Broken o-ring on chanin | GTAMotorcycle.com

Broken o-ring on chanin

ninja3

Active member
Hi,

I was cleaning my chain yesterday and noticed there was one broken o-ring and was wondering if thats ok or should I replace the chain or what to do?

The chain has about 18000km on it and is 6 years old and there is still lots of room for it to stretch.

For cleaning I've used chain cleaner on it as well as kerosene and then apply chain oil.

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
Only one? I bet there are more.
The more it stretches now the harder it is on your sprockets.

If it really is only one link break it there and install a master link.
 
yep, likely more

so you know the lube is gone from that link
it will wear internally very quickly now

if you start to do frequent adjustments the chain is done
may be an item to look at over the winter
 
You could replace the damaged link with a new rivet link, but as others have advised give the whole chain a thorough inspection first.
 
Only one? I bet there are more.
The more it stretches now the harder it is on your sprockets.

If it really is only one link break it there and install a master link.

I will take a doube look at it, but I only did see the one bad o-ring at the time.

yep, likely more

so you know the lube is gone from that link
it will wear internally very quickly now

if you start to do frequent adjustments the chain is done
may be an item to look at over the winter

Yeah I figured that was a majour issue that i'm pretty concerend about.
do you think it is still safe to ride on before I change it? the chain does not stretch very much. I check it frequently and I adjust it as I need to, but honestly the chain is still in great condition except for that one maybe more o-rings.

You could replace the damaged link with a new rivet link, but as others have advised give the whole chain a thorough inspection first.

I was wondering about that if that was safe or not. if it maybe a couple other links can I still do that or at that point just replace the whole chain?
 
I will take a doube look at it, but I only did see the one bad o-ring at the time.



Yeah I figured that was a majour issue that i'm pretty concerend about.
do you think it is still safe to ride on before I change it? the chain does not stretch very much. I check it frequently and I adjust it as I need to, but honestly the chain is still in great condition except for that one maybe more o-rings.



I was wondering about that if that was safe or not. if it maybe a couple other links can I still do that or at that point just replace the whole chain?

if you inspect it and it's only one link
sure, change that one out and you should be good

as an FYI
I had always been fastidious with chain cleaning
WD40 and a soft brush

couple of bikes ago I noticed some damaged o-rings
wasn't too worried about it and headed down south

got down to Alabama and needed to tighten the chain
after than it was once a day until there was nothing left
had to stop in Arkansas and beg a Yamaha dealer
to install a new chain on a Saturday afternoon

less cleaning is actually better
when they lose that lube it's game over quickly
 
Hi,

I was cleaning my chain yesterday and noticed there was one broken o-ring and was wondering if thats ok or should I replace the chain or what to do?

The chain has about 18000km on it and is 6 years old and there is still lots of room for it to stretch.

For cleaning I've used chain cleaner on it as well as kerosene and then apply chain oil.

Thanks in advance for any help!

18,000KM on a 6 year old ninja 300 OEM chain is 'close enough'. I'm gonna randomly guess and say you aren't the original owner even so who knows if all the owners knew what chain lube was.

Its not super cheap, but new chain and sprockets is a great winter learning opportunity, if you have somewhere to work. Mostly common tools (you might not have an appropriate sized axle socket, torque wrench or lithium grease) but a trip to princess auto will fix that quick. For removing the old chain, an angle grinder works in a pinch. For putting the new chain on, the master link clip is fine, but a riveted master link is preferred, which is a special tool.
 
This is from cleaning it just lube it and ride no cleaning it.

Sent from my moto g(8) plus using Tapatalk
if you inspect it and it's only one link
sure, change that one out and you should be good

as an FYI
I had always been fastidious with chain cleaning
WD40 and a soft brush

couple of bikes ago I noticed some damaged o-rings
wasn't too worried about it and headed down south

got down to Alabama and needed to tighten the chain
after than it was once a day until there was nothing left
had to stop in Arkansas and beg a Yamaha dealer
to install a new chain on a Saturday afternoon

less cleaning is actually better
when they lose that lube it's game over quickly

I actually had no idea about that I can't believe cleaning the chain to much is bad for it. I always heard that once the chain got dirty it would grind into the chain and sprocket and would cauase more damage. From now on I will oil more and clean less thank you honestly a great learning opportunity. I try and take care of the bike the best I can. I'll keep a close eye on it.


18,000KM on a 6 year old ninja 300 OEM chain is 'close enough'. I'm gonna randomly guess and say you aren't the original owner even so who knows if all the owners knew what chain lube was.

Its not super cheap, but new chain and sprockets is a great winter learning opportunity, if you have somewhere to work. Mostly common tools (you might not have an appropriate sized axle socket, torque wrench or lithium grease) but a trip to princess auto will fix that quick. For removing the old chain, an angle grinder works in a pinch. For putting the new chain on, the master link clip is fine, but a riveted master link is preferred, which is a special tool.


I actually am the orginal owner I sadly don't get very much time to ride it. I always tried my best to maintain the chain/bike. honestly I'm still learning as much as I can I started from 0 so honestly any advice tips and tricks anyone has I'm always eager to learn. I try and do as much research as I can to learn about the mechanics of the bike. It is hard to filter out the stuff to listen to and not listen to so honestly shouldn't have listened to cleaning the chain so much, but now I know better. I started with doing my own oil changes and try and do as much work on it as I can. I'm eager to learn... Should you always replace the sprockets when you replace the chain?
 
Cleaning the chain is fine. Bottom line is to realize that you are removing grime and grit from a rubber surface. If you don't do it right, it will cause wear on the rubber o-rings from abrasion. Do it right, and you can clean it as many times as you want.

I don't use a brush anymore. Just spray on chain cleaner/kerosene and wipe it off with a shop towel/rag. If i've been riding in the rain, then i make sure to give the chain a rinse with water as i'm washing the bike to dislodge any larger buildups. Most chain lubes will easily dissolve once an appropriate solvent is applied.

Sprockets you should change as a set but if there's no wear, then its not like its a time bomb, especially on a smaller bike.
STOCK SIZES: Chain - 106 Links / 520 Pitch
Front Sprocket - 14 Tooth | Rear Sprocket - 42 Tooth
 
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... Should you always replace the sprockets when you replace the chain?
Not if you were replacing chains more frequently ;) No worries,
your bike is just telling you it is time for a new chain.
Now you need to decide if you want to ride a regular high maintenance but cheap to buy chain, or another rubber ring sealed chain.
 
btw: hang the old chain on a nail along with your new chain and measure the stretch.
Anything more then ~ 3 or 4% elongation is considered too much, according to chain manufacturers.
 
Cleaning the chain is fine. Bottom line is to realize that you are removing grime and grit from a rubber surface. If you don't do it right, it will cause wear on the rubber o-rings from abrasion. Do it right, and you can clean it as many times as you want.

I don't use a brush anymore. Just spray on chain cleaner/kerosene and wipe it off with a shop towel/rag. If i've been riding in the rain, then i make sure to give the chain a rinse with water as i'm washing the bike to dislodge any larger buildups. Most chain lubes will easily dissolve once an appropriate solvent is applied.

Sprockets you should change as a set but if there's no wear, then its not like its a time bomb, especially on a smaller bike.
STOCK SIZES: Chain - 106 Links / 520 Pitch
Front Sprocket - 14 Tooth | Rear Sprocket - 42 Tooth

I'll do that from now on I honestly thought an old toothbrush would be ok. I watched a bunch of videos from like Rev Zilla, etc and thats what they showed.

I'll compare my sprokets to a new sproket, but I don't think the sproket shows very much wear.

btw: hang the old chain on a nail along with your new chain and measure the stretch.
Anything more then ~ 3 or 4% elongation is considered too much, according to chain manufacturers.

I'll do that, Thank you.
 
Here is the rear sproket it doesn't look like there is very much wear and the front sproket looks about the same. Would you still change it?
 

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Not me, I'd stick a cheap chain on there and ride the heck out of it.
 
Here is the rear sproket it doesn't look like there is very much wear and the front sproket looks about the same. Would you still change it?

maybe not a lot of wear, but it looks like the sprocket is showing a very slight deformity.
I would keep riding it until the season ends, and then change the sprockets/chain as a set this winter or spring. get it done in the off season, no lost riding time.
 
Check these guys out, :LOL: they think they are selling aluminum chain:
"RK 520 Aluminum Race Chain and Sprocket Kit"
What they are actually selling is a heavy rubber ring sealed steel chain, a steel countershaft sprocket in the wrong size and an aluminum rear sprocket, so hopefully the buyers figure that out before they place an order.
 
Here is the rear sproket it doesn't look like there is very much wear and the front sproket looks about the same. Would you still change it?

nope, looks like it's good for another chain

a set of sprockets usually lasts through 2 chains
 
replacing a chain w/o a sprocket change will lead to premature chain wear as it conforms to the worn sprockets (imo).
I would use a cheap chain as trials suggested - ok fix. but you will be looking at it again sooner then you would if you replaced the sprockets/chain together with good quality parts. your choice, both methods will work ok.

my thoughts are to change the sprockets and chainogether. do it once and do it right. using quality parts.
 
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