Master link

[ramrod400]

last year while I was looking bike over noticed clip was not on the chain, two days before that I rode about 250 miles and it was on when I left so I bought rivet type but just because that seems to be the only type any one sold around here anymore,first time I ever lost a clip on master link.

[Nessism]

Good points raised here...


I while back I talked about this same topic to a guy who had a CR500 as a trail-bike (why a CR500, I don't know - he was a bit of a sucker for punishment ).

He had a couple of different rear sprockets for different terrain, and I think he used to super-motard it from time to time.

Anyway, to facilitate a quick change for the various gearing choices, he used to add (or subtract) a few links of chain to keep the adjustment in the correct range.

This involved (at times) four joining links in the one length of chain.
All of them were clip-links, he didn't spare the bike at all (and it's a 500cc two-stroke single), he rode it through some nasty off-road conditions, AND, he never lost a link or broke a chain.

I was pretty skeptical, but the evidence was there...

Manufacturers wouldn't continue to sell clip-links if they failed with regular monotony - the claims from broken chains and destroyed cases would kill 'em.


Cheers
Paul

One small detail you are missing: an off road single makes maybe 40 hp, which is downright tame compared to the chain stretching HP big bore muscle bikes make.

[pmcburney]

One small detail you are missing: an off road single makes maybe 40 hp, which is downright tame compared to the chain stretching HP big bore muscle bikes make.

Fair comment, but a 500cc four-stroke single makes about 40hp of which maybe 30 gets to the ground.

A 500cc two-stroke single makes somewhere in the vicinity of 70hp at full noise and not in a particularly linear fashion (like a big four-stroke) either...

I dare say, given the harsher environmental conditions the chain is subjected to, that the joining links are exposed to at least as much stress as they would be on an 1100cc road-bike.

Plus you have to take into account the differing chain sizes. The dirt-bike runs a 520 and the road-bike uses a 630. Horses for courses.

My point is, clip-link joiners are not an inherently bad design and are not necessarily weaker or prone to failure compared to the other styles available.

I'm sure there are plenty of folk who've had bad experiences, but you'd have to wonder if it was coincidence or poor installation/maintenance on the part of the owner...


Cheers
Paul

[almarconi]

If it makes you feel better just use a rivet style link.

[hikermikem]

Do clip style master links fail frequently? NO. Do the clips fall off unexpectedly for some people despite proper installation and proper application? YES. There is a reason you can't race in most jurisdictions without safety wiring the clip.

Does anyone have a picture of what a safety-wired master link looks like?

I thought I would do it to mine to be on the safe side...

[Nessism]

Does anyone have a picture of what a safety-wired master link looks like?

I thought I would do it to mine to be on the safe side...

Hey Mike,
Check this thread I started a week or so ago, there is a photo of a wired clip... http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=153363

[waterman]

Here are a couple of pictures of safety wired chain links I found with google;

http://philip.hammfamily.org/motorcycle/025_23.JPG

http://www.funhog.w1.com/images/hawk/chainswire.JPG

I am not sure either of these is a better solution than have been posted, just alternative methods. Some had suggested using a sliver of a beer can wedged in between the side plate and the retaining clip. The sliver of metal supposedly kept tension on the clip keeping it in the pins groove. Others had used our favorite, JB weld, to seal it in position. Even Crazy glue was used by others.

I thought I had seen picture with a wire going through the chain pins and then twisted together. I just can't find it, it may have been on this forum. Anyway, it looked like a better solution than having wire going around the side plate.

My money would be on a rivet or at least shot peening the pins.

[bellucci]

25 street bikes, 6 dirtbikes all with the fish clip... no chains lost. The strongest was a turbo Yamaha 9 second drag bike. It was a shaft so it doesn't count...

[hikermikem]

Hey Mike,
Check this thread I started a week or so ago, there is a photo of a wired clip... http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=153363

Here are a couple of pictures of safety wired chain links I found with google;

http://philip.hammfamily.org/motorcycle/025_23.JPG

http://www.funhog.w1.com/images/hawk/chainswire.JPG

My money would be on a rivet or at least shot peening the pins.

Thanks guys - I'm planning on using the old chain on my Big Red project for the short term, but the clip disintegrated from the master link when I removed it.

I was considering peening the pin heads over to secure the master, but I believe I'll safety-wire the link together first and determine if the chain is worth keeping - if so I'll peen it then...

Thanks again,

mike