Failed O-ring on OEM chain at 4,000 miles

[keithu]

My OEM chain lasted about 17k miles and all I ever did was brush a little gear oil on it every 1000 miles or so, sometimes less. One time I sprayed it down with some WD-40 and made a half-assed attempt to clean it, but I wasn't real thorough. The WD-40 was getting everywhere so I decided it was a bad idea.

Also, I ride in the rain a lot. 

Maybe all this "proper maintenance" you guys keep doing is the problem? That's the only thing that makes sense to me. 😎 

[metallion]

54 minutes ago, mellow said:

Mine didn't budge... said it was a wear issue and that's that... oh well.  I didn't really argue at all, I only go to a dealer one time during the life of my bikes and that's to pick it up.  They never see me again lol

That's exactly what the local dealer here about 8 miles away told me. I did not buy the bike from them. I just recalled how they botched up the handlebar recall on my old FJ-09 a few years back so maybe it's a good thing they denied me.

I then consulted with my dealer that i purchased the bike from about 100 miles away. They didn't think it would be covered but they offered to check into it and Yamaha approved. Sometimes i guess it worth a second attempt. I'm like you though. Unless it's a recall or warranty repair i usually never go back to a dealer after the purchase. 

[keithu]

If the chain failed in the first 1000 miles I would probably make some noise at the dealership. Much after that, and yeah I wouldn't expect it to be a warranty item, much like tires.

[mellow]

Mine never actually failed... just loose x-rings... probably 10 when I replaced it at 6k miles with the EK chain with the Death-Screws... It now has 6k on that chain so it won't be long now.. 😱

Edited October 27, 2020 by mellow

[metallion]

37 minutes ago, Clegg78 said:

I was doing cleaning on my chain (I am at 4000mi), and noticed the chain jump a bunch when spinning on the center stand just idle in 1st gear when I was spraying degreaser on the chain.   I didn't see any O-rings showing yet, but its clear a few links in the chain are binding up a bit.   I've replaced a number of chains over the years and have the tools for a proper master link setting (I do NOT trust screw style master links!!).   So I am going to order a higher end DID or EK chain for the bike over the winter.   Not sure what is up with the batch of chains on these 2019's but... they seem to be crap.

That's what i was going to, just order a new aftermarket DID chain and replace it myself. I just hope the replacement warranty chain is better than the OEM one was. I guess i'll find out next year. My chain also has 4 links that are bound up but only 1 visibly torn o-ring. 

[Rick123]

On 10/27/2020 at 3:14 PM, keithu said:

My OEM chain lasted about 17k miles and all I ever did was brush a little gear oil on it every 1000 miles or so, sometimes less. One time I sprayed it down with some WD-40 and made a half-assed attempt to clean it, but I wasn't real thorough. The WD-40 was getting everywhere so I decided it was a bad idea.

Also, I ride in the rain a lot. 

Maybe all this "proper maintenance" you guys keep doing is the problem? That's the only thing that makes sense to me. 😎 

I think you might be right on that but at the same time I'm wondering if all of you guys having chain issues had a chain adjusted to Yamaha specs (5-15mm free play)?!!!  I very rarely clean the chain but lubricate it every 500-600km. On my 2017 V Strom 650 I have 50000km (30000miles) on original chain and it still looks and works pretty good. I personally know another V Strom owner that never cleans the chain but lubricates it on every fill up and after riding in a rain. He gets 70000-80000km (50000miles) out of the chain. No, it is not a misprint.

Edited December 9, 2020 by Rick123

[metallion]

The Tracer and Tracer GT actually has a realistic chain spec of 35-45mm in the owners manual. Not like the 5-15mm guitar string spec of the earlier FJ-09. I keep my Tracer GT adjusted to 45mm. On my previous FJ-09 i kept it adjusted to 35mm. When i traded that bike in on the Tracer it had just under 10K. The chain was just starting to wear as to be expected but no torn or missing o-rings.

[johnmark101]

On 10/27/2020 at 3:14 PM, keithu said:

 

Maybe all this "proper maintenance" you guys keep doing is the problem? That's the only thing that makes sense to me. 😎 

I treated the OEM chain on this bike just as I have all other chains on the many bikes I have owned, yet it started shedding o-rings prematurely, so I don't think the proper maintenance I performed had anything to do with the chains early death.  I normally get good service life from my chains yet this one was done in less than half the mileage I would expect.

I worked In QC for Toyota Motor Manufacturing for 28 years.  Twenty of those were dealing with suppliers.  On rare occasions we would get a "batch" or "lot number" of parts from a supplier with a particular fault.  Seeing that many are having this issue while others are not,  it isn't out of the realm of possibility that the supplier (D.I.D) had a run of nonconforming parts.  For example maybe they had a machine in the process that fell out of calibration for a particular period, or maybe their sub supplier sent them a bad lot of o-rings.  One other thing to consider is that Yamaha probably required their supplier to provide parts at a price point in order to control per unit cost, and in order to secure the contract the supplier had to cut their cost somewhere, (this is why OEM tires are often not so great).   Our suppliers had to pass monitored capability studies in order to produce parts for us, and it was not an easy test to pass.  

This is one possible explanation for what we are seeing.   

[metallion]

The dealer replaced my chain this past weekend under warranty. Before i took it in i inspected the chain further and discovered a total of 4 o-rings were completely missing. They were obviously at the links that were already bound up. I would be interested to know if the owners with 2020 Tracers experience chain problems as they get more miles on them. 

[rockinsv]

I use Dupont Chain Saver, it cleans and lubes great. I got 22,000 miles out of my OEM chain and it was still going great, I just changed it for peace of mind while changing a rear tire.

[DavidS]

IMHO, having the dealer replace the crappy chain under warranty with another crappy chain isn't a very good solution. I haven't seen very good mileage out of the original chain. In fact I replaced the chain on my 2015 FJ09 at about 10K, and my Tracer GT at 12K. Neither were toast, but had links that were tight and the chain didn't work smoothly anymore.

The after market chains both lasted much longer (~20K miles) and I had less issues with them. Maybe ask the dealer to give you a deal on a new aftermarket chain? or ask for free installation if you pay for the new chain?

[peteinpa]

I wonder if the FZ-07 gets the exact same chain? When I traded mine at 10k miles it was perfect. With the FJ-09's extra HP and torque, it will wear faster.

Just looked it up, OEM the FZ-07 has a DID 525VZ.   

OEM FJ-09 has a DID 525V10. I "think" the FZ-07 gets a better chain with the "Z" designation.

[silverninja]

All very interesting.  The O-rings on my chain (2016 FJ) were disintegrating at 14K miles; that is the shortest life I've ever had on a modern motorcycle.  I am religious about cleaning and lubing.  Replaced the chain with EK brand.

[metallion]

On 11/15/2020 at 9:41 AM, rockinsv said:

I use Dupont Chain Saver, it cleans and lubes great. I got 22,000 miles out of my OEM chain and it was still going great, I just changed it for peace of mind while changing a rear tire.

I used to use that Dupont chain saver back when i had my Triumph Tiger 1050 because that bike had such a short chain guard and threw regular lube everywhere. I never thought it lubed all that well to me so i stopped using it. Seems like you had great luck with it though!

[metallion]

On 12/4/2020 at 10:17 AM, peteinpa said:

I wonder if the FZ-07 gets the exact same chain? When I traded mine at 10k miles it was perfect. With the FJ-09's extra HP and torque, it will wear faster.

Just looked it up, OEM the FZ-07 has a DID 525VZ.   

OEM FJ-09 has a DID 525V10. I "think" the FZ-07 gets a better chain with the "Z" designation.

I do not know if they are different or what the letter designation on the OEM chains mean.  I also own a 2019 XSR900 with similar 4K miles that has the same OEM DID chain as my Tracer GT, just a bit shorter. I can tell you that my XSR chain is absolutely fine, no missing or torn o-rings whatsoever. Makes me lean towards the possibility of quality control issues on the Tracer chains. I suppose time will tell.