| Author | Message | ||
     Gentleman_jon |
Hello Gang, A chain conversion should not be an expensive maintenance item, but it can be if you do it right!  When I bought my bike, it had 520 chain and Vortex aluminum rear sprockets. The sprockets wore out pretty quickly, at 3k miles wear was visible, and at 6k it was severe. Since conventional wisdom is to change chain and sprocket at the same time, and since I favored DID ERV3 racing chain, which is not cheap, this became a rather expensive operation. Anyway, I asked on the racing board if anyone knew of a better sprocket and Sd26 suggested Sprocket Specialties. They make a nice Titan Hard anodized sprocket, and for a small extra charge they offer an ultra light option, which means more lightening holes, and for another small charge, can polish the edges of said holes. Naturally I went for the "full Cleveland". I fitted a new DID ERV 3 chain to be on the safe side, but as I was fitting it, when I laid the new and old chains out side by side, the old chain did not appear to have any visible stretch after about 6K miles. Since I fitted the new teflon lined clutch cable, adjusted the clutch properly, changed the primary oil, and changed out the chain and sprocket, shifting is a whole lot smoother. I guess they all contribute to proper operation. Looks like this. Should easier to keep clean than the Vortex as well.  More reasonable and price sensitive brothers, ( that would normally include me:-), will note that Saintly's conversion which uses economical non O-Ring 530 chain and steel sprockets, if I recall correctly, is a lot more cost effective. PS: I did reuse the mounting bolts. They were in good condition, and the chrome ones cost about twenty five bucks, for gosh sakes:-)! Loctite blue of course. | ||
| Skinstains |
You should've painted it the color of Swiss Cheese with all them holes, nice. | ||
| Diablobrian |
Very slick Jon, Do you happen to know the part number for the sprocket? I understand that there are modifiers for coating, lightening, polishing, and tooth count, but it could give someone a starting point for purchasing a replacement sprocket. In fact, I really like the look of yours, but from what I see on the Sprocket Specialist website is all Tube frame Buells. I was thinking that a similar sprocket would look good on mine, except in either a silver (or maybe orange) finish.... Anything worth doing is worth doing right, and the good stuff is never cheap! | ||
| Diablobrian |
I found it: 2932z is the rear sprocket with the pitch and tooth count being special order (since the bikes came with a belt drive....or something  ) How much did the sprocket cost out the door? Does the titan coat come in other colors or is it kind of like the DLC coatings, or titanium carbide which come in any color you want...as lond as it's black? (Message edited by diablobrian on February 19, 2009) | ||
| Microchop |
"when I laid the new and old chains out side by side, the old chain did not appear to have any visible stretch after about 6K miles." Chain stretch isn't really "stretch" at all. It is the wear of the rollers that cause a change in effective pitch. The chain didn't get any longer. That is why bicycle chain gages measure roller distance, not overall length. | ||
| Petebueller |
The modified swingarm looks better than trying to use an idler cog and match everything else up. It looks a few inches longer than stock, is that right? | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Brian - As you suspected, the hard anodized sprocket comes in any color as long as it's black, if I recall properly. Other colors are available, but they are not hardened. Total cost including the sprocket, the hard anodize, and drilling the lightening holes after anodizing was $92.00 Shipping was $11.00. Took little more than a week. That compares with about $75 plus shipping for the Vortex Hardcoat sprocket. I liked the Sprocket Specialties design better, and I am hoping that it will be on the bike for quite a while. Micro - Thanks for the information. I was wondering about that. I still have the old chain so I will give your measurement technique a try. Need to justify the purchase of a $125.00 chain:-). Pete - The swing arm is indeed several inches longer. It was made by the competition department of Hals HD in New Berlin, Wisconsin. It is an expensive item, around $2500. The removable brace is welded shut for additional stiffness. I believe that there may be several other suppliers of this type of swing arm now including the Buell Race Shop among others. Many people believe that the longer wheelbase provides a useful amount of stability for racing and aggressive street riding. I am one of them. The longer wheelbase is also used on the XBRR racebike, as well as the Buell 1125R and the XB12Ss. | ||
| Petebueller |
You read my mind Jon. I was planning on coming back on and asking about the impact on handling. Thanks |
