Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Remove Replace Chain

My dealer has ordered me a new chain under warranty cause he feels that that is the problem with some roughness/dragging that is apparent in the bike in the low gears. he says its there all the time and I just dont notice it with more power/torque applied.

He said the chain coming from Triumph is an "endless chain" and he will have to remove the swingarm to put it on. so basically there is no master link in the chain that he is referring to. Are these chains standard on our bikes?

I thought I had seen some easy means of R & R chain and front sprocket/loosening the rear axle of course and kicking the wheel forward a bit and then holding the brake on the bike and removing the chain/sprocket as a single unit saving time and aggravation. Am I correct in this?

"Endless chains" are oem on our sickles. The swingarm must be removed to install an endless chain. (QPD requires swingarm removal too).

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I thought I had seen some easy means of R & R chain and front sprocket/loosening the rear axle of course and kicking the wheel forward a bit and then holding the brake on the bike and removing the chain/sprocket as a single unit saving time and aggravation. Am I correct in this?

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No. Your thought mixes two techniques. Other than removing the swingarm, you have to cut the chain (push a pin through a plate) to remove it. The front sprocket nut should be loosened before rear wheel is moved forward.

Odd that the dealer is going the route of the endless chain. Most likely, Triumph Corporate requires it.

If you'd like, I have a complete chain tool that you can borrow. The tool has the capability to break the chain, press on the side plate of a new chain's master link, and to "rivet" the master link pins. Using a rivet-type master link is the strongest alternative to using an endless chain, and doesn't require swing-arm removal, and only took about half an hour or so to put the finishing touches on the chain. But to add on to what Moe is saying, installing your new chain and sprockets yourself is not at all that difficult.

Just for $$$$$ and grins....what is the part number typically used in a non endless chain on the speedmasters? Who is the best vendor for these?

I have a D.I.D 525 VM2 chain in ready standby, that is the same kind of chain that was specified in my owner's manual, I bought it online for $110 if I remember right. The chain I have on the bike right now is a generic Parts Unlimited X-ring chain that only cost $90, and is doing fine passing 13,000 miles. About the only difference that I can see between the two chains is that D.I.D. incorporates an anti-rust surface treatment on the plates, that's really about it.

Try:
http://www.parts411.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=9&Product_ID=28035&CATID=24

That's where I bought mine.

Once your warranty is up convert to a belt and forget about the chain. The QPD unit is the way to go.

If your dealer doesn't know about the Triumph chain tool set, it might be a good idea to see if there are any other Triumph shops nearby. Replacement chains come with the master link uninstalled, so they are going to have a hard time installing the new one without the tool.

Is there a link to this chain set tool on the forum somewhere?

I saw Chy's post in Final Drives of the Tech vault referencing a special tool he got from Moto-heaven. I would think every T dealer would be aware of a special tool that would make R & R of a chain less painful for them.

If you have a link or directions to this item I would be appreciative.

This is the tool that I bought:

http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/product~pf_id~5087627~dept_id~2118506.asp

Nothing special about the brand or the source, this, and other brand equivalents, should be commercially available through half a dozen motorcycle websites, just my personal preference to use bikebandit, because they are the shizzle. This tool will brake an installed chain, press a new master link side plate on, and "rivet" a rivet-type master link. I'm not at all aware of what a dealer would use on chains, they may have some high-tech gizmo, but I've never dealt with a dealer with regards to the chain and sprockets, but the tool listed above is easy to use, and gets the job done.

But.....this will not work on the Triumph "endless" chain correct? Cause it has no masterlink at all.

No, this tool won't make an "endless" chain, but for all we know, Triumph may buy endless chains from D.I.D. solely for the initial bike construction, and let the dealers and riders fend for themselves for regular replacement or warranty issues. If the warranty chain is "endless" like your first thread suggests, then the tool I showed will be useless, and they will have to do a swingarm removal.

Yes, it will work with the endless chain.
I could be wrong but my definition of "endless" chain means that it does not have a master link (one that can be removed and replaced at will). The replacement chain kit from Triumph is what I would call an endless chain. Once installed on the bike, the provided connecting link is riveted in place and becomes just another link in the chain, thus the term "endless".

Here's how they took off the factory chain on my bike at the dealer in Mesa(now in Tempe/Chandler). They took a die grinder with a cutoff wheel and ground off the heads of the rivets on one link. Then they punched out the pins using your typical chain tool for that job.

The new OEM chain and sprocket set they put on wasn't an endless chain. It was a 120 link they cut a few links off and installed.

When I get the new 17 tooth sprocket and take it in to the dealer I will mention this to him. I am still leary that a new chain is going to fix this "roughness" I feel. If it does fine...if not I believe they will need to dig into the gearbox and think about something in there.

The dealer left the chain way loose last week when I picked it up ....way looser than anyone wouod purposely leave it. He told me not to be surprised if the rougness felt worse with the chain so loose. He was right about that it was worse to the point that I tightened the chain a little bit.

The existing chain looks good all the way.....the rear sprocket has no signs of any burring or excessive wear. We'll see.

The bike has a new OEM endless chain installed by the dealer and a 17 tooth sprocket as well. The rough spot seems to have gone away.

I like the bike with the extended legs the 17 tooth gives it. I have put about 150 miles on it since its addition including an afternoon trip two up to Mt Lemmon @ around 10K altitude up at Summerhaven. Two lane twisty all the way up from the valley floor some 25 miles roughly. Stayed in 4th for most of the climb up and in third for some of the tigher areas. Toque was OK as long as the revs were kept in the sweet zone.

We had lunch at the Mt. Lemmon cafe and when leaving we had to pull out on a fair little incline....I did notice the longer legs as far as pull from a dead stop first gear on the hill.

I like her best riding one up though in the hills.

Gentlemen, Kevin has just described one of the great rides in all of America - going up Mt. Lemon!

"Sourpuss"

Trivia question. Which American Civil War General had a tendency to occasionally reach within his blouse and pull our a lemon to suck on?

Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson

I thought they listed a part number for the tool in the manual but they don't, so it is probably an off the shelf item. They show quite clearly how to use it in section 13 of the service manual. The labor cost using a chain breaker/riveter should be about 1/8 - 1/4 of what it would be to pull the swingarm and there is a lot less chance of buggaring up.

When this new chain wears out I will replace it with a non OEM of the non endless variety.

This was done under warranty and did not cost me a nickel.

Clanrickarde, you can use that tool on an endless chain. Read what was posted by the other members carefully and you will eventually understand what they are saying to you. You don't have to have a masterlink. You can press out any link with the chain tool.......Angelis

Wonder why the dealer does not have the good sense to do so then? It would seem providential to save oneself the extra labor.

Because labor=$$$$$$$$$$$$$$......Angelis

Mine was a warranty though. I'da thunk he would have wanted to make the job as painless and quick as possible so he could be on to a "paying customer" so to speak.

Triump corporate may have wanted the original uncut chain for their gurus to examine. Thus, the swingarm being dropped would not add any extra labour for the endless factory chain to be installed.

I got a factory chain/sprocket DID 525-112 package ordered off the microfische (Triumph genuine part A9618019). The chain came with a rivet link set (link, plate, x-rings). Of course, I got the Speedmaster 16 instead of a BA 17 or a newer Speedmaster 18.

Don't think you're going to find a DID 525-112 endless loop out of the box.

Not sure why the instructions about taking off the swingarm. I guess if you rivet the link before installing (I don't know who would, but maybe someone would) then you'd have to remove the swingarm.