Hey guys.
Went to do my usual fortnightly clean/relube on the chain (I do in excess of 500 miles a fortnight) and noticed a few O rings hanging out.
Anyway I didn't think much of it, have relubed it and got back on the road. I was thinking later how odd it is though, for a chain on a brand new bike to be chewing out O rings.
I jumped on the net and started reading horror stories of people's chains braking and locking up the rear wheel, destroying the motor, etc. It did me a frighten.
So I popped into a local bike shop here (well respected. unlike the local Yamaha dealers) to get it checked and if necessary get the chain replaced. They've said the chain is still completely fine and no need to go replacing it yet or any time soon, despite the O rings coming off. They did take note of it being quite loose, and did a readjustment for me on the spot. I found this interesting as every time I have had the bike serviced (first and second service) they always mention the chain seems overly loose and have tightened it.
They did however also say it was really odd that the O rings were almost snapping in half, not necessarily "breaking down" like O rings normally would. They were plyable and in good condition, just snapping. The good news is though, they reassured me that no small bike like an R3 would have the power to snap a chain anyway and that it will become very obvious (noise and feel) when the chain does eventually have few remaining days.
My question for all of you experts, is whether
A) It's normal on these OEM Chains to have such an issue at <5000 miles? Is there a "better" chain to upgrade to?
B) Is it normal for the chain to loosen up a lot if you are doing the sort of miles I am?
C) If you were in this position would you pro-actively replace the chain or just cruise around on it, with a few broken O rings until eventually you just end up doing the usual chain+sprocket at 10 thou?
