Chain

[Johnwebley]

Can a O or X ring chain be safely fitted to the 500 series bikes,

Or are we limited to standard DID heavy duty

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[Oddjob]

I've had an O-ring chain on my 500 for many many years. However I think that may be because it's a dealer take off from a CBX550 I stripped right out of the crate.

It's not well known but the chains Honda fit although being DID chains are not the same as the DID chains they sell to the public, for some reason they are thinner. I had a mate who bought a OE chain for a CB1300, standard 50 chain, none of the 50 rivet links available on Ebay would fit this chain, all far too thick on the pins. A standard Honda rivet link needed to be ordered in order to use this chain, this was the first time I noticed this.

I still have the CBX550 chain lying around and I intend to measure it and see if it is indeed thinner than the same size chain available commercially.

I do know that DID for some unknown reason keep a massive stockpile of chains which were OE equipment, not sure why but possibly because they were specially ordered by the big 4 companies and they kept stock just in case.

As it turns out I bought the 1300 chain before he fitted it as he sold the bike instead. I'll see how it compares to the standard DID X ring chain in dimensions.

[Oddjob]

Any dimensions on the DID heavy duty chain John.

I've found a chain and sprocket set in the loft for the 500, O-Ring version. It's stamped ES530 SDC.

I've also got a NOS OE chain for the CB650/CBX550, also O-Ring.

Let's see how your dimension compare to these.

[Johnwebley]

It's a standard 530 chain,

I shall measure the width, and let you know tomorrow

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[Bryanj]

I do know an out of the box aftermarket O ring 530 chain will rub into the blanking seal and crankcase on a 550, saw it a few times so it should do the same on a 500.
530hd chains of today are stronger than 530hd chains in the 70's

[Bryanj]

I do know an out of the box aftermarket O ring 530 chain will rub into the blanking seal and crankcase on a 550, saw it a few times so it should do the same on a 500.
530hd chains of today are stronger than 530hd chains in the 70's  alegedley

[Oddjob]

Not a single mark on anything in the chaincase area on mine Bryan and I did thousands and thousands of miles with that chain off the cbx550 fitted.

I must measure the pin length and see what it was.

[Johnwebley]

Just measured the width

20mm

The replacement chain, supplied by Wemoto is DID530NZ,

100 link,a little over long, so I took a pair of links out.

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[Oddjob]

That pin length John? and I presume that's the standard DID heavy duty non O-ring chain not the Wemeto O-ring one.

The new CB650/CBX550 measured 24.5 and the 530 O-Ring in the kit was 24.2. So if yours was 20mm pin length that means a 4mm difference, with 2mm either side.

Thinking about this, I wonder if the cause of the rubbing/hitting reported by using wider chains like O-Ring ones is actually caused by the front sprocket. I did see something on YouTube regarding badly fitting cheap sprockets which oscillate due to bad machining,  this allows the chain to in essence weave around and if space is tight it would cause the damage being reported. 

[Johnwebley]

Two things,

The 20mm is the widest part,the heads of the pins,
Secondly, it should be difficult for the sprocket to move as well locking plate should hold it in position.

Any further thoughts?

I admit I can't be bothered to remove the sprocket cover to check the clearance,

I was just inquiring for the next time I need to swop a chain.

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[Oddjob]

That was the point John, I've seen videos where even a brand new sprocket moved excessively on the shaft even when it was locked up with the 2 bolts. It's down to the machining being sloppy, a good sprocket make shouldn't do this but a cheapo one will. So the teeth of the sprocket oscillate due to the slack fit, they appear to weave from side to side, this would then of course allow the chain to also weave, and maybe it's this that's the problem. Whereas it's supposed to be say 20mm wide it ends up being 26mm wide as it moves from side to side. There is of course supposed to be some movement but not that much. 

[K2-K6]

Two things,

The 20mm is the widest part,the heads of the pins,
Secondly, it should be difficult for the sprocket to move as well locking plate should hold it in position.

Any further thoughts?

I admit I can't be bothered to remove the sprocket cover to check the clearance,

I was just inquiring for the next time I need to swop a chain.

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Something that may help John, I've been using castor oil on open (non sealed link) chains with very good results. It gets into the links properly, has very high lubrication properties,  low fling off and highly water resistant.  They are really smooth too when fully embedded with this.

[Johnwebley]

Thanks for the info,

I use an original Peter Furlong chain case to keep the chain protected from road grit, and use Silkoline spray on lubricant to hopefully keep it in good condition,

The last chain got a really nasty tight spot,

Drum tight in one position, slack in  another,

I did check incase the sprocket was out of round, but seems ok,

Put around 400miles on new chain, seems sweet.

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[JezzaPeach]

I discovered my 500/4 k2 had the wrong width o-ring chain fitted. It was 25mm across the rivets (widest point) and had been rubbing the casing and seal by the clutch pushrod. No excessive slack on the sprocket itself.
There were a couple of o-rings in the grease of the casing, suggesting the previous chain was also a sealed one, possibly also too wide, and had broken, and hit and broken the clutch pushrod.
The broken pushrod end had been turned round and the long remainder had ‘peened’ so it wouldn’t come out and had to come out via the clutch side. Graham provided a very nice new rod. DSS standard chain is now lubed with ‘Castrol Chain Lube Racing’