530 chain advantages

henrymski wrote:

... You boys who think 530s are weak are all on crack cocaine!....

Book 'em, Danno!

I got this off the Z1E site.
520 5/8 inch pitch, 1/4 inch wide
525 5/8 inch pitch, 5/16 inch wide
530 5/8 inch pitch, 3/8 inch wide
630 3/4 inch pitch, 3/8 inch wide
I used the 630 for the same reason as omr. It was hard to find the front sprocket.

I had a 630 on the GPz drive train and it does indeed look like a farm implement. ;)Kinda looks out of scale on the smaller bikes.

All of this also has to do with how much your bike is beefed up...

There's no reason aside from full Mod drag 810 would I see the need for a 630 on anything smaller than a liter bike. Why carry the extra reciprocating weight if you don't need to.

IMO of course.

Am wondering what accounts for the overall weight difference between 630 and 530? Is it significant? And is it really worth the hassle?

Have not separately measured weights of the two equal overall length chains (630 vs 530) in order to compare them. However, with the chain width and overall chain length being equal. The 630 would have larger but fewer rollers, whereas the 530 would have more but smaller rollers. Likewise, the 630 would have fewer but longer side plates, and the 530 have more but shorter side plates.

Am thinking the overall length of both chains will have equivalent cumulative lengths of side plates. Maybe the 530 side plates are smaller and/or thinner than the 630 side plates, so that perhaps the greater number of 530 side plates weighs less than the lesser number of 630 side plates.

Also thinking maybe the greater number of smaller 530 rollers weighs less than the smaller number of 630 rollers.

Eye of the beholder, different strokes, and all that, but imho the huge massive knarly agricultural-looking 630 chain on the Z1 has exuded a macho he-man appearance from the first time MaKaw stuck it on there, and still does.

The peanut galley has spake. :lol:

Obviously pending number of links and exact chain manufacturer & ring specs this may differ but Googling I found where 3% weight difference is being depicted...

Now, for drag/racing bikes, oh hell ya I can understand where every ounce counts but for the normal everyday runner... I don't think so...

As some of you witnessed, I researched and posted the hell out of this topic for a couple months mind you and I as well as others came to this conclusion...

I just can't see going through all the hassle, costs and worries when it's just not going to make a noticeable difference in a every day runner.

Basic math:

@ 10 lbs @ 3% that equates .3 lbs
@ 20 lbs @ 3% that equates .6 lbs.
A 1/2 lb. friggin hamburger almost weighs that!
@ 30 lbs @ 3% that equates to a 1 lb.

All in all, as in my case, I too was worried about the chain to frame clearances. Fortunately I lucked out where my setup provides 1/8-3/16" of clearance to the frame ~ 6" back from the counter sprocket so chain side movement is minimal and over 1/2" to the tire presently on the rear rim.

Now, with new chain tensile strength technologies, If I could have found a well built (milled one piece) offset 520 counter sprocket with the correct number of teeth, then I probably would have gone this route for chain colors, style of chains X Wing for example, and all the purdy rear sprockets available...

But it just didn't exist and in some of the welded on sprockets I found on the web... No thanks! I mean we're all worried about 1 friggin pound but not the tolerance of being balanced and true or if the welds are going to hold up when hitting that power band etc... :blink:

Example: One I did find had a nose on it... I asked can I get that without the nose.. Reply, "NOPE. Due to liabilities, You want it without, then you cut it off."
Ok, there goes the balance and WTF, cutting the nose off is going to weaken it! Well ya for this was designed to be used as a support. Again, no thanks!

Maybe it's just me but I just don't get it....

OK, I'm better now.... :laugh:

OMR

omr,x-wing?ah hell i'm dieing over here,yer killin me:laugh: .

Klasmo has an offset 520 countershaft sprocket for around 80-100 dollars. One piece milled. Real nice. When I get the Gixxer rear in there, I will have that on the motor.

well all i can tell you is this from personal experiance i have broken 2 530 chains and did a bit of damage to my bike both times and have never broken a 630 so i know what i'm sticking with so i guess i'm on crack buddy.

omr if you cut the nose of that offset sprocket it will have little or no effect on the balacnce there not balanced any way all they check them for is trueness so cut away if you don't want to run the outboard bearing support.

There is no appreciable difference in strength between comparable 630 and 530 chains. The key is the quality of chain you buy.

I had a darned long conversation with an RK techie about this very topic.

Quality 530 X-Ring chains (from companies like RK) will not break from routine use UNLESS they are badly worn out, or badly adjusted. None of our bikes produce that much horsepower to shred a good condition chain.

BTW, do not read anything into the wear life listed for any chain. When RK (and others) do a chain life test, they do NOT subject the chain to any environmental challenges (like dirt or water) - it's all done in a lab. You will see non o-ring chains with wear indexes similar to o-ring chains. The wear index is worthless.

For most bikes there is a decent selection of 530 converion sprockets - the only ones difficult to convert are some of the GPZ 750's and the KZ900 LTD. We are trying to get some 530 sprockets made up, but it will take a few months for them to arrive.

On my bike/power/torques, the 530 would work but considering ~ same width, why go that route...

bdog, you have a link for that 520 offset?
Now we would be speaking of an 1/8" difference in width that would make a huge difference in a lot of our projects due to chain to frame clearances.

Of course, on some of the engine mods you guys made, I'm with Timebomb, stay with the 630 for piece of mind not to mention safety.

Jeff, is there a 520 chain that you know of in speaking with your rep's that have ~ same tensile strength as the 530/630?

OMR