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BMW Motorrad Says It's Made A Zero-Maintenance Chain

5K views 41 replies 27 participants last post by  mobilemike 
#1 · (Edited)
#26 ·
BMW Reliability? Don't ask me my opinion.

When they figure out how to make final drives that are reliable, maybe then they'll have some credibility regarding a magical new chain.
I agree. I spent more time/money/effort than I care to admit repairing/rebuilding/replacing parts on the one single sided swing arm model I owned.

It definitely made me smile when I was riding it. However, It will take more than a press release to get me to buy another BreakMyWallet bike again.

In the end I was just tired of fixing it. And it was THE reason I bought an FJR
 
#5 ·
Call me a skeptic for the moment. Other chain manufacturers have developed link coatings as well.... chain maintenance is way less than it used to be and isn't really a hardship like it was in the old days.
So, will BMW warranty the chain for life? I'll betcha there would be a few conditions.....
 
#6 ·
It sounds like alot of marketing spin to me...wear on the pins and bushings when the sealing rings fail, grease escapes and dirt enters might be more of a factor than roller wear, which I think is generally true of chains...they wear from the inside out. Being maintenance free, more often than not that means people will neglect it, meaning a shorter service life and perhaps higher cost of replacement.
 
#7 ·
I agree. I never had a chain fail due to rollers going bad. Every chain I have had failed because the X ring would eventually fail allowing the lubricant to leak out. Last chain I replaced I was absolutely meticulous about frequently cleaning and lubricating it with Motul products. Made no difference - got about the same miles as I did with previous chains that I wasn't as meticulous with. Grit gets on the X rings and will eventually destroy them no matter what you do.
 
#9 ·
My last chain on my CB 1100 went 36,909 miles. The one on the FZ-1 before it went 35,000 miles and I'm not easy on them (spelled not adjusted, cleaned or lubed as often as the manual says). Figuring the average rider rides less than 5000 miles a year that's 7 or 8 years and it seems the majority of owners don't keep a bike that long. So BMW's chain will "probably" last the life of the original owners time with their bike.
 
#10 ·
That's pretty impressive. I'm pretty fussy about keeping my chain clean and lubricated on my bikes and have never gotten more than 35,000 km or so from a chain set. I always found that they developed tight spots by then, so would change them out proactively. Had 2 FZ1's in the past also, and same thing, 30-35,000 km and time for new chain and sprockets. Maybe I should be running my chains longer or just not clean them so much?:rolleyes:
 
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#11 ·
Once a year, remove the front sprocket cover and look for "spare" o-rings...... I think it best to give a little attention to preventing that if you can, but agree, not much maintenance needed... if you have a dirt bike, then there's less hope due to all the grit.
 
#12 ·
I'm guessing you are a little harder on the acceleration from a dead stop, banging thru the gears, and down shifting quickly multiple times to take advantage of engine braking more than I do lol. All of those are tough on chains.

Today's chains really don't need much lubrication..mainly light lubing to keep the side plates from rusting, and very little adjustment over their life depending on how they are treated. Mine mainly get adjusted when putting on a new rear tire, so about 8-10,000 miles between adjustments. They really are light years ahead of the chains we had in the 60's. 70's 80's and 90's. They are excellent as far as chains go.

Thing is, a shaft system will go many many times as long as the longest lasting chain and sprockets on a few ounces of oil and some grease once in awhile.

Who here would buy a chain drive car? (BTW Honda used to make one)
 
#14 ·
If the chain doesn't wear, {stretch} then the sprockets should last pretty much forever as well.
 
#19 ·
It shouldn't in a perfect world Dub. Once this so called miraculous chain is installed and seated it should not effect the sprocket whatsoever.

But I know the world ain't perfect!! Lol, my last name is O'Brien and have always wanted to see/visit Ireland!! My Pops came here as a "wee little thing" lol.
 
#21 ·
I've never had an O/X ring chain I owned from new go less than 40,000 miles.
The DID on my GPZ was somewhere north of 54K, still in spec and kinkless when I sold the bike.
Yes, I did use many cans of PJ1 Blue Label over the years, so there's that maintenance. I also had to adjust it once or maybe twice (since it got adjusted at every tire change anyway).
Incidentally, I replaced the OEM chain on that bike at about 50K.
By comparison, we just got an '08 BMW F800ST to experiment with as a touring bike for the Missus. I checked with the dealer and it turns out that there's a recall needed for the rear wheel bearing setup. It's a single-sided swingarm so wheel bearings are a bigger deal that two-sided ones.
The price of the replacement parts package? $1200. Not labor, just the parts to rebuild the rear end of this belt-drive bike.
Good grief.
 
#22 ·
that makes sense in a perfect world philharmonic. Any time two things come in contact with each other there is bound to be some wear somewhere on the softer of the two surfaces. Just don't know how much, if it's enough to wear the sprockets or not. If they truly have overcome chain stretch (and it doesn't seem feasible), that would indeed be a game changer.
 
#29 ·
Well, there is a specification for chain wear, typically measured by length over 20 links (to reduce error). This measures the wear of the pins and plate holes to an acceptable limit.
Kinking is a separate sign of deterioration and a sign of rust or lubricant loss.
 
#30 ·
My old ZRX says in the service manual to hang a weight from the bottom run of the chain and measure the deflection. That would measure the wear as well. I used to lay my dirt bike chains on he floor and see how far they'd bend sideways. :laugh: Of course, they had clip type master links, and that was easy to accomplish.

I always wind up replacing them when they start weeping reddish matter from under the o-rings. That's been about 20,000 miles on the Kaw.
 
#31 ·
My FJR is my first shaft driven bike. All previous bikes have been chain driven. Chain maintenance is so easy. Nearly all my chains lasted about 25,000 miles. Replacing a chain is a piece of cake with the proper tools.
I always chuckle when I read about how some think a chain requires so much maintenance. They don’t need near the maintenance that some would have you think.
 
#36 ·
My FJR is my first shaft driven bike. All previous bikes have been chain driven. Chain maintenance is so easy. Nearly all my chains lasted about 25,000 miles. Replacing a chain is a piece of cake with the proper tools.
I always chuckle when I read about how some think a chain requires so much maintenance. They don't need near the maintenance that some would have you think.
People are spoiled rotten. Spritzing a chain every 500 miles or so and adjusting it with each oil change is just soooo difficult :laugh: I toured on an FJ1200 for 11 years and just spritzed the chain with whatever chainlube I had at the time. I'd check the adjustment before leaving and never messed with it on the trip.

Getting a bit off the track here, but since it's a BMW thread, it probably doesn't matter.
Here's a blurry capture of the ZRX manual chain wear check method described above. Good info, if you aren't going on your FJR today.
Thanks. That's what I was referring to above, but I'm 1200 miles from home right now and didn't want to run home and scan that. :) I just adjust it properly then see how much I can pull off the back of the rear sprocket. So far I've not worn one out; I replace it when it starts weaping rusty looking stuff from under the seals.
 
#33 ·
Getting a bit off the track here, but since it's a BMW thread, it probably doesn't matter.
Here's a blurry capture of the ZRX manual chain wear check method described above. Good info, if you aren't going on your FJR today.
 

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#35 ·
I had a 1982 GS750 T for a bunch of years and it had a 630 chain. I replaced it somewhere along the way. I had two issues and I don't remember if they were separate or happened with each other. I wasn't meticulous with chain maintenance. It was a used bike when I got it and lubing the chain always made somewhat a mess. Chain lubes have got more clingy and better since I had the bike. I had an issue with the chain jumping. Turned out the front sprocket looked something like a saw blade as the teeth had a pronounced curve that should not have been there. The sprocket was multi piece in that it had a rubber on each side with washers bolted together. The chain actually rode on the rubbers and the teeth of the sprocket pulled the chain. I don't' know if it made for a quieter drive or not. I put the same new OEM sproket on it. I remember riding and hearing a funny ping. I'm not sure if I thought it was the chain or not at the time. Inspection of the chain revealed missing rollers! The ping was the roller(s) taking flight and hitting the swing arm or.... I don't remember how many were missing, at least two.



The bike was gifted to my son after a time and a different owner who didn't fix the spun rod bearing, just took off a bunch of the accessories. A donor motor , father and son wrenching and the bike had a new life back in the family. We trailered the bikes to Arkansas for a week of riding. We stopped on the "Pig trail" at Turners bend for patches, Tshirts, a break and refreshment. I glanced down at the rear sprocket on the GS and noticed that the masterlink clip was missing! A sort of OH ****! moment! Remembering we had been having a peg scraping good time just before! One of our companions had some stranded copper wire we stripped to wrap around the masterlink where the clip was supposed to be. We got back to the Hotel without issue, who knows how long the clip had been gone. The link plate was a very tight fit on the link pins and I remember it needed some serious squeezing to get nested to allow the clip to go on.
We stopped at several bike shops looking for a clip. Nobody had a 630 master link! Finally found one at a John Deer dealer. A no 60 chain clip did the job perfect. Only used the clip from the master link we bought. We had some great days of riding from our hotel in Eureka Springs. I hope to go back there again one of these years.
 
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#37 ·
I buy X-ring chains for the VFR. V4's are known to be somewhat hard on chains, and all I do once I install the chain, is lube it with chain wax once every 2-400 miles and thats it. In the year where the chain starts to stretch i may have to tighten it once, maybe twice.....but I'll get 25k miles out of one. That, to me, is almost maintenance free..haha.
 
#38 ·
Altriderrr, I know I'll never change your mind, because we tend to do things that work for us and then repeat it our entire lives, but you really don't need to lube your O or X ring chain every 200-400 miles. Prior to O ring and X ring chains lubing that often was a good idea to keep the rollers moving freely. But with O ring and X ring chains, as long as you don't ride in the rain, you only need to lube the chain if it gets looking dry. It is internally lubricated and you are simply trying to keep the side plates from rusting. If not ridden in the rain, once a month is plenty lubrication for an O ring or X ring chain. Some guys NEVER lube them and still get 25,000 miles out of them.
 
#39 ·
For reference, I lube every other tank of gas, and anytime it gets wet.
It rains here plenty most years.
That's good for 40K+.
 
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