► Chain failures: 43 so far and still counting

  • Thread starter Thread starter Elvie
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this is important so if anyone knows it would be appreciated. just had new chain and sprockets fitted and are tight and loose parts of the chain. the non BMW guys said the rear sprocket was faulty. they measured it wasn't the same all the way round.

am i right in thinking there should be no tight and loose spots on a new chain?
 
scubascuba3 said:
am i right in thinking there should be no tight and loose spots on a new chain?
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There should be no tight sections on your chain.

The cause is likely to be:

  • eccentric sprocket
  • sprocket not mounted centrally
  • inadequate lubrication of chain

Were there tight spots when it was first fitted?

Greg
 
scubascuba3 said:
this is important so if anyone knows it would be appreciated. just had new chain and sprockets fitted and are tight and loose parts of the chain. the non BMW guys said the rear sprocket was faulty. they measured it wasn't the same all the way round.

am i right in thinking there should be no tight and loose spots on a new chain?
Click to expand...

Where on earth did you get the chain and sprockets from - are they new? In 40 years of biking I have never heard of so many problems with chains as on this bike! I would be amazed if anyone could produce an egg shaped sprocket in this day and age and it can only be mounted in one position so I reckon it must be another crap chain. What make is it - and take it back to whoever these 'non BMW' guys are.
 
lunchbox said:
so I reckon it must be another crap chain. What make is it - and take it back to whoever these 'non BMW' guys are.
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But new chains, whatever the brand, don't have tight spots when they come out of the box. If the chain itself has gone tight, that can only be caused by dirt ingress and/or inadequate lubrication.

Greg
 
The chain is brand new - DID x ring, heavy duty, bike is still in the garage where it was fitted. The rear sprocket isn't noticably egg shaped, I can't even see it but when they rotate the back wheel they showed me the chain had tight spots and loose spots, and remember sprocket and chain is brand new.

Are you saying then that on a brand new chain and sprockets there should be no tight or loose spots? i.e. even right the way round when new.

What other reason would it do that? they checked the chain and said its very good quality but said it was the rear sprocket. The back wheel was checked in case it was that and it was fine.

Could it be anything else?
 
When the chain came out of the box, it will have had no stiff links anywhere along its length. So if the bike hasn't been ridden yet with this new chain, the problem is not likely to be the chain itself.

So the chain is now on the bike. When you refer to tight spots, I assume that you really mean that the tension in the chain is changing as the rear wheel is rotated. If that's the case, you're going to see three possibilities:

  1. The chain goes tight when the rear wheel is in the same point of its rotation
  2. The chain goes tight multiple times as you rotate the rear wheel - mark the front sprocket with some Tippex and see if the tension increases when the front sprocket in at the same point of its rotation
  3. the tension increases when the chain is in the same position as the wheel rotates

Identify which of the above applies and that will point you to the problem.

Greg
 
i can't check that as its in the garage. I've ordered a replacement rear sprocket,if that doesn't do the trick I'm snookered
 
DID chain should be high quality. It is a simple job to check to rear sprocket for roundness - just use a pair of calipers or a ruler from the axle centre and spin the wheel, you can see if there is a variation in run out. I presume your garage has done this. Where did you get the sprocket from and are you exchanging it at their cost because you should - Sale of Goods Act 1979;-

http://webarchive.nationalarchives....whatwedo/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html

It would be useful if you let forum members know who is selling unsatisfactory kit and what their response is to your complaint as this is the best way to put pressure on poor retail practice. (Unfortunately if it is a BMW part then it could take a long time for them to admit anything as long-term followers of this thread will know!)
 
I'm giving the co. the opportunity to send me a replacement before i name and shame them. i'll keep you posted
 
The co sent me the same make in rear sprocket which had the same fault so I had to wait for a 3rd rear sprocket to be sent from a different manufacturer. However this did cost me more labour and I had to buy a train ticket for a week which wasn't cheap. I've decided not to name them as their customer service was good.

FYI the good quality sprocket I'd recommend is

JTR6.42
SAE 1045/49/SCM415
from jtsprockets.com
 
Thanks for the recommendation scuba but, more to the point, what is the make of the rear sprocket that was faulty? How much did you pay for the good one by the way?
 
I didn't pay anything the supplier replaced free

The faulty one was:

from Powerite sprockets
part no.3421242
size 525-42
 
Does anyone know what the chain recall number is? I want to find out if it's been done to my 08 F650GS.
Cheers
 
My letter listed Recall Campaign No. 10-155, Chain and Sprockets.

The work order listed Recall: 3300110(012).

Both, either or neither might apply (this is Canada).

Mike
 
I've just checked my chain and it's stamped CZ. Should all our bikes have had this recall or do we only get the chain changed if we kick up a fuss??
I bought my 08 F650 GS in September with only 240 miles(yes 240!!) on the clock, it now has over 3000. By some of the CZ standards this has lasted quite well so I'm going to replace it, but was wondering if BMW should have already done this for me.
 
GUZZZI said:
I've just checked my chain and it's stamped CZ. By some of the CZ standards this has lasted quite well so I'm going to replace it, but was wondering if BMW should have already done this for me.
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I think you'll find that the original crap CZ chain was replaced in the recall with a less crap CZ chain.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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