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Would you change your sprockets if you are going to replace chain


VFR80025th

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I just had my chain slack adjusted.

2nd time in about 5000kms.

My mechanic pointed out that the chain was adjsuted but  it goes up and down slightly  when rotating the wheel. Which he showed me (stretching)

He said he's seen chains a lot worse and I keep it lubed every 500kms.

 

I probably can finish the summer but would you put in a new chain without changing sprockets.

It doesn't make sense to me to put a new chain on sprockets with 25,000kms of wear.

 

What do you guys think?

 

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How many miles do you have on the chain and sprockets? Did I read it right and you have 25,000 kilometers?

Hopefully not, that's way too early to be changing out a well lubed chain. And it's not unusual for a chain to

have tight spots. I don't think I've ever seen one that was perfect, seems like all of mine on any bike have tight

spots. Find the tight spot and adjust the chain slack at that point.

 

Sure, I usually change the chain without changing sprockets. Doesn't really affect my chain wear that much.

I usually change the sprockets every other chain change. That's unless the sprockets look really bad. But I

also don't try to get the mileage out of a chain that some people do. I figure around 20,000-25,000 miles out of a chain

is good enough for me.

 

But I'm a frugal guy and hate to spend money unnecessarily.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Urbanengineer what you forgot to mention is that people racing are replacing chains very regularly and do very few miles compared to a road rider.

 

After working the the industry for too long to remember, I would advise anyone changing a chain or sprockets to do both at the same time.

 

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4 hours ago, VARIABLE9 said:

Streetbikes, change them all at the same time. They wear in together. 

 

No they do not.  The C/S sprocket will always wear first.  Think about the force that 16 or 17 teeth have to deal with compared to the same force spread out over 45 or 46 teeth.  I replace the front sprocket (which is also the cheapest at 12 to 16$) once in a set.  It will look like waves crashing on the surf, while the rear still looks good.  Nicely extends the life of the expensive chain.

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7 hours ago, VARIABLE9 said:

Streetbikes, change them all at the same time. They wear in together. 

 

3 hours ago, Captain 80s said:

 

No they do not.  The C/S sprocket will always wear first.  

 

C-80's,

I believe that V9 said they wear in together, not that they wear at the same rate. You may be correct that the c/s sprocket wears quicker that the rear one but that hasn't been my experience.

 

Considering how long a decently maintained chain & sprocket set last on a VFR not changing as a set seems imprudent. The cost per mile is far less than for tires or fuel.

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On 7/4/2018 at 11:38 AM, Captain 80s said:

 

No they do not.  The C/S sprocket will always wear first.  Think about the force that 16 or 17 teeth have to deal with compared to the same force spread out over 45 or 46 teeth.  I replace the front sprocket (which is also the cheapest at 12 to 16$) once in a set.  It will look like waves crashing on the surf, while the rear still looks good.  Nicely extends the life of the expensive chain.

Sure, maybe. Your bike your choice, I’d just do them all at once. What I wrote wasn’t “they all wear in evenly together”, I just said they wear in together i.e. they all start to wear and degrade once you start to use them. So your 20,000mi chain on a brand new front and a 20,000mi rear is just as mismated as if you left the 20,000mi front sprocket on it. You’re just buying time and ‘saving money’. YRMV. 

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