Well i thought this was it. ran all day with 2 Vforces. awesome riding. Fast trails, pits everything. we rode all out from 11am to 4pm. around 3pm i noticed second gear was slipping like a bitch. and 3rd occasionaly. fortunately i chug around in 4th. by 4pm 2nd was useless. one of the guys i was riding with is an ATV mechanic. not only was 2nd gone but it sound like S. on closer inspection...my friend said it looked like my chain was slipping.

Problem is. he had an accident that day. low speed over the bars kinda of thing. befor we parted ways...he said he was feeling strange. i rode them hard allday...so i figured he was just exhausted/fatigued. well, his wife ends up calling my other friend asking what happened today? her husband came home and had no memory of riding with us, meeting me or even loading his quad for the ride home. apparently he had a concusion. anyways this is the guy giving me mechanical advice.

i did adjust the chain before i went riding. however...i could'nt adjust it anymore. so i assume its stretched. rather than taking out a link i just ordered another chain. is there anyway of knowing for sure? i can't see what exactly is going on with the chain when i'm riding. it's a sidewinder chain that is three years old. i do a fair amount of jumping and track riding...does that sound like the expected life span of a chain?

sounds strange...but i wish it was my tranny. Not knowing when it's going to go is driving me nuts!

 

why dont you put it in second and watch the chain? anyhow, I stripped my front sprocket of all its teeth once, I have found that when they start looking bad and hooking the teeth a little it wont last much longer.

I got a concusion riding once, I started getting ill on the drive home and pulled over to get gas and passed out in the drivers seat at the pump. The pimple faced geek from behind the counter came out and woke me up but I was missing about 45 minutes since I last seen the time.

 

to be run it in 2nd so i can see i would need to jack it up. this would take the load off the suspension and would not give me an accurate account of whats going on when i'm riding it.

45 min missing? you sure you were'nt abducted my Aliens...lol. seriously though, that must of been a little scary.

 

nah, not too scary, I was asleep LOL. maybe a little unnerving after I woke up.

sit on it while running and put it in second, let the clutch out slightly to see if it slips, does your front sprocket have teeth?? some have stripped the drixe axle too. (at the sprocket)

 

Were you riding in loose dirt or sand?? During labor day weekend I went for a big ride, about 1/2 way through it I felt/heard this click/clunking noise in my back end when my tires were spinning. Sounded like my chain was loosening itself (I know its kinda hard to understand). Well long story short I had mud, sand and dirt stuck to my chain and sprockets. I cleaned/oiled it and it went away. Hope I helped.


Mike

 

Good points airraptor...i was so disgusted i have'nt looked at it yet. i'm gonna pull the chain tonight and see what i find. i was riding hard pack and soft sand. i did notice if i let the clutch out real slow it hooked up. but as soon as a gave it a little gas. Loud noise and nothing to the tires.

on;y one way to find out i quess.

but in regards to the life of a chain...any feedback. generaly, how long should one last.

 

Chain wear all depends on the conditions and extent of the ride. I'm sure airraptor knows more about rappy's than I do, also my chain was almost brand new so it had that tacky a$$ chain wax goo on it.


Mike

 

well...it was definately the sprocket. I can't believe how worn out it was. I don't know how the chain stayed on. i posted the pics on myPage. and posted pics of My LSR hubs that got torn up. Raptor tourqe can do alot of damage.

does anyone know who makes a titanium front sprocket for the Raptor? i could also use a recommendation for rear hubs (needs steel spline inserts or better) as well.

ive got a titanium chain on the way and already have a ti-rear sprocket. just looking to complete the package.

 

I'm glad its not your tranny!! Sidewinder is the only company that I know who makes Ti drivetrain stuff. They <u>should</u> have a ti front sprocket b/c I they sell a whole Ti kit for the shee.


Mike

 

Sidewinder is known as a good company for chains and sprockets, and they have a great (?) ad campaign, but I think they are overpriced and misleading. BTW, the Ti rear sprocket is a Ti/Moly alloy. It is a mixture of titanium and chromoly. The "Titanium Series" chain, to the best of my knowledge, does not have any Ti parts in it. It is just a name for their strongest chain. And they don't make a Titanium front sprocket. They make the chromoly and the "Tool Steel" front sprockets.

I bought a Ti/Moly rear, Stainless chain and Tool Steel front from them less than a year ago and the chain is already stretched quite a bit and the front sprocket teeth are curving over. AND, after my first wet ride I forgot to lube the "stainless" chain and the whole thing rusted. I called them about it and they were kind enough to tell me that only the inner pins were stainless steel. What a rip-off, not to mention false advertising.

I will never buy anything from Sidewinder again. For $300 for a chain and sprockets that rusted and lasted a year, I could buy 3 cheap sets that will last longer than that.

RR1