Chains

[johnbirchjar]

Hi Guys,I have been reading the latest addition of "Road"(the magazine of "MAG")and in there is an article about "Motorcycle Chains",and the article scribe was bemoaning the fact that no Bike manufacturer has a model in their range that has an enclosed rear chain,(except the Honda Cub,)and didn't know of one that did,so before I contact the magazine and tell them/him about our Rotories, my question to you guys is, "Has anybody ever had to fit a new rear chain through fair wear and tear"? (legend has it that nobody ever has )
I myself think the system used on all the models(except the F1&F1Sport of course)is just brilliant ,ok,the Gaiters don't last forever,but I had about 40odd thousand miles on the clock before I had to fit a new one,(and goodness knows old they were)so how bad is that ,fair enough,they may not look very on a sports bike,but on anything else? J.B.

[Richard Negus]

John,
I don't believe there are any chain driven bikes with full enclosure on the current market, but there have been several in the past.
Most notable was MZ with their range of two-strokes, the Yamaha TR1, and the Munch Mammut. I'm sure there are more as well.
Providing the Norton gaiters are replaced when oil starts to leak, I'm also sure those chains last the life of the bike.
R.

[johnbirchjar]

Hi Richard,thanks for the info,Re the MZ,Isn't that where Nortons originally sourced our gaiters from? J.B.

[Richard Negus]

I believe that Norton copied the MZ idea and improved on it.
The MZ system is not oil-tight, and neither is the Norton one either sometimes, but the Norton gaiters are much bigger than MZ and made using tooling owned now by Andover Norton.
R,

[FloridaMike]

Confirming Richard's comment about enclosed chains on Munch Mammut, mine has it.

The rear axle isn't adjustable fore and aft, so chain tension is adjusted by a small idler and some linkages. The idler is on the "return" side, so it doesn't have to be able to absorb the power of the engine on acceleration.

In 1968, this was a HUGE, POWERFUL motorcycle, nowadays not so much. The chain is a standard 530.

Best Regards,
FloridaMike

[kanonkopdrinker]

The Silk 700S has it too.

[johnbirchjar]

Thanks guys,should be enough for an article ,ride safe,J.B.