Chain ripped apart? no idea why

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screamthepoetry

screamthepoetry

New Member
Nov 22, 2011
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greensburg, indiana
so after about a week of riding i realized the tension in my chain had reduced dramatically. the top part of the chain was hanging a bit and rubbing the bottom half of the chain on the tensioner..obviously thats not good, so i took it and got it shortened, took it home and even without putting it on the tensioner was just a little too short, went and bought a half link put the tensioner on and put the master link back on, perfect! was snug and not rubbing. took it for a test drive around the block and after my last stop sign on the way home my back tire locked up and then started spinning again but only because the gear behind the clutch plate ripped my chain apart..and not at any of the spots with the half link or master link..in a completely different spot.. took it home, pulled off the broken link, replaced it and now its back on the bike.. has anyone had that kind of thing happen before, if so does anyone know why it happened? could it have just been a bad link in the chain that i never noticed before?:-||
 
decoherence

decoherence

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Aug 23, 2010
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sebring,fl
the idler lost enough tension that it let a 2nd link fold over & couldn't pass the inside of the front sprocket housing.
one option is to make sure the idler won't let that happen again.
make sure everything is tighter.
or you can see if you can get the engine adjusted so the chain has no slack w/o an idler pulley. i do this.
 
The_Aleman

The_Aleman

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Jul 31, 2008
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el People's Republik de Kalifornistan
If your chain is loose enough, it can easily try to ride off a sprocket while leaning and hitting bumps in the street.
Once it tries to ride off the sprocket, it can be torn apart in an instant, while all you hear/feel is a pop come from the chain area.

IMO, best solution is to run a proper spring-loaded chain tensioner.
 
screamthepoetry

screamthepoetry

New Member
Nov 22, 2011
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greensburg, indiana
well i dont know how that would happe, i mean there is not way the chain got loose enough at all..its on there tight, and it is a 41 chain.. i dunno i will drive it to work tomorrow and see if anything similar happens..i hope not but i cant figure out why it would do that cause it is on there good and tight.
 
Ibedayank

Ibedayank

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Oct 29, 2011
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check to see if the sprocket is centered and running true and perfectly inline with the sprocket coming off the motor if its a ht kit...ditch the stock chain and replace with a HD bmx chain. Once the chain pops off it creates weak spots in the chain and it WILL break again...don't ask how i know
 
screamthepoetry

screamthepoetry

New Member
Nov 22, 2011
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greensburg, indiana
i dunno, it didnt pop off thats what i dont get, it was still on the sprocket when i opened up the clutch plate to pull it off,,it was all still there it just broke.. and it was working fine before i took some length off because it was too loose. thanks for the advice everyone, i will keep an eye on it and see what happens..
 
Ibedayank

Ibedayank

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Oct 29, 2011
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if it just broke look for nick in the side plates of the chain if there are any replace the chain as that is where it will break again.. stock chain is only good as a paper weight
 
Nashville Kat

Nashville Kat

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2009
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Jacksonville, Florida
A chain can break if you split it and don't get the center pin all the way back through the outside plate- the plate can then get bent out and catch on something

Master links are convenient and fairly reliable but I won't use one on a motor chain because they can come apart there- and I've had it happen.

It's possible a plate can just break I guess but I'd bet it was some other reason that cause it to besides just stress.

as i said in the other thread- CHAINS STRETCH- that's probably why you first noticed your loose chain- the are like guitar strings,- a restrung guitar needs constant tuning at first

and most of the stretch comes in the first mileage, with stretching decreasing after awhile.
 
Last edited:
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nightcruiser

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Mar 25, 2011
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Nashville Kat said:
A chain can break if you split it and don't get the center pin all the way back through the outside plate- the plate can then get bent out and catch on something

Master links are convenient and fairly reliable but I won't use one on a motor chain because they can come apart there- and I've had it happen.

It's possible a plate can just break I guess but I'd bet it was some other reason that cause it to besides just stress.

as i said in the other thread- CHAINS STRETCH- that's probably why you first noticed your loose chain- the are like guitar strings,- a restrung guitar needs constant tuning at first

and most of the stretch comes in the first mileage, with stretching decreasing after awhile.
Click to expand...
ANSI chains are pre-stressed/pre-stretched, so the majority of the stretch has happened before you get the chain (first mileage). Probably why I never noticed my chain tension changing, cause the factory stressed the **** out of the chain with a lot more force than I can put on it with my bike....
 
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