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The service life of the drive chain is dependent upon proper lubrication and adjustment. Poor maintenance can cause premature wear or damage to the drive chain and sprockets. The drive chain should be inspected prior to every day's riding, adjusted for slack when required and lubricated every 800km or following any riding done in rain.
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Inspection:
Check the slack in the lower drive chain run about halfway between the sprockets. Ideally you want about 3/4" of play. When the play reaches 1" you need to adjust the chain tension. Also check for Damaged Rollers, Loose Pins or Missing O-rings. The chain requires replacement for any of those. Dry or Rusted links require immediate lubrication. Kinked or Binding Links require lubrication and also need to be worked free. If they can't be worked free then the chain needs to be replaced.
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Lubrication:
The drive chain on this motorcycle is equiped with small O-rings between the link plates. These O-rings retain grease inside the chain to improve it's service life. Therefore, it is not a good idea to use high pressure water or steam cleaning to clean this chain. You should use an SAE 80 or 90 gear oil or an O-ring safe chain wax to lube this chain. Personally, I prefer the chain wax as it does not spray the tire and chain guard and when applied properly, it makes for less chain noise while riding.
Before lubing, I ride my bike for 20 mins to warm the chain up, then I clean my chain with a lightweight oil such as LPS-1 or 2, using a dry cloth to wipe off the dirt and excess oil. Then I spray a nice even coat of gear wax and let it sit for 30 mins before riding.
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Wear Inspection:
Check the chain wear label on the left-hand swing arm when adjusting the chain. If the arrow mark(6) is in the red zone(5) after adjusting the slack to the proper amount, then the chain is worn and requires replacement.
Replacement Chain (stock sprocket): DID525V8 or RK525SMOZ5
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Adjustment:
1. Place the motorcycle on it's side stand with the transmission in neutral.
2. Loosen the axle nut(1).
3. Turn both adjusting bolts(2) an equal number of turns until the correct drive chain slack is obtained. (counterclockwise to tighten chain) Roll the motorcycle forward and check tension again. Then check that the axle is aligned by making sure the index marks(3) align with the scales(4) on both sides of the swing arm.
4. Tighten axle nut to 69 ft-lbs (93 N-m) torque.
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Sprockets:
Check the rear sprocket for excessively worn teeth or broken and missing teeth. Use the diagram to the left as a guide. Do this more often if your bike has an aluminum rear sprocket instead of steel.
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