Chain Maintenance Questions for 07 TE610

Couple of questions about my TE610:

• First of all...how many miles can one reasonably expect to get from the stock chain on an 07 TE610? I'm at 3,000 miles now. I'll be honest, I've ridden for a long time, but I'm not so good at judging the condition of a chain...any tips/pointers for how to look at one to determine its relative wear?
• Adjusting the chain. The manual says to put the bike on a stand (unloaded a vertical) and then push the bottom of the chain upward toward the swingarm and measure its distance from the swingarm and adjust until that distance is 12mm (0.47 in.). Now, do they mean the -actual- metal swingarm itself or to the guides/guards that are on top/bottom of the swingarm?
• Is there a better way than the 12mm method above?

Thanks!

Mileage will vary DRASTICALLY by conditions, use, and riding style. Aggressive riding in muddy conditions will be much harder on a chain than dual sporting in dry conditions. I get anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 miles out of a chain (o-ring) on my Huskies on dirt; on the street, 20,000 is possible.

There are two ways to check if a chain is worn out:

The "right" way is to measure the length of a section of the chain, and see if it is outside the manufacturer's specs. These specs will vary,but in general 1% to 1.5% elongation is a good metric. New 520/530 chain has a 0.625 (5/8 inch) pitch, so measure accordingly. With a 6-inch caliper, you can measure 9 links; a new chain will measure 5.625", and a worn chain will be 5.710" (1.5%).

The much simpler (but less precise) way is to just try to lift the chain off the backside of the rear sprocket. If you can see light through the gap, the chain is shot.

I set my tension so that I can touch the chain to the bottom of the swingarm (well, the guides on the bottom). Far better to be a bit loose than to be too tight. If you aren't sure, bounce the bike or strap the rear down until the swingarm pivot and the sprockets are in a line, and make sure you still have a little bit of slack.

T

Thanks a lot for the info! I'm just getting around to measuring this...could you verify that this is the right way to measure it? If so, would you agree that it looks like my chain is still within spec?


https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36163812/20140511_131705.jpg

Thanks!!

You've got the right idea, although it's hard to be accurate measuring by eye on the outside like that.

I just measure inside the rollers. The rollers are 0.400, so just add that to whatever you measure.

Oh, and MAKE SURE THE CHAIN IS UNDER TENSION when you measure!

So looks like it's 5.245 inside the rollers under tension (without adding in the roller), so 5.645 with the roller (which is close to my 'eyeballing it' from the outside measurement of 5.636). If my math is right, 5.645 is about .35% longer than stock? Seems like my chain may be okay for a bit longer if so.