sry to hear that. How about warranty?
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UPDATE AT 14,000 km
So, IMO this Regina HPE chain is an utter failure and nothing more than a marketing fad.
I hope someone in the US will sue and make them pay for this!
Has a comparison been made with driving sprocket diameter between BMW application and the Energica RS application?
Sounds like a failure, agreed, but under harsher loads perhaps than the manufacturer intended?
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@chisquare: I wrote an e-mail to the manufacturer (nicer wording than in my post), but I do not expect anything, not even an answer. In my experience customer service is something most companies refuse to take seriously. Moreover, this is a wear part and it will be impossible to prove what the cause of this early failure was.
@PWM: TBH I think any comparison with other bikes is besides the point. My first chain was the original OEM (common Regina chain), worked for nearly 18,000 km and was exchanged earlier than necessary to make way for the allegedly superior HPE. Both chains were treated with the same lubricant, the only difference is the lubing interval. While the common chain was treated every 300-500 km, the HPE was only wiped clean occasionally.
For anyone interested:
I took the time to search the web a bit about performance of the HPE. Obviously I am not the only one reporting an early demise.
But most interesting was this: A lube manufacturer took Regina HPE chains for a test in 2022. You can find the report here (in German).
https://dr-wack.com/dr-wack/news-presse/wartungsfreie-motorradkette-im-test
They tested two HPE chains with and without lubing and a normal chain for comparison.
BOTH HPE chains broke during the test (!) while the normal chain did not.
Of course we can discuss this at length, but in the end this is another indicator that most probably the promises made by Regina are overblown.
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Why run it without lube? That just seems to be inviting problems, even IF the manu said it can do so.
Kind of like that miracle oil they were selling back in the 90's and shit, oh this engine ran for 20k miles with NO OIL, because they put a quart of our glop into it at one time in it's life.
Can it run w/o lube - yes
Is it really good to do so - probably not.
They probably are going to reply to you, IF they do, with something similar, you need to lube it for best results, bla bla bla.
Aaron
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@ Aaron
Of course you are right, that chains must be lubed. But Regina claims to use a special surface coating with high hardness which sounded reasonable to me. From my job I know that for instance gears made of high carbon cast steel are somewhat self-lubing, so I thought I will give it a try.
Unexpectedly I got an answer to my email I sent to the German distributor of Regina, but it came on Friday afternoon when I already switched off my e-mail.
They offered to check the chain if I send it in at their cost and I might get a new one free of charge if they find that the chain's early demise was due to a production fault or similar. I would have really liked to see what the outcome of this is, but I already changed the chain and threw away the faulty one.
In the Facebook Energica group I just read yesterday that one guy had a broken (!) HPE chain on his bike. That together with the failed test at Dr Wack makes me suspicious that this type of chain might be even a safety risk. Now I am not sure if I would have installed another HPE on my bike even if Regina would have supplied a new one.
So, for me that is the end of this story.
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Unexpectedly I got an answer to my email I sent to the German distributor of Regina, but it came on Friday afternoon when I already switched off my e-mail.
They offered to check the chain if I send it in at their cost and I might get a new one free of charge if they find that the chain's early demise was due to a production fault or similar. I would have really liked to see what the outcome of this is, but I already changed the chain and threw away the faulty one.
Nice move by the distributor. Too bad that you already disposed of the defective chain. But I can see that. Frustrated by the p*** poor quality, I probably would have done the same.
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Especially if you are a more spirited rider. If you are running a chain on ...lets say... hi torque mode and it lets loose, that'll wreck your ass in short order. Things that may be an inconvenience in one instance can be catastrophic in others.
I wonder if a chain did let loose on an Energica when under high power, how quickly it'd be able to catch itself before shit starts flying out the walls of the motor or tranny? God help you that bastard locks the rear tire though.
I was doing a heavy horse run on my bike today, nice and cool out, fkn wind, holy shit is that a menace at 3D speeds. When I got home, I could hear my chain rattling at lower speeds, so, umm, yah I probably need to adjust the tension on it again.
How can you tell when a chain is shot and it needs to be replaced, besides for it breaking of course?
Aaron
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Especially if you are a more spirited rider. If you are running a chain on ...lets say... hi torque mode and it lets loose, that'll wreck your ass in short order. Things that may be an inconvenience in one instance can be catastrophic in others.
I wonder if a chain did let loose on an Energica when under high power, how quickly it'd be able to catch itself before shit starts flying out the walls of the motor or tranny? God help you that bastard locks the rear tire though.
I was doing a heavy horse run on my bike today, nice and cool out, fkn wind, holy shit is that a menace at 3D speeds. When I got home, I could hear my chain rattling at lower speeds, so, umm, yah I probably need to adjust the tension on it again.
How can you tell when a chain is shot and it needs to be replaced, besides for it breaking of course?
Aaron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQz2kIiJZ6k&t=38s
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One thing he didn't mention is, IF your chain adjuster is all the way out.
THe back slack, can be taken up easily by adjusting your chain tension.
I have also heard people say that as long as the guide rods?? between the links are not worn hard that you can see them, you can actually take a link out of the chain, wind the tensioner all the way back in, and readjust and still use the chain until the end of the next tension span. Other people say that's crazy and a good way to snap a chain and hurt yourself. But then why a user servicable master link if not then?
Just want to try to stay safe, although sometimes it's hard to see the way I ride ! :D
Aaron
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With a chain gauge you can measure the actual lengthening. Something like this: https://tsubaki.eu/products/chain/tools/chain-wear-indicator/
If you measure in 4 places of the chain you get a good impression of the state the chain is in.
Usually the chain should be changed if the lengthening reached 1 % which is quite a whopping 20 mm on our 2 m long chain.
The less lengthening you tolerate before changing, the higher the chance you don't need to change the sprockets as well.
As described, the HPE was perfect at 10,000. Then rattling began at 13,000. Several tensionings in shortening intervals, death at 14,000.
So, a rattling chain which was quite before might indicate a beginning demise.
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I got about 6k on my Chain and have taken up oh maybe 6 or 7 mm so not much.
Just seems odd that you measure and adjust, go around the block and the measurements change a mm or 2. I find that if it's too tight the thing makes a shit ton of noise, very mechanical noisy, but being a mm or so looser runs a lot quieter. In the end Im thinking being a bit loose if one must be off perfection is better than too tight.
What would tear up a chain more, high torque starts, or constant high load like running WOT for miles? Im thinking the high T starts would booger it up more since it's a sudden hard stretch where the high speed, although it's under a lot of power, it's constant.
FWIW I have my traction control set at 3, I really don't like doing wheelies at 80 MPH if I can help it :D
Aaron
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In short, yes, load peaks destroy a chain faster than smooth running.
So does bad alignment, insufficient lubrication, debris between the gliding surfaces.
The long version (sorry for lecturing):
As far as I understand, chain wear is not linear (like a brake-pad), but increasing exponentially. Small locations of wear widen over time, non-worn surfaces get smaller and smaller and at some point it cascades. Generally wear is accellerated by high mechanic stresses like high torque (dragster racing style starts but in our case also high regeneration). A badly aligned chain wears faster as the load is not distributed evenly but concentrated on one side.
The job of the lube is to hinder the direct contact of the gliding surfaces. Otherwise, if they rub against each other, there is microwelding and tearing, destroying the surface. But lubes are degrading under mechanical and thermal stress (cracking of molecules). Or the lube is diluted by solvents (chain cleaner). Or hydrolysed by water ingress.
That's why I found the Regina HPE so appealing, they are marketing these chain with the claim of a special surface coating that makes wet lubrication nearly unnecessary. From my job Iknow glide bearings made of PTFE or special bronze for industrial applications which are running fine, so I regarded this claim as valid.
How does your rear tyre look right now? I think the wear of the rear tyre should tell quite well how your riding style is. It sounds logic: If the tyre is worn early, normally the chain should be worn as well. I am getting more than 11,000 km out of my tyre (Pirelli DR III), from that you can deduct that I am far away from being a serious racer.
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My rear tire is unfortunately new. I picked up a piece of glass or something that slit the old one to the point where it would not patch and had to replace it at about 4k miles. The front tire is looking well... pretty pristine.
I take the bike on track, and ride it hard at times. No I don't do burnouts and wheelies etc but do put some decent acceleration on it.
When passing people I don't like to f..k around all day in the other lane so will romp it to get over get around and get back.
Aaron