Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

My chain is fragged so I bought a kit with sprockets and chain. The kit comes with a master link (clip widget) as well as a rivet in link, so some noob questions:

It seems apparent to me that the rivet-in link should be better - is it?
Will I be able to go down to my friendly bike workshop and get them to fit the rivet-in link - sure I'll call but is that the norm?
Do I need to lube that rivet-in link? Or put O-rings on it or anything?

Bear with me and the n00bish questions, back in my day I used to buy 530 chain by the meter from the local bearing place - O-rings?! Never hearda them...

Heh!

Good questions. Anyway the rivet link is the best way to go. It should have come with o-rings, lube and spacers so you know how tight to press it. If you have not done this before, (as you obliviously have not) it would be better to pay or have an experienced member do it for you as the way it looks after it is pressed looks different than the other links in the chain, plus you need a special tool, (not a hammer) to do a proper job. The o-rings are to hold the lube in, so the spacing of the press is very important.
Good luck and let us know how it goes. Jim Beam always makes the job easier.

oldman wrote:Jim Beam always makes the job easier.

+1

Most solid bit of advice in there I reckon'

A lot of people still run a clip style link on dirt bikes, but it is not recommended to run one on a road bike. As oldman said, get a bike shop to fit the rivet link for you and watch how they do it. Once you know how it's done, you can get the tools so that you can do it yourself in future.

Thanks a lot. Exactly the sort of input I was looking for.

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I forgot to mention. If the local bike mechanic is close by, fit the clip type link and take it easy riding down there and then get them to fit the rivet link. They will hold just fine while taking it easy, but aren't as reliable under heavy load as rivet links. Just make sure the open end of the circlip is facing backwards to the chain direction.

Didn't Robracer do a "How to" for replacing your chain?

Rob's sticky on replacing chain and sprockets is here: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=26114

*BLUSH!* It was stickied right there!

Thanks, looked through all of it. A buddy came up with a riveting tool, so even though I've not done it before, I think I'll give it a go.

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I've done one before without to much trouble, happy to help if you get stuck.

Thanks - I'll give you a shout if I'm battling...

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BrettZZR wrote:Thanks - I'll give you a shout if I'm battling...

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Please look at somebody elses chain that has a rivet link as the pressed link looks much different than the factory links. It almost looks like it is not pressed enough. The problem with this is the tendency to press it tooooooo tight then you have fucked the link. Make sure you lube it first and use the spacer. You are probably much smarter than me, however as I had to fuck up a link before I learned. Remember Jim Beam is brown.