vijay Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 I know this is probably a dumb question ... but I'd like to know if it would help. If what I have read about chains and sprockets holds true it seems like the bigger chain and sprocket the longer they should last. That is, all things being equal (material, manufacturing, maintenance, tension and lubrication etc.) then a 525 chain set should last longer than a 520 and a 530 should last longer than a 525 and so on. I really don't care if I lose a horsepower or 3, if I can gain an additional 10-15,000 miles or more in chain life. I doubt my "Butt Dyno" can't really feel the difference. And if it becomes important to me ... I'll just have to figure out a way to lose 7 lbs. Seriously, if I can fit a 530 or even 630 chain and sprocket set to my FJ-09 instead of a 525 I just don't see a real downside. Prices seem fairly close. I'd appreciate any wisdom anyone can impart to me on this. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcal616 Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 No point...chain becomes heavier as it goes up in size... 520 sized chains offer the best coverage in terms of availability at local Powersports stores and sprocket sizes... 525 chain, I dunno why yamaha picked this size...also as the chain size gets bigger it gets wider and taller... Chain life is dependent on maintenance, care, usage, tension, etc... getting 12-15k miles outta the stock chain and sprocket is good enough... I'm going to 520 size when it's time to replace the OEM chain and sprockets... 2012 wr250f - C-class 30+ age group 2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition-80whp 2015 fj-09- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich tune by 2WDW @120whp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vijay Posted November 9, 2017 Author Share Posted November 9, 2017 Chain life is dependent on maintenance, care, usage, tension, etc... getting 12-15k miles outta the stock chain and sprocket is good enough... I'm going to 520 size when it's time to replace the OEM chain and sprockets... Norcal616: Thanks for your thoughts but I am looking for longer life. On the average I put closer to 35 -40,000 miles on a bike and really am trying to avoid changing the chain and sprockets 2 or more likely 3 times at the cost of several hundred dollars. So my goal is very straightforward ... longest lasting chain I can get and everything I read seems to indicate that (again all things being equal) ... the bigger the chain the longer the life. So I am looking to most likely go up. Unless some manufacturer's chain is so superior that it will outlast the others. My experience on my WeeStrom (DL650) however ... is that the 525 chain lasted A LOT longer than the 520. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member britelitebob Posted November 9, 2017 Premium Member Share Posted November 9, 2017 There are different grades of chain that you can get without changing the size so if you're just looking for long life the easiest thing to do is go with a high-end chain like a DID Super Street or an EK-Z series chain. They cost more but if you'd rather be riding than messing around with chains its money well spent. BLB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vijay Posted November 9, 2017 Author Share Posted November 9, 2017 There are different grades of chain that you can get without changing the size so if you're just looking for long life the easiest thing to do is go with a high-end chain like a DID Super Street or an EK-Z series chain. They cost more but if you'd rather be riding than messing around with chains its money well spent.That is good information. But would indicate if I could fit a DID Super Street or EK-Z series chain in a 530 or even 630 size on the FJ I would get even more mileage. I am willing to spend the very minimal difference between a 530 and a 525 chain if I can fit the 530 chain on. Can you tell me if that would fit?? Thank you for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crempel Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Chain size numbers are very easy to figure out if you know what they mean. The first number, the pitch, whether it’s a five or six, refers to how many eighths of an inch there are between the pin centers. Any chain that starts with a five whether it’s five 525 or 530, have 5/8 of an inch between the pin centers. Any chain that starts with a six has 6/8 or 3/4 of an inch between pin centers. The second two numbers refer to how many 1/8ths of an inch it is wide. A 520 is 2/8 or 1/4 of an inch wide. A 525 is 2 1/2 8ths inch wide and 530 is 3/8 of an inch wide. As some other people have already mentioned, bigger is not always better. I actually went with a 520 when my 525 stock chain wore out. I have about the same number of miles on my 520 as I did when I replace the 525 and the smaller size is still in great shape. I haven’t adjusted it at all in over 6000 miles. As with many other things in life, quality will trump quantity. I do understand your question though, will a bigger chain of identical quality always outlast a smaller chain? In my opinion, the answer is probably. But like with many other things in life, nothing happens in a vacuum. If you go to a bigger chain, whether it is pitch or width, you have to start factoring in whether it will physically fit and cause other issues. I understand that you don’t care about any performance disadvantages that it might have, and I get that. Is the shaft and the seal on which the countershaft sprocket is mounted specifically engineered to handle the extra rotating weight of a 630 chain when the bike came stock with the 525? Is the transmission engineered with that mass in mind? Will it still shift as well as it would with a smaller chain? I understand that you only keep motorcycles for a certain amount of time. Certainly you go through quite a number of sets of tires in that time and replacing a set of chain and sprockets is roughly the same cost as a set of tires. It’s also much easier to do in your garage since you don’t need specialized equipment. I guess I just don’t understand what the big aversion to replacing a chain and sprockets is. The best way to avoid changing chains and sprockets too often is maintenance. Just my $0.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vijay Posted November 11, 2017 Author Share Posted November 11, 2017 Crempel: Thank you for your very well stated reply with reasoning. Never once did I ever contemplated the questions you asked; specifically ... "Is the shaft and the seal on which the countershaft sprocket is mounted specifically engineered to handle the extra rotating weight of a 630 chain when the bike came stock with the 525? Is the transmission engineered with that mass in mind? Will it still shift as well as it would with a smaller chain?" Outstanding points that I never considered ... probably because my 4 cats and 2 horses, and pet skunk are all more mechanically minded than I am. Now that you have me thinking about those issues I will do some checking up on them and make a decision. I don't want to do anything that affects or effects the silky smooth engine of that FJ. Thank you again for your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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