New BMW M Endurance chain -No Maintenance Required

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worntorn said:
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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Bike definitely stays much cleaner. All that grit sticking in the chain lube is hard on the sprockets for sure. I don't think they will ever pave my road and I'm not moving until I go out feet first. Then I will come back in an urn.
 
I can’t understand, for the love of all that’s holy, the horrid aversion people display toward lubrication.
 
I find the dream very attractive, although I just cannot force myself to accept the 'lubrication free' part working out..... After all is said and done if I treat my normal chains well I get a surprisingly long life and only a practically unnoticed inconvenience of clean up and adjustment. I guess I'm good as is.
 
I'm guessing if we all truly wanted the nirvana of totally maintenance free riding we wouldn't entertain 'old' bikes at all?
 
concours said:
I can’t understand, for the love of all that’s holy, the horrid aversion people display toward lubrication.
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Though I haven't consulted with BMW, I'm reasonably sure this chain was developed to appease the 'Shaft Drive' faithful who consider chain drive to be an archaic and medievel power transmission. Some of the non sense I get and read on the sites are actually quite entertaining. To some of these the thought of adjusting and lubricating a chain is frightening.
Not sure if that's sad or funny. Either way, it's entertaining.
 
Only my opinion but if you're averse to chain lubrication, why not go whole hog and convert to belt final drive?
 
Lubrication is required when 2 surfaces slide over each other, hence the X ring containing the lubrication for the internal bush inside the chain which turns as the chain goes onto and off the sprocket. But when you look at the action of the OD of the chain roller on the sprocket there is little sliding action, it just rests on the sprocket depression. Lubrication outside of an oil bath will get abrasive particles from the road mixed in turning it into a grinding paste.
 
slimslowslider said:
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.
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That’s 12,500 miles, so not very impressive.
 
This all sounds like BMW trying to reinvent the wheel to me. They always have to be different even when the Japs got it right first. Japanese X ring chains last a hell of a long time on massively powerfull modern bikes & even longer on our old clunkers, requiring very little in the way of maintainance. BM did the same reinvention with the switch gear on my R100R airhead, which requires three seperate buttons to operate the indicators. Madness!
 
BMW/Porsche/Mercedes are famous for finding a way to make 5 parts do the work of one! ;)

I agree re dry external chain vs lubricated - less wear. In the old days there was no choice since you couldn't lubricate a standard chain without getting grease/oil on the outside. But modern sealed chains CAN'T be lubricated from the outside (regardless what makers of chain lube tell you) so lubing them , as noted, just creates grinding paste to help wear out sprockets...
 
I agree with the idea that lubrication on the outside is a dirt magnet. Depends on where you live I think.
What about the wax type chain lubes? Am I fooling myself thinking because they don't fling so much they
are ok? I suppose I already know the answer...
 
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 ?
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You need to lube the roller to sprocket contact areas and the side plates depending on your chain. Simple spray can lube regularly applied will do that.

As will 'chain bar oil' like a chainsaw. My prefered method with an FJ1200 and VFR750 tourer was a Scottoiler, engine vacumm controlled drip of 'chain bar oil' on to the sideplates.....greatly extended chain life on expensive O and X ring chains.
 
So what exactly is a X ring chain and why is this sprocket -x-ring chain upgrade desirable for our Norton’s ?
 
I use a chain lube with Moly on both my modern O/X-rings, and standard chain on vintage.
Great results.
 
I agree with SteveA. i use chain bar lube and drop some on after every ride. My 850 does quite a lot of long trips.

Kommando. the chain rollers slide up and down the sprocket teeth, so do need some lube

Oh By the way, My 750 doesn't need much chain lube. It hardly gets used much.
 
zefer said:
So what exactly is a X ring chain and why is this sprocket -x-ring chain upgrade desirable for our Norton’s ?
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Chain is a series of pins and bushes held together with side links, each of the pins and bushes needs to be lubricated but also has to have a clearance to the side plates for free running. This gap allows grit to enter the pin and Bush causing wear which oddly on a chain is called stretch. O or X ring chain has these gaps filled using an O or X rings, these seal the factory supplied lubricant inside the pin and Bush and stop any grit entering. Upside is much reduced wear rate, downside is extra friction from the O or X ring so absorbs some power. O ring chains are wider than X ring chain which are wider than normal chains.
 
kommando said:
O ring chains are wider than X ring chain which are wider than normal chains.
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Also, the cross section of the x-ring has a much tighter radius at the tips so is even more effective, than the o-ring, at keeping grit out.
I have them on all three Nortons and swear by them!
Just sparingly lub them with Motul spray lub - never flings
 
X ring has less friction than O ring as well.

I shunned such sealed chains because if you’ve ever taken one out of the box, the friction / stiffness is amazing. But Comnoz told us he’d dyno’d them and the loss was virtually unmeasurable. They free up from that initial ‘out of the box’ state a lot.

I’ve got the hNw sealed chain on the 920 and it hardly needs adjusting, it ridiculously good.
 
"Kommando. the chain rollers slide up and down the sprocket teeth, so do need some lube"

Well, by design, under load they ROLL up/down, they don't slide. They are roller chains, not fixed chains like the primary drive chain. ;)
 
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I did a coasting test, MK 3 with xring vs 650 ss with unsealed chain.
As I recall the difference from 40 mph to zero was something like 370 feet to 375 feet, but the MK3 won, I guess the extra bit of weight kept it rolling for a few more feet.
In any case , just as Jim found, there isn't the big friction loss some claim for sealed chain.
It's negligible.

Glen
 
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