Standard non o-ring chain for Mk3

Status
Not open for further replies.
RK530 standard red box , NOT HD, $20, throw it over my shoulder every season.
 
No one has discussed the 99 link chain that most Mk3 would have delivered in the USA.
A half link or offset link fitted to the chain end, located at the master link location.

Standard non o-ring chain for Mk3


Or can you use a 98 link final drive chain with a 20/42 sprocket set?
 
With the MK3 you can run o ring or xring 530, no mods required. Jim Comstock posted that info a few years ago so I immediately switched from unsealed to sealed.
That was about 10,000 miles ago and that xring chain has never been adjusted. It still doesn't need adjustment and won't lift more than a miniscule amount off the backside of the rear sprocket. What a difference from previous unsealed chains!

Having worn out many unsealed chains and only a couple of sealed chains on the Vincent, I don't know why anyone who rides a lot wouldnt use sealed chain rather than the old unsealed.
Fit and forget, no adjustment needed for about 20,000 miles.
Do still lube it tho.
When you finally start needing to adjust a sealed chain, it's time to put a new one on.

I believe there is another advantage to sealed chain, less sprocket wear. With unsealed chain the pitch starts to increase immediately. This is why constant adjustment is needed. As the pitch increases, so does wear on the sprockets as they wear away to mesh with the ever increasing chain pitch.

If you don't ride a lot of miles per year, ignore the above info.

Glen
 
Last edited:
worntorn said:
With the MK3 you can run o ring or xring 530, no mods required. Jim Comstock posted that info a few years ago so I immediately switched from unsealed to sealed.
That was about 10,000 miles ago and that xring chain has never been adjusted. It still doesn't need adjustment and won't lift more than a miniscule amount off the backside of the rear sprocket. What a difference from previous unsealed chains!

Having worn out many unsealed chains and only a couple of sealed chains on the Vincent, I don't know why anyone who rides a lot wouldnt use sealed chain rather than the old unsealed.
Fit and forget, no adjustment needed for about 20,000 miles.
Do still lube it tho.
When you finally start needing to adjust a sealed chain, it's time to put a new one on.

I believe there is another advantage to sealed chain, less sprocket wear. With unsealed chain the pitch starts to increase immediately. This is why constant adjustment is needed. As the pitch increases, so does wear on the sprockets as they wear away to mesh with the ever increasing chain pitch.

If you don't ride a lot of miles per year, ignore the above info.

Glen
Click to expand...


Glen, Thank you, since oring chain varies in width quite a bit between manufacturers, what exact sealed chain will work on a Mk3?
What do you do about the offset link for 99 link? on a sealed chain.
 
Now you are asking me to use my memory, that's dangerous :).
When Jim said it would work, I just bought a cheap deal on eBay. I recall that it was a Japanese chain and it was advertised as x ring.
I can measure the width, but I doubt that it is critical. The chain chews a tiny bit of trans case away on its first run thru ( no real harm), then it's in the clear.

I did not use a half link, so I guess whatever is on there will be even links, either 98 or 100. Bike is on the hoist now for a bit of maintenance, I'll count and measure.

Glen
 
98 links, with wheel adjusted right forward has correct slack.
Chain is a DID 50vm. It measures .967" pin width. You'll have a hard time finding a 50vm, they were replaced by the narrower but stronger VX series which is just .917" at the pins, so it might not cut any Al. away.
After 10,000 miles I still cant pluck the chain more than about 1 mm off the back.

Try that with a 10,000 mile unsealed chain if you can get one to stay together that long.
It will lift about clear off the teeth!




 
Last edited:
Worntorn said:

"Chain is a DID 50vm. It measures .967" pin width. You'll have a hard time finding a 50vm, they were replaced by the narrower but stronger VX series which is just .917" at the pins, so it might not cut any Al. away."

Please explain "it might not cut any Al away" (are you talking about the gearbox shell?). And will the narrower chain fit the sprockets?
 
jseng1 said:
Worntorn said:

"Chain is a DID 50vm. It measures .967" pin width. You'll have a hard time finding a 50vm, they were replaced by the narrower but stronger VX series which is just .917" at the pins, so it might not cut any Al. away."

Please explain "it might not cut any Al away" (are you talking about the gearbox shell?). And will the narrower chain fit the sprockets?
Click to expand...

Yes and yes.
The Al cut away with the wide 530 sealed is inconsequential. I don't have a photo but it's nothing to worry about, just a bit you could pre scrape with a utility knife if desired. There is all kinds of extra metal on the MK3 box at that point. It will be even less metal to remove with the new narrower 530vx.. Might not even touch as is.
It's a 530 chain so it should fit over any 530 sprocket.
They have found ways to make it narrow so that it can be fitted to most bikes that originally came with unsealed 530.
The unsealed 530 Renold I have on one bike here measures .870 pin width.
So now we can get a 530 x ring that is only 47 thou wider than the unsealed. That's only 23 thou extra needed from sprocket edge to shell.
Apparently the mk3s have a bit more sprocket to gearbox clearance than earlier bikes, however this new narrower VX type might just fit the early bikes as well.
I don't have one here to try.


Glen
 
Last edited:
I remembered that I do have a 750 gearbox here with 20 tooth sprocket fitted.
Clearance at the tightest point is .30".
530 sprocket width is .350. , 530 chain is 3/8" or .375" inside so it fits the sprocket with 25 thou side clearance.

So
Half the sprocket width is .175"
Clearance from sprocket to gearbox is .300"
Total distance from centreline of sprocket to gearbox is .475"
Half of a 530vx chain is .458. This leaves 17 thou clearance. However...the chain can run off centreline by 12.5" thou due to its normal clearance on the sprocket.
This would still leave 5 thou.
Shaving it close but the pinch point is the rounded boss at bottom of the gearbox. If the chain snicked a little corner off there it wouldn't much matter.

I'm going to say that the 530 VX will fit right on the earlier bikes too.
My spare trans is from a 71 750.

Glen
 
Last edited:
My MK3 is running non-0-ring EK530H chain.
The master link pins measure 0.925" width.

The master link pins must be the widest on the primary inner case side, what is the width of an o-ring master?

Standard non o-ring chain for Mk3
 
slimslowslider said:
I went for a RK with rings, type GP530UWV. About the same overall width as a DID 530. No rubbing, on a 850 Mk2A.
More info: http://global.rk-japan.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/Leaflet_en_2018_On-Road_Web.pdf
Click to expand...


All the info I could find on the RK 530 sealed chains list width at 24.9 mm or .980", same as the old wide DID.
The new DID is .917"

I couldn't find a width listing for the gp530uwv however. Is it narrower than 24.9 mm ?

On edit- I found the spec for the RKgp530uwv.
It has a pin length of 22.6 mm which is .89", considerably narrower than the narrow DID type.
Good find!

Glen
 
Last edited:
I've been trying to find the RK 530UWV vintage bike chain in the US, without luck.
Anybody gotta link?
Thanks,
Jaydee
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
Chain lube for non-o-ring chains
2 3
Replies
40
Views
9,674
Hobot
Hobot
MexicoMike
  • Locked
520 O ring Chain - yea or nay?
2 3
Replies
48
Views
4,830
Hobot
Hobot
Back
Top