O-ring drive chain? Who's a chain expert?

[hang&rattle]

So what's the difference between an O-ring and non O-ring chain. And all the chain sellers are advertising how strong their tensil strenth is. I want a green colored chain and says it's a non O-ring 8,200 tensil strength chain. It's inexpensive, nearly half the price of the EK chain 8,000 tensil strength (which put on the 200x's and rusts very, very quickly), so who's the chain expert?-Robby

[zzmegad]

an o-ring chain helps hold the lube in the chain, they last a lot longer, better for trail bikes...

[atctim]

An O-ring chain or an X ring chain is really the only way to go on any ATV. The O or X ring is a rubber ring (O or X is the cross section profile of the ring) that seals the pin and bushing from mud, dirt and grim getting in there and wearing the chain out more quickly. The non-o-Ring chains wear much faster because stuff get in there causing wear and tear - and fast!!! The tensile strength it the amount of weight the chain could hold before tearing itself apart. I do not recommend a non-o-ring chain unless you plan on replacing it several times a year. Many racers run non-o-ring chains because there is a bit less friction = more power = faster - but they swap them between every race. Hope that helps some.

[zzmegad]

oh yeah keep the crap out, thats what i meant lol

[hang&rattle]

O.k. fellas, thanks. You answered it. The chain I have on my 85' Tecate I want to put on my trailrider 84' Tecate because it was an expensive booger. I wanted to get a green colored bling-bling chain for my 85' hot rod, which won't see much weather or muddy trails etc. (just built to scare the chit outta me, lol). So the bling and performance factor is what I want for this rig (85'). Thanks, now I know why the price difference and what needs to continue goin' on my kids 200x's.

[Dirtcrasher]

I haven't seen many chains break so I don't concern myself with "tensile strength".

I think a colored 35$ chain is a 35$ chain and will stretch allot in the beginning, not so bad later on.

I personally always bought very good chains, o-ring/ x-ring and clean/lube it often.

Depending on where you ride, they all rust after time.......

[zzmegad]

yeah im very anal with my chains too, All the differant chain lubes available have their advantages, I've actually been using motor oil on my chains and like it very much. Sometimes in the off season I hang my chains above a bucket and lube em whenever they look dry. I got a little oil can, I squirt the top and watch it roll down the chain....mmmm

[xrider]

I run a Non-O-ring chain on my 200x racer. I dyno'd it with a D.I.D. X-ring chain and with a plain Non O-ring chain and gained 1.5 HP on the Non O-ring chain. If your not concerned with power loss, run the O-ring chain.

[cr480r]

I had a spanky new 8400lb gold non O-ring chain. I kept it clean, lubed, and proper tension and it still stretched and ruin my new sprockets in a very, very short time... IMO 1.5hp is a small price to pay for longevity. Especially after seeing 45rwhp machines barely lose to 52rwhp in a drag...

[xrider]

1.5 HP on a 200x keep in mind. On larger displacement engines I agree and think O-ring chains are the only way to go. However, on engines 200cc and less I would run Non O-ring for the extra power advantage. Just my two cents.

[WIkid500]

1.5 HP on a 200x keep in mind. On larger displacement engines I agree and think O-ring chains are the only way to go. However, on engines 200cc and less I would run Non O-ring for the extra power advantage. Just my two cents.



Was that on a new X ring chain or one that was broke in and loosened up? Would be cool to dyno with a new chain and a chain that has a few hours of riding, and stretching on it.

[1984 honda 200s]

i have bought an o-ring chain for my 200s and have put some miles on her threw trails and pit hills. it holds up well, but i also lube everytime i go out for a rip.i used to use motor oil but i had an oil leak so i would save the motor oil, so i use 80w 90 gear oil for it and it works well, doesnt fly all over and get my fender dirty either.
I ran a non o-ring chain on my MX and it was chit. did not last, had to adjust every ride and even with lube everyride, did not hold up.

[muthey]

I had a non o-ring chain once on my kawasaki ninja once and almost lost my arm because of it snapping at 70 mph snaking back up behind the the bike around the turn signal and just barely missing my shoulder before being sucked back in to the front sprocket and shattering the sprocket and tranny cover. I will never use any chain other than a o-ring chain, and by reading some on the rebuild manuals listed on here, honda put o-ring chains on all of their trikes from what I can tell, they also recommend using gear oil on them to lube them, I've been using straight 90w gear oil the same that goes in my car tranny, and the differentials on my truck, and as far as I can tell my wifes honda is running the original honda chain on it was all locked up when we got it and with a lil gear oil and some tlc, it has come back from the dead to be a perfect runner.

[jensenracing77]

run the o ring chain. you won't notice the HP loss on the butt dyno.