Hello everyone. Just got back from doing a Baja ride with my 03 660 Raptor. Engine was strong & went 250 miles before the stock chain broke. Lucky I had a case-saver & no damage to the bike. Now it's time to replace the chain. Any ideas what to get as far as chain only or full sprockets and chain kit? What brand? what metal type? And what is the difference or advantage between an O-Ring & non O-ring type? My mods are listed below. Thanks in advance.

 

It's best to always replace the chain and sprockets all at the same time, so they break in together and you don't end up with accelerated wear and the chain jumping off the sprockets. Just about any sprockets will do the trick, I'd recommend staying with steel ones if you're on a budget, the alloy sprockets don't last long at all, and the high end sprockets are salty. If you want the chain to last you should get an o-ring or x-ring chain. The regular chain may be cheaper, and have slightly less rolling resistance, but as soon as it gets wet, muddy, or dusty and dirty it's going to start wearing out pretty quickly. An o-ring or x-ring chain may cost about twice as much up front, but will last 10 times as long unless you are very persistent with cleaning and lubing the non-ring chain, and ride only in dry conditions. The difference between o-ring chains is simple. O-ring chains have a round rubber seal to keep the contaminants away from the pivots, and to keep the grease in. X-ring chains have a rubber seal similar to an o-ring, but in an "X" shape, which gives 2 mating surfaces to seal the grease in and nasty stuff out. The smaller contact areas on the seals also offer a slightly lighter rolling resistance than o-ring chains. For the few extra bucks, I run an X-ring chain, and don't worry too much about keeping it lubed. Usually I only oil the chain after I wash the quad, which is about every 10-20 hours of riding.

 

recon99

Thanks for the Chain technical training. That really was a good answer. Thanks again.

 

DID Gold X-ring chain with steel sprockets. 98 links by the way.

 

I agree, go x-ring with steel sprockets.