Was fitting a new JT o ring chain to my off-road bike yesterday. Not embarrassed to say it took over two hours.
The problem is when the 4 o rings on the split link are in place the slots in the pins do-not protrude enough to slide the clip into place. Tried all sorts of pushing tools, pliers and even getting a mini c clamp onto the end of the assembly to compress it. It just wasn’t going to happen however much force I could muster because one or other ends of the spring is pressing against the full diameter of the pin not into the recessed slot. With one set of o rings left out - an absolute piece of cake just like the non o ring chains we fit to our sohc ‘s but that’s a poor solution.
So here’s the tip. Ignore every single you tube video which shows the clip being pressed on sideways using pliers/ screwdriver. Fit the closed end first and easily slide the clip fully into place on the closed end pin with the open end rotated away from its pin. Then rotate the open end of the clip adjacent to its pin and gently lever one of the arms slightly up and over the pin. It then needs pressing inwards to fully locate into the slot. With both open ends arms now in the slot you can also check that it has slid fully across. There is really very minimal bending on the clip and afterwards it’s held in place straight and secure. 20 secs from first installing the closed end to done after a two hour struggle ! Hope this helps someone - nothing I could see out there on any forums etc.
