Can You Clean and Adjust Your Chain?

Drive Chain Maintenance.
A bit of a back to basics story here. I thought I had this covered sometime back, but I actually don't, my bad. A couple of weeks ago, a geezer asked if I thought the chain on his Ninja 300 was worn out. Wish I'd taken some pics of it now to give you a better idea.

The chain was hanging down in a large arc because it needed adjusting so badly. On closer inspection, it was also really greasy/dirty where chain lube had been sprayed on constantly during its life, but had never been cleaned. It was also heavy and slow to move because of the grease.
Now you can give all the advice you want in person, but words are meaningless unless you're doing the job with them, there and then. And if the person isn't confident in adjusting it correctly, it's a tough call. Everything is easy when you know how.

Regarding the wear factor? It was half-and-half. Yes, you could pull the chain links away from the rear sprocket slightly (a good test for a worn chain), but then I've seen far worse. If it was mine, I'd give it a damn good clean up first, spray it with chain lube again, adjust it and take it for a ride. And then monitor it for a while.

So, a good time for a tutorial. Take from it what you will, ignore it completely, or find out how I get years from chains and sprockets. 

Here's a Can-Am 175 that is just beyond a simple clean and adjust. I'll admit defeat with this one. 

HELP! Chain sizes... 520? 525? 530?

Need to know the difference?
Sometimes confusing, I had to check this up myself when a mate mentioned the chain on his R6 was a 532.  I looked it up and thought it should be a 525 but a conversion is also available to make it a 520!  So which one and why?


A quick look through Google found me a small article on EK's brilliant website which I've shamelessly copied and pasted.  After all, don't fix what ain't broke.

What’s the difference between 520, 525 and 530 chains? The numbers indicate a chain’s dimensions, tolerances, minimum tensile strength and other specifications, using a system instituted by the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee. The JIS standard is very similar to chain standards developed by ISO, ANSI, DIN and others. The first digit (4, 5 or 6) denotes a chain’s pitch – the center-to-center distance between chain pins. Originally these numbers specified pitch in eighths of an inch (i.e. a 400-series chain had a pitch of 4/8, or 1/2 inch), but now metric dimensions are used. A 400-series chain has a pitch of 12.7mm. A 500-series chain has a pitch of 15.875mm. A 600-series chain has a pitch of 19.05mm. The second and third digits indicate the chain’s width, measured between the inboard surfaces of the inner sideplates. An EK chain ending in ‘20’ measures 6.35mm between the plates. If the number ends in ‘25’ or ‘28’, the dimension is 7.94mm. If the number ends in ‘30’ or ‘32’, the width is 9.53mm. Because wider chains are typically stronger as well, the second and third digits also indicate a chain’s strength, relative to other chains with the same pitch. Higher numbers correspond to greater strength, i.e. a 525 chain is stronger than a 520. This additional strength is achieved through increased roller diameter, pin diameter, pin length and plate thickness. Spot on!