About 15,000 miles ago I installed an O ring chain on my twin after narrowing the sprockets. I have sprayed the chain with lube consistently. A couple of weeks ago on my second ride after finally getting the plot running I was in the middle of a curve and suddenly, no forward power. I came to a stop by the side of the road, and lo and behold. the chain had flown off! A local man pulled up next to me and shouted, "Right there..that driveway, push it in. My nephew lives there."
I pushed the bike across the road, and wondered just how in the world the chain had come off. The man said he thought he saw a snake in the road some yards back, and there it was, my chain with no master link.
The last time I installed the chain I seem to recall having quite a difficult time compressing the O-rings where the master link attached and think I used some needle nose vise-grips and finally got the link snapped into place. Evidently I did something wrong, because I've never heard of a master link coming off previously, but it took this one a few years to do it.
For installation of my new chain this time I removed the floppy end of a small C clamp which left a nice sharp point on the end of the threads. I put the link in place along with the master link clip and was able to use the clamp to compress the pair, because the sharp point on the clamp fit in the center of the clip.. To spread the clip I used some snap-ring pliers, and bingo, Bob's your uncle.
I sure hate to admit what must have been my ham-fisted installation of the master link years ago, but evidently I must have cracked the link, or how else could it have come off. The man who told me to pull the bike into the driveway was a real prince. We drove a couple of miles to pick up his trailer and he brought me and the bike home, about a half hour's drive. I wasn't in trouble for five full minutes and
I pushed the bike across the road, and wondered just how in the world the chain had come off. The man said he thought he saw a snake in the road some yards back, and there it was, my chain with no master link.
The last time I installed the chain I seem to recall having quite a difficult time compressing the O-rings where the master link attached and think I used some needle nose vise-grips and finally got the link snapped into place. Evidently I did something wrong, because I've never heard of a master link coming off previously, but it took this one a few years to do it.
For installation of my new chain this time I removed the floppy end of a small C clamp which left a nice sharp point on the end of the threads. I put the link in place along with the master link clip and was able to use the clamp to compress the pair, because the sharp point on the clamp fit in the center of the clip.. To spread the clip I used some snap-ring pliers, and bingo, Bob's your uncle.
I sure hate to admit what must have been my ham-fisted installation of the master link years ago, but evidently I must have cracked the link, or how else could it have come off. The man who told me to pull the bike into the driveway was a real prince. We drove a couple of miles to pick up his trailer and he brought me and the bike home, about a half hour's drive. I wasn't in trouble for five full minutes and
