Olden tymes - safetywired master link & gear oiled chain

[Pursuvant]

Waiting on a battery - amazon shipper running slow, so I changed plugs early & washed the k&n. Cleaned up my chain (sort of with wd 40), the only cleaning I've done to a chain in a long time - years long time. I run quality chain dirty, adjusted, and wet and get lots of miles out of sealed drive chain.

With all things from the olden tymes in mind, like growing up we just picked up whatever pump oil can was in the garage and gave the chain a dose, three times a year if it needed it or not, and these were not o-ring chains lithium lubed rivets & barrels.

So that's how I'm going to run this vx3 chain, hit it once and a while with wd. Just enough to prevent rust, and leave the lube to DID. For curiosity and amusement.

Then I thought about all the years we ran chains with clip (split style) master links, and death and destruction did not run rampant ( @klx678 has some good comments talking chain history on this site) (think @shinyribshad a chain go AWOL at freeway speed).

So I just happen to have a VX3 split master link on this current chain, why not give the split master a safety wire, just so I can say I've checked it out.

That's double redundant safety wires - one can fail but there's always a backup. It's @M. Hausknecht's fault - he told me to safety wire my slipp'in grip. Now I got this spool of wire and no where to show...

[ElGonzales]

In olden tymes, chains where running in rubber hoses. They are encapsulating the complete drive train, no dirt will  come in.
This is my MZ ES 175/2 from 71, I've installed a modern DID 425 without O-rings, top edge technology for this bike.
Even with the original low quality chains the manual recommends only gear oil for the chain, every 2500 km /1553 miles.
I also fill the hoses with  A LOT of grease what really enhances the durability.

 

MZ kept the rubber hoses until the late 80s. You can expect that the chain lasts many 10.000 km, but of course this depends on a lot of parameters. Also: fancy bar end turn indicators and bar end mirror. It's not new, it's 50 years old grandpa stuff

Edited August 6, 2022 by ElGonzales

[klx678]

I've understood there was a Bultaco Metralla owner in my area who has never changed the chain on his bike because it is still good due to being enclosed and virtually always lubed with no dirt.  True or not I do know the chains definitely hold up better when enclosed like that.   After all, we're not constantly having to replace the cam drive chains.

[Pursuvant]

Just now, ElGonzales said:

This is my MZ ES 175/2 from 71, I've installed a modern DID 425 without O-rings

 

Yes I get it, he last thing you would want is an o-ring sealed chain, lube needs to get in. This is a neat post @ElGonzales

[Pursuvant]

Here's a pic from @klx678  I'm feeling a little queezy on this one for the street, but if I lost a master link plate and wanted to ride out, yes i would do it. For a test ride. Watch it to see if I learn something, like maybe it would work fine for 1 race. Looks like safety wire is smaller than .019 ?

To get that twist on the second (right) pin, I would have put chain on bike but not on rear sprocket, use the slack to bend that adjacent link 90 degrees to get that wire tied cleanly like in the pic.

[M. Hausknecht]

Just now, Pursuvant said:

Here's a pic from @klx678  I'm feeling a little queezy on this one for the street, but if I lost a master link plate and wanted to ride out, yes i would do it. For a test ride. Watch it to see if I learn something, like maybe it would work fine for 1 race. Looks like safety wire is smaller than .019 ?

To get that twist on the second (right) pin, I would have put chain on bike but not on rear sprocket, use the slack to bend that adjacent link 90 degrees to get that wire tied cleanly like in the pic.

I've done that in a pinch. Nothing bad happened.