New BMW M Endurance chain -No Maintenance Required

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baldy

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Is'nt technology great. Seems too good to be true. No lube. No cleaning. No readjustments. Might be pricey. Just available from BMW but only in 525 size. Might be a challenge to put on a Norton without a lot of modifications, but I am sure someone on this forum might want to give it a try. Thoughts?

advrider.com

BMW Announces "M Endurance" Chain - Adventure Rider

And now, BMW says its newest chain, the M Endurance" chain uses a special coating, to again make chain maintenance a thing of the past
advrider.com advrider.com

Ride Safe,
George
 
I'd be willing to thin down my sprockets to 525 is this chain is as good as it sounds (and not too pricey).
 
Jim,
You would have to go to 5/16 sprockets. BMW use in s1000 so should be way overkill strong. Any other machining you think?
George
 
Got my attention as well..... But what shall we do about rust control on the back end if we switch?
 
If the BMW chain fit with no modifications, I'd say, "GREAT, when I need a new chain I'll buy one!" But if it requires new/reworked sprockets, I don't see the benefit; It takes 5 minutes to lube an X-ring chain. It's not like when we used to remove the chain, clean it in gasoline, lube it in hot grease in a pan on the stove! ;)
 
what’s the Maintenence procedure for service and lube for a X ring chain ? I’ve got X ring chains on both my Norton’s and haven’t lubed them as of yet ?
 
zefer said:
what’s the Maintenence procedure for service and lube for a X ring chain ? I’ve got X ring chains on both my Norton’s and haven’t lubed them as of yet ?
Click to expand...
Got an X ring conversion from CNW. Matt's instructions say to periodically clean the chain externally with a thin lubricant to remove any dirt and grease build-up. Avoid regular chain lube.
 
Though BMW hasn't listed a price in its press release, Motorcycle News reports a retail price of €286.08 (US$340) for the chain alone, and €425.59 (US$507) for a set with sprocket, chain wheel, and "small parts.
 
Re X ring chains - On my wife's Africa twin, her Ducati Diavel, my Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe, and my Commando (CNW chain conversion), I just clean the gunk off the chain occasionally with a rag wet with WD 40 and then wipe it dry. I don't spray the WD40 onto the chain, just use the wet rag. As I said, - maybe 5 minutes; a bit longer if no centerstand/rear pitstand. The BMW R9T and the R1200RS are even easier! ;)

Compare to the process on my original Commando: Remove chain; soak/swish around in container of gasoline; dry with compressed air; cover container of gasoline for future parts cleaning; heat up grease in pan on stove until liquid; place chain in pan, stir occasionally; take pan off stove, set it outside to cool; remove chain from grease; thoroughly wipe chain with rag to remove excess grease; reinstall on bike; remove grease from pan, put excess grease back in "chain grease" container; hide pan from wife.
 
BMW here in Holland claims the chain should last 20.000 km`s before it is to be replaced.
Not sure about actual criterium for need of replacement, if the chain according to BMW claim does not stretch.
Price here is 286 euro.
 
I recall asking about x ring/o ring chain maintenance on this forum many years ago when I first installed a sealed chain.
My thought was that chain lube could be a thing of the past as we only lube to keep the pin and bushing interface from wearing quickly.
With sealed chain that interface is permanently lubricated with the ideal grease in a perfectly clean state. These chains might last fifty thousand miles or more if the seals did not fail at around 20,000 miles.
Not complaining about 20,000 miles of chain life though.
20,000 miles is a lot of riding on an old air-cooled bike!
Jim Comstock felt that without continued chain lube the sprockets would wear very quickly. This made sense, so I have continued to apply a chain lube every 400 miles or so.
That has worked well to date.
So with this maintenance free chain what happens to sprocket wear if we do not use lube?
It seems we already had maintenance free chain with any sealed chain, if the lube was just for the sprockets.

Also, I read above that CNW Matt recommends against using chain lube on sealed chains but is in favour of " periodic cleaning of the chain"
What mileage would " periodic cleaning " correspond to?
If out on the road on a trip I try to spray lube the chain every day, or at least every other day. This might be every 350 miles or every 700 miles. If foregoing lube, should the chain be cleaned at this kind of interval?

And with the cleaning rather than lubing method, the sprockets are running dry, same as with the " no maintenance" BMW chain.
Does sprocket wear increase?

Glen
 
Last edited:
baldy said:
Jim,
You would have to go to 5/16 sprockets. BMW use in s1000 so should be way overkill strong. Any other machining you think?
George
Click to expand...
I've thinned my sprockets to 5/16" width before. I used to race with them to get clearance for a wider tire.
 
worntorn said:
I recall asking about x ring/o ring chain maintenance on this forum many years ago when I first installed a sealed chain.
My thought was that chain lube could be a thing of the past as we only lube to keep the pin and bushing interface from wearing quickly.
With sealed chain that interface is permanently lubricated with the ideal grease in a perfectly clean state. These chains might last fifty thousand miles or more if the seals did not fail at around 20,000 miles.
Not complaining about 20,000 miles of chain life though.
20,000 miles is a lot of riding on an old air-cooled bike!
Jim Comstock felt that without continued chain lube the sprockets would wear very quickly. This made sense, so I have continued to apply a chain lube every 400 miles or so.
That has worked well to date.
So with this maintenance free chain what happens to sprocket wear if we do not use lube?
It seems we already had maintenance free chain with any sealed chain, if the lube was just for the sprockets.

Also, I read above that CNW Matt recommends against using chain lube on sealed chains but is in favour of " periodic cleaning of the chain"
What mileage would " periodic cleaning " correspond to?
If out on the road on a trip I try to spray lube the chain every day, or at least every other day. This might be every 350 miles or every 700 miles. If foregoing lube, should the chain be cleaned at this kind of interval?

And with the cleaning rather than lubing method, the sprockets are running dry, same as with the " no maintenance" BMW chain.
Does sprocket wear increase?

Glen
Click to expand...
For me I think avoiding chain lube is a good thing. I live on a gravel road. Lots of grit gets in that very quickly. Only have about 5k on it so far. Hasn't required any adjustment so far. I've rinsed it off and wiped it dry a couple times with WD40. Have to wait and see how the sprockets wear. At this point it's a contest to see if I can wear out the bike before I wear out.
 
Its something to ponder, how much of the maintenance we do is really needed for the mileage to be covered?
No chain lube = no constant cleanup from chain lube, which would be nice.
If the chain and sprockets only last 15,000 miles with this method, rather than 20,000 possible with regular lubing, does it really matter when we might only put another 10,000 miles on until we hit our expiration date?

Glen
 
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