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Chain Stretching

1572 Views 43 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Chris C
I've got 12,200 miles on my bike's chain and sprockets. My chain was making noises so I stopped by the shop and said I thought I'd narrowed it down to the chain, but why would the chain be "knocking"? . After riding it, the mechanic verified it was the chain and said that was an easy fix.............my chain was loose. When he finished adjusting it he mentioned It needed replacing along with the sprockets.

Okay..........I'm no motorcycle mechanic and don't know what might cause the chain to stretch. When I got the bike I cleaned the OEM chain squeaky clean and lubed it with spray dry lube. The bike only had 1200 miles on it at that point. I've wiped it with a rag once or twice in the 12,200 miles and resprayed some lube on it. That's been all the maintenance it's had. So my question is, what would cause my chain to stretch to the point of needing replacing in 12,200 miles? It's been mentioned to me that some folks get 20,000 miles out of a chain. :eek:

Since I know little to nothing about all of this stuff, flightcontrol has been helping me decide what I need in the way of parts to get the job done. So just got all of that ordered. Ought to be an interesting project since I'm like Shultzy............"I know nutting". :LOL:

Do you guys prefer/recommend petroleum based or paraffin based (Dry) lubes for the chain? I know some say sprays that are Teflon based are the best.

I'm still disappointed to have a chain stretched to a point of needing replacement in just 12,200 miles and want to know what I've done wrong. So any comments will be appreciated. :unsure:
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Mhhhh don't know what Type of Chains you got in the USA but I would say, that 12000 miles is not that short of a lifespan for a chain.
More so, if it was not maintenanced well.
Riding often in Rain, Dirt etc. makes maintenance needed more often to.
If you only lubed it two times in all those miles, then you may have run it many, many miles without proper lubrication.
Therefore I find it a absolutely average lifespan.
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(y)

What also came to my mind after the last Post was that you should check tension and re-ajust, when necessary.
If you didn't done that already with your old chain.
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Good you found the Bolts but you didn't need to remove the Guard for alignment of the Back wheel.
You can measure at the Bolts, if they have the same length, Wheel should be aligned.
Okay 👍
If you use this, you have to remove it.
Never seen such a tool before
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