Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech another dumb chain question

I was looking at dennis kirk and found this, RK GB525XSO Sealed Ring Chain. Does sealed ring mean it does not need to lubed on regular basis and make a mess out of everything and will any 525 chain fit our bikes?

The chain you are looking at Dennis Kirk for comes in two lengths, 110 or 120 links. You need 112 links. A betterer place to buy this chain would be from fasteddy or Brent. The chain Eddy offers is a RK 525XSO

The chain being an x ring chain (all RK chains ending in XSO are x ring chains) does not need to be lubricated. That said the chain need lubrication. To help keep it clean and to help keep the outsize of the seals pliable and lastly to keep the chain from rusting. The lube captured by the x-rings will never be touched by you. That is the only part that does not need lubrication. The rest of the chain does. Lube at least every 500 miles. Manufacturers recommend every 300 miles.

If you want a 99% maintenance free chain, install a ScottOiler.

Now would someone explain what the difference is between the RK chains?

525XSO

vs

GB525XSO

That is what does 'GB' stand for?

Cue Ian.

I disagree, I think lube on an X ring chain actually attracts dirt where as a dry chain will not hold dirt on it.I ran a normal life span on my X ring chain and ran with no lube. (I can't remember but it was around 23,000 miles I think)When I replaced it the rear sprocket showed no visible wear at all and the front only very slight wear. The chain still had some life left too but I had already bought the new set so changed it. My new set hasn't seen any lube yet either.

I get a bit of rust on the outside of my chain if i don't keep some lube on it. I think it helps with the chain to sprocket contact area too. Chain wax does not attract dirt and keeps it looking like new.

I still think Ian is dabbling in dark arts........

I think the dirt that would stick to the lube would act as an abrasive causing more wear to the sprockets. What kind of wear has anyone had with lube on the sprockets at similar mileage to what I had? I still have my old set hanging on the wall.

Well Ian, you the chain lord for sure.

I tried your method of chain abuse, er chain maintenance this past South West Triumph Fest. 6300 miles in 14 days lubing the chain twice. The chain died at the 14000 mile mark. 15 months.

Well, DUH. Your downfall was lubing it twice.

I only lube mine when im in the mood.

I use Liquid Performance Chain Lube with PTFE (teflon) and other miracle compounds (should help lube the x-rings) around 500-1000 miles or so... It dries and isn't sticky. It also makes me feel better , like I'm doing the right thing, whether it helps the chain/sprockets life or not. I got 17,500 miles or so from the original set, but should have replaced them a little sooner.

I'm leaning towards Ian's camp here, almost 23k and still minimal visible wear on mine. I use DuPont's dry Teflon lube when I remember but I definitely exceed any 500 or even 1000 mi. routine. Like Ian, I also think those sticky chain lubes turn your chain into a file wearing down the sprockets at an advanced rate.

Ilube mine about 3-500 miles and i get 30,000 miles outof a chain. I am on my 4th chain and have 108,000 miles on bike. Been using DID chain kits from Drive systems usa.

108,000 miles?! Nice going!!!!

I just checked their website and didn't see a kit for the TBA.

The Sprocket center is cheaper

http://www.sprocketcenter.com/p/1005508/...---triumph.html

Fast Eddy is the one to buy from BUT only if you want RK chains. The other two choices above are for DID chains. fwiw..