Sprockets and chain combo

Bridgland

All,

In the process of putting my 888 Strada back together and about to get onto the rear wheel and associates gubbins.

What recommendations would you have for the front and rear sprockets (teeth count) as well as chain?

Been looking at DID and Renthal, among others. Not looking for a outright acceleration, but more all round usable performance at low speeds and cruising on the open road..

Cheers Chris

marvin

15T front,

+2T on the rear. I like DID, 520

p.s. I don't use the race chain, just the gold colored x ring chain

p.s. #2 I also don't use the aluminum rear sprocket. They just don't last very long! If you want to pay the big bucks for "light" get a SuperSprox (aluminum carrier/steel outer ring). And yes, they are guaranteed for life (meaning the life of the sprocket !!!)

nine16

I always use DID ERV3 520 chains.

Bridgland

marvin wrote15T front, +2T on the rear. I like DID, 520 p.s. I don't use the race chain, just the gold colored x ring chain p.s. #2 I also don't use the aluminum rear sprocket. They just don't last very long! If you want to pay the big bucks for "light" get a SuperSprox (aluminum carrier/steel outer ring). And yes, they are guaranteed for life (meaning the life of the sprocket !!!)

Thanks for this. Is that +2T or 42T on the rear?

griff851

Get the V3, you'll get more life out of the chain.

marvin

Bridgland wroteThanks for this. Is that +2T or 42T on the rear?

I don't remember what stock is. I add two teeth to stock.

Bridgland

marvin wroteI don't remember what stock is. I add two teeth to stock.

Got it. Time to go and count.

marvin

griff851 wroteGet the V3, you'll get more life out of the chain.

Why will you get more life out of a V3 than a V2?

brad black

std on the 888 was 15/37 according to the book.

griff851

marvin wroteWhy will you get more life out of a V3 than a V2?

3 is bigger than 2. 😁
V3's are used on the higher powered bikes, V2's are ok for 750 and 900ss. The extra power just makes them stretch sooner. I suppose if your not a hoon the decision is marginal. V3 525 are used on bikes kicking out twice the Hp and god knows how much extra torque. It couldn't all be down to just the pitch, has to be in materials me thinks. The VX2 I just chewed up, lasted 8000km that fits the old constants 2 sets of tires- new chain, two chains-new sprockets. 3 sets of tires- new chain should be possible given it's the stretching of the links that really hooks into the teeth.

marvin

Griff,
I hadn't thought about chain stretch. Rick and I were thinking that the V2 actually lasted longer. The V3 is designed for less rolling friction hence we decided that the X rings must be different (didn't seal quite as well). ???

P.S. We aways used to buy the V3. Recentlyjust the V2. I just put a V2 on my KTM 690 Duke (single). It should be OK on that!

griff851

Marvin, you got me thinking. This of course by no means gospel, but here goes.
After getting such poor life out of zvx2 (bad choice) i'm now fitting up a zvx3. So why did it do so badly mechanically?
First off choosing a chain by looking at the EK and DID specs has a inherent problem. Tensile strength and wear are the two figures your presented with to make your comparison. One is slightly better in the tensile strength and way better on wear. Conclusion something odd going on with the way the measure wear. So of coarse my next thought is what the hell are the measuring to give the wear figure anyway. Then it dawned on me as to why they give you a tensile strength anyway as what you really want is a yield point figure, remembering that tensile strength is the point that if you had a car suspended by a chain, and the car weighs the same as the tensile strength... walking under it is seriously pushing your luck. Mmmmm. At this point i'm Just thinking about the link side plates stretching and the roller pushing on the exit side of the tooth giving you the shark fin look. The pin shearing would require a shear spec and you never see it. But then I started thinking about why links go stiff. Lubrication failure or mechanical. Then it sort of dawned on me, the hollow pin, it's always trying to compress the side plate. The tensile load is at 12 and 6 o'clock on the inner plate pin hole. If that's the case when we refer to chain stretch we're actually talking about the hollow pin turning slightly oval as yield point is reached, and binding on the solid pin. In a non O-Ring chain the inner side plates actually elongate and also eat into the pin widening the roller centre to centre distance, that I can directly relate to wear. So on an O-Ring chain with its much larger bearing contact area on the pin, is wear then about the roller on the hollow pins outer surface? If so wear has a large variable in the form of what chain lube you use and how often you lube the chain, which is pretty common knowledge.

So which chain? Which tire? What brake pads, clutch, oil? If your into racing or serious bad behaviour on the road, get your wallet out and don't hold back. Failure will cost you a place on the podium. If a more sedentary approach to riding, your talking maybe an extra 5-10000 km out of the chain (maybe 35-40000km), so it's about getting hit on the 40000km service just that few extra tanks of fuel you could have used that month.
When working at the shop, the OEM kits were pretty reasonable value considering the subjective nature of the beast. Margins weren't real good but, 5.5 or 7% on cost maybe.