need to buy new chain?

[newargoowner]

got 87 i/c 8x8(RC50-2). got 400 hours on it. it needs new chains. i looked through the archives, but their alittle old. should i go through ARGO outdoor sport? or Richards Relics? which brands are good? tsubaki,DID,mc master,dayton,diamond,allied-locke??
looking for some help. Thanks for any info.

[Moosetalker]

Diamond/ American made is best then Tsubaki/Japan the others I am unfamiliar with.
Dont bother with Chinese go to an Industrial bearing supply company they should carry chain allso, Argo is prob the most expensive easy to do tho as its cut to length,

If ya got the money buy bulk I bought 100 ft roll good for 3 full changes they were out of Tsubaki got Diamond for same price. its a welded link so you will find it easier to seperate with a grinder to file of before using chain breaker.

[Mike]

I wouldn't go through a dealer for the chain. You can usually get that locally at your local bearing supply house or order it online and save yourself some money. As for what brand, Moosetalker had some good advice. Also, all of the threads you read in the archives still hold true for brands. It's been discussed a good bit in the past so searching the site should help you there.

[number1cas]

Just checked on chain today, found that my Argo comes with Tsubaki, was told that it is medium duty industrial chain, was told a price for Reynold and Morris brands. Told me they are slightly better than Tsubaki but also still medium grade. Was also told that Diamond was one of the best and considered heavy grade, so a bit better than Reynold or Morris. In his opinion considering the fact that I was happy with the life of the original chains, Reynold or Morris would be a bit stronger for me, also a bit more money than Tsubaki, but due to the fact that they don't normally stock the Tsubaki I would have to pay freight on it and it would cost as much as the better quality stuff he can get from the main warehouse freight free. (The joy of being in a remote location!!) He didn't think I would need to spend the money on Diamond, which he could also get from his warehouse freight free for me.
The prices I got are Canadian but they are......
60-1 Reynold brand $8.85/ft master links $2.65ea
50-2 Morris brand $16.00/ft master links $4.70ea
The idler chains are about 2 feet each, so thats just under $20 to replace one, Argo is about $45, So a bit less than half price and also a bit better quality chain......
I will be calling around to try and beat this price as well since it is the first quote.
This was all done at Mid-Canada Bearing, pretty sure it is a chain across Canada.

[newargoowner]

Thanks for the info. I found HKK (Japan) chain for 10.57 / ft. It only comes in 10' sections at a local bearings shop. I saw an old post from someone who had problems with an HKK chain that was purchased cheap off of e-bay. Has anyone else had any experience with this brand of chain?

[number1cas]

Chain is way too complicated.... during my research, I found that you can't always trust just the name brand, for example, Tsubaki has chain made in Japan and China (I beleive it is) The Japan stuff is good, the cheaper Chinese is exactly that "Cheaper". So just because it says "Tsubaki" doesnt really mean anything. For this reason I have decided to trust a retailer that knows chain and not take a chance on ebay or the web, I travel to some extremely remote areas in my Argo, areas I could not walk out of and have NO cellular service. I dont want to cheap out on the lifeline of my unit, I would rather spend a bit more to get GOOD chain.
Now for day rides with others or riding close to home, the cheaper stuff may be just fine. I also put about 2000 miles plus a year on my unit so that puts alot of wear on chains and I dont want to replace them twice a year. The old addage is true in this case "you get what you pay for"
Just my 2 cents on chain cost.......