My chain snapped on my polaris yesterday, forcing me to walk to get help. What I don't understand is that the chain is nearly brand new (1-2 months old) and its never been ridden aggressivly. I was riding about 1/2 throttle, stopped, and then took off about 1/2 throttle again, then boom!

I'll supply pictures soon.


Please tell me what happend!

 

was there enough tension or not enough?

 

Is the case ok?

 

There was enough tension I think. It was just taught when suspension was compressed. It didn't really damage anything else though.

For some reason, the whole side of the chain looks wore away, and really shiney. It's making me wonder if the dealer installed something wrong.

 

Its gotta be that your chain was to tight, it might have looked good when your off the bike but when you sit on the bike it tightens up .... what kind of chain?

 

What brand chain, and what failed on the chain?

 

I have no idea what brand chain it is. ALso, my dad who is 320 pounds sat on it and it was barely tense. So a little 140 pound guy like me shouldn't do as much as him.

Also, for some reason, the chain got shiny in the outside edges, like it was wearing on something. PICTURE OF THE CHAIN

Broken Link

Other side's bent link

 

yur dad prolly wore the chain out

 

My dad's ridden it once for about 10 minutes.

 

Did it pull the master link in half or is it still in the chain somewhere? What does the side plates look like where is failed? Are the holes oblonged? Did it shear the pin? Is part of the pin still in the link, or side plate? Are the side plates bent where it came apart?
Do you know what is causing the wear patterns on the right side plate? You have to find out what is causing this. It may be part of the problem. How is your swing arm bushings? Motor mounts? Idler?

Chains can put up with a bunch of pull. I think a #50 is good for about 5000 PSI. They don't go for side load though. The more side load you give them, the more and faster it will fail.

It's very hard to tell anything from your picture, so you will have to be the detective here. Don't be afraid to look at the parts under a magnifying lens.

PS. From what I can see from the picture (not much) it looks like that chain was not treated very well durning it's lifetime. But like I said, it's very hard to tell, so maybe what I'm seeing is just grime and not rust?