Chain Enclosures

[Anonymous]

Hi all,
I've been looking around trying find a manufacturer of chain enclosures but no luck so far. I know they are available for the 750 and 1000s but from who? I'm actually looking for one for my 400 but if I can find one for the 1100 even better. It appears that chains are for fair weather riders.

Thanks, Steve

[shaftzuki]

Just gotta love those shafties 8)

[Hap Call]

Re: Chain Enclosures

Hi all,
I've been looking around trying find a manufacturer of chain enclosures but no luck so far. I know they are available for the 750 and 1000s but from who? I'm actually looking for one for my 400 but if I can find one for the 1100 even better. It appears that chains are for fair weather riders.

Thanks, Steve

I have been thinking about this myself...have you seen some on the 750's or 1000's? I have been thinking of making one. With a chain and sprocket set going for $200+ it would be great to extend the life of the set.

Hap

[Hap Call]

Something like this:



This is for a CB750F

Hap

[Anonymous]

That's pretty neat. I've never seen one but I know there is an Ozzy here with a litre + bike and he's got something like that. I also read a story about a guy who had one on his 750.

Just a thought, it would be a disaster if the chain were to break in there. I'm sure it would take you down with it as there's no where for it to go except got getting bunched up in the rear sprocket.

Steve

[Hap Call]

That's pretty neat. I've never seen one but I know there is an Ozzy here with a litre + bike and he's got something like that. I also read a story about a guy who had one on his 750.

Just a thought, it would be a disaster if the chain were to break in there. I'm sure it would take you down with it as there's no where for it to go except got getting bunched up in the rear sprocket.

Steve

It would probably explode the enclosure...it would be a disaster even without the enclosure since a broken chain could rupture your cases and spill oil all over hell and back, losing rear traction. I figure if the chain is installed with a quality rivet, it is less likely to fail since it is constantly lubed and wear is greatly reduced.

Hap

[Anonymous]

Yamaha had an enclosed-chain motorcycle, a v-twin with a Virago 920 engine, back in the early 80's. Nice-looking bike. Maybe someone could elaborate on this model.

Nick

[Hap Call]

Yamaha had an enclosed-chain motorcycle, a v-twin with a Virago 920 engine, back in the early 80's. Nice-looking bike. Maybe someone could elaborate on this model.

Nick

I saw some references to this bike...VT920, or something like that.

Hap

[Anonymous]

Yamaha had an enclosed-chain motorcycle, a v-twin with a Virago 920 engine, back in the early 80's. Nice-looking bike. Maybe someone could elaborate on this model.

Nick

I saw some references to this bike...VT920, or something like that.

Hap

I owned one for about 5 weeks a few years ago. I had bought it under a short term buy/sell deal from a local dealer so one of my brothers would have something to ride when he visited me from the UK. I believe it was a 1982 model (with only 4,500 miles ), with "European" styling, as opposed to the "cruiser-look" of the more common Virago....i.e. traditional-looking, "rectangular" tank, flatter bars, unstepped saddle, etc. I seem to remember an enclosed chain drive. It wasn't a bad bike but I thought it rather unexciting....the engine performance, handling was OK but didn't really show much character. However, my brother quite liked it (first v-twin that he had ever ridden) and subsequently bought another v-twin later in the UK.......quite different: a Ducati Paso.

[Anonymous]

I think that the designation for the 920cc v-twin with chain was XV920 (Euro-model = RH?). Apparently, the Euromodel was quite rare in the USA. I found 1 picture on the internet (of a 1981)....you can't see much of the chaincase side, unfortunately. The one I briefly had was grey and black.....and I thought I remembered flatter handlebars and seat :? .

[SqDancerLynn1]

SO how would you oil the chain ?? Oil bath???

[Anonymous]

Yes, it's an oil bath. Might as well be a shaft, eh?

Shaftie Old Saint Nick

[terry]

Ugly old chain enclosures were popular about 100 years ago, and most bikes had them. There were a few drawbacks though, the main one being that if you can't see your chain, you forget about it, so forget about adjusting it, plus it's a bummer trying to "line up" your chain etc, with that thing on, then there's all the associated noise with that chain wanging around inside the chaincase, distracting you when you should be "concentrating on trucking right", ha ha.

Truth is, if you look after a modern chain it should last a long time, with just a little sensible maintenance. In the darkest recesses of my mind, I keep hearing them little old ladies with their underpowered, overweight "shaft-sickles" snickering at us real men who don't mind getting our hands dirty now and then, but I was reading an earlier post where one "GS'er" was saying what it was gonna cost him to replace the broken output shaft on his bike, and I figured I could buy a whole lot of chain lube for that kind of money..........

[Anonymous]

I've owned GS shafties since 1986, and never have I encountered any shaft-related problems. So, that's extremely rare.

Chains are for people who haven't tried shaftie ownership.

Real men have shafts! The chain gang is to be cheerfully snickered at, for their failure to see the light!

Shafty old Nick

[saaz]

I own up to the one with a chain case on my 78 GS1000. I have had it on for 20 years. It is a fiberglass one in two pieces, nowhere near as fancy as the alloy and rubber one Hap posted a pic of. It is made by Furlong, don't know if they still exist.

I used to own a Honda DT175 with a metal version of what I have now, but it was standard on the bike.

The case is great if you ride in the wet and on gravel roads. Chain lube does not go over everything. Chain mantenance is not affected as it is easy to lube and adjust. The long life of o ring chains with minimal maintenace probbaly makes a chain case less important for general riding these days. I do find I don't have to replace the sprockets as much tho.....