Should I replace chain?

[Bluebusa60544]

My bike has 12k miles on it and I’m planning trip in April. I haven’t measured stretch yet but chain looks good. My concern is how quickly a new chain will stretch. The first day of my trip will be Chicago to Austin Texas. 1100 miles to qualify for IBA certification. 1000+ miles in 24 hours is not going to leave me time to be adjusting chain. The total trip will be close to 2 weeks and 5000 miles so I want to change it but with Chicago weather I don’t know how many miles I’m gonna be able to put on it before the trip. Should I change it, adjust a little tight before leaving and adjust again in Texas?
Chain shows no signs of being worn and has required adjusting only once. Sprockets look good. Would you just run the old one and change it when you get back?
I know I need to measure how much it has stretched before making a decision so I guess what I’m asking is how quick a new chain will stretch before reaching it’s “happy place”?

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

No. ‘no signs of being worn’ ‘sprockets look good’. And don’t ‘adjust it a little tight’ either. Have a good trip!

 

[jeffgordons24]

Yep Wuzza is correct. Also you have to remember it isn't so much miles that cause chain stretch as it is the start / stop / start / stop. Once at cruising speed the load is not as severe on chains or sprockets. Its like the old highway miles vs city miles on a vehicle. Good Luck on your quest!

 

[Bailey9r]

In other words your trip will be less stress/wear on your chain than your normal life. bring good lube with you and time it with food stops cause you need to let it sit 30 minutes to "dry" before riding.

 

[sixpack577]

...but it takes 5 minutes to adjust a chain.
And, if the old sprockets aren't hooked/worn out, and the old chain has no tight links and has been taken care of, why replace it?

Also, adjusting a chain "a little tight" is a terrible idea. Not only does it cause premature wear, as well as extra stress on the output shaft, but it prevents the rear shock from being able to travel it's full range.

 

[jeffgordons24]

In other words your trip will be less stress/wear on your chain than your normal life. bring good lube with you and time it with food stops cause you need to let it sit 30 minutes to "dry" before riding.

Yep I have forgotten that 30 mins on many many occasions. Lets just say getting that crap off is nearly impossible.

 

[busabobh]

18000 miles on my chain still in good shape, I clean and lube a lot.

 

[busabobh]

18000 miles on my chain still in good shape, I clean and lube a lot.

 

[ali123]

My bike has 12k miles on it and I’m planning trip in April. I haven’t measured stretch yet but chain looks good. My concern is how quickly a new chain will stretch. The first day of my trip will be Chicago to Austin Texas. 1100 miles to qualify for IBA certification. 1000+ miles in 24 hours is not going to leave me time to be adjusting chain. The total trip will be close to 2 weeks and 5000 miles so I want to change it but with Chicago weather I don’t know how many miles I’m gonna be able to put on it before the trip. Should I change it, adjust a little tight before leaving and adjust again in Texas?
Chain shows no signs of being worn and has required adjusting only once. Sprockets look good. Would you just run the old one and change it when you get back?
I know I need to measure how much it has stretched before making a decision so I guess what I’m asking is how quick a new chain will stretch before reaching it’s “happy place”?

12k miles... but how many years has it been on there? are u sure ure looking closely at the sprocket/chain... they tend to wear together.

 

[Nastee]

My bike has 12k miles on it and I’m planning trip in April. I haven’t measured stretch yet but chain looks good. My concern is how quickly a new chain will stretch. The first day of my trip will be Chicago to Austin Texas. 1100 miles to qualify for IBA certification. 1000+ miles in 24 hours is not going to leave me time to be adjusting chain. The total trip will be close to 2 weeks and 5000 miles so I want to change it but with Chicago weather I don’t know how many miles I’m gonna be able to put on it before the trip. Should I change it, adjust a little tight before leaving and adjust again in Texas?
Chain shows no signs of being worn and has required adjusting only once. Sprockets look good. Would you just run the old one and change it when you get back?
I know I need to measure how much it has stretched before making a decision so I guess what I’m asking is how quick a new chain will stretch before reaching it’s “happy place”?

Never take an untested/proven gun on a hunt. What you have works change it when trip is over. Mine had 12k plus; removed inspected it was still fine.

 

[Ronan]

Be careful, the chain on my busa broke at 24 Kkm(15kmiles) last year.I was lucky : no accident. I regularly adjust it not tight and put good lub. The previous one had been changed at the same distance. A weak link is enough to break it. I'll change the new one to 20Kkm(12kmiles).

 

[Lodi]

Consider side to side flex of a worn chain too. I’ve seen enough where the chain could be pushed over to touch the tire.

 

[bussassin417]

Good info guys !

I also have plans for a long trip soon.

Just had both sprockets and chain upgraded. I will definitely put ~400 "local" miles on, adjust, clean and lube before long trip.

Thanks again.

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

Take a small can of lube on trips and lube at day’s end (or) after 500 miles or so while chain is still warm. For those w/o a center stand, a Quick Stand works very well. It may be available other places too but I found mine here. Don’t know why the site shows up in miniature.

http://www.motorcycleradar.com/quick_stand.htm

 

[Bagherra]

Good luck on your trip!!!

Pix!!!

 

[Mythos]

Should I change it, adjust a little tight before leaving and adjust again in Texas?
Chain shows no signs of being worn and has required adjusting only once. Sprockets look good. Would you just run the old one and change it when you get back?
I know I need to measure how much it has stretched before making a decision so I guess what I’m asking is how quick a new chain will stretch before reaching it’s “happy place”?

I wouldn't overtighten it ever. I think that will make any chain stretch to normal tension in a short time and then it will undergo normal loosening from sprocket wear and normal chain stretch. You're just reducing the life of the new chain and wearing the sprockets and possibly the countershaft bearings if you over tighten the chain.

My worn out chain looked almost like new. The measurement was what indicated the need to change it. If the sprockets look good and you have only tightened it once, I would run it as is. It would seem unlikely any chain that was tightened one time would need to be replaced.

The EK Chain I installed about 7 years ago has only needed to be tightened about 4 times in 25000 miles. The first two adjustments were in the first few thousand miles.