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How To Know If Motorcycle Chain Is Bad
Typical symptoms of chain wear include metal grinding, clicking, stiff chain links (commonly known as “dead joints”), excessive slack (can be easily pulled away from the toothed plate), and the phenomenon of tightening and loosening when turning the wheel set. You may also find that the teeth of the toothed disc become sharp and hooked, or you may feel a noticeable “frustration” when accelerating. These signs are telling you clearly: it’s time to change. For safety and durability, it is usually necessary to replace the entire set together with the tooth plate.
If a severely worn chain suddenly breaks or falls off during riding, it may not only spoil your engine case like a whip, but it may even cause an extremely dangerous car crash. Below, I’ll break down the audible, tactile and visual signals that mean the life of your drivetrain is over.
Hearing And Riding Experience
In many cases, the car will “alarm” you by sound before you see the chain problem with your naked eye. During the ride, be sure to pay attention to the sound and feedback of the vehicle.
Abnormal Noise (Grinding Sound And Clicking Sound)
A healthy chain should have a continuous, smooth whirring sound. If you hear a grinding, clicking or flapping sound, this is the first indicator of wear.
Flapping sound: Usually because the chain is too loose, causing it to flap on the rear rocker arm or chain guard.
Grinding/Clicking: This often means that the rollers have worn out, or the chain cannot be snapped smoothly when passing through the toothed disc due to stiffness (dead joints).
Tip: This sound is most audible when coasting in neutral or slowing down.
The “Herky-Jerky” Feel When Accelerating
Does your acceleration feel rough or incoherent? A worn chain tends to stretch unevenly. When you twist the throttle, this uneven stretch can cause a delay in power transmission, creating a sense of frustration. It feels like the car is “half a beat slow” or a slight jump, instead of transmitting the power to the rear wheels smoothly and linearly.
Tight & Loose Spots
When the chain wears, it rarely wears evenly every section. Some parts stretch longer than others. If you put the frame up and turn the rear wheel, you may find that the tension of the chain is changing-it is very tight when you turn to one position, and it is very loose when you turn to another position. This situation is very bad because it will apply huge alternating stress to the output shaft of the gearbox, which is a clear signal that the chain is completely scrapped.
Visual Inspection: Check The Chain Body
If the ride doesn’t feel right or sounds murmur, it’s time to squat down for a close visual inspection. Please focus on the following physical defects on the chain body.
The Pull-Off Test-Check For Excessive Slack
This is the most authoritative and direct test method to judge wear. Go directly behind the rear gear plate (that is, at 3 o’clock). Try to pinch the chain and pull it directly back out of the teeth of the toothed disc.
Good chain: you should not be able to pull it, it should be tightly wrapped around the toothed disc.
Bad chain: If you can pull the chain apart and see the opposite light through the gap between the chain and the toothed disc, it means that the internal pin and roller have been severely worn. This chain has actually been “stretched” and must be replaced.
Stiff Or Knotted Links
A well-lubricated chain should be compliant. If you find that individual chain links cannot rotate freely, or still maintain the “zigzag” bending angle when walking in a straight line (this is what we often call dead joints), it means that the O-ring seal has failed. Once the grease in the sealing ring dries up, direct friction between metal and metal can cause the chain link to jam. If you can’t fix it after cleaning and relubricating, the chain is hopeless.
Rust, Dirt And Pin Rotation
Rust: the surface of the floating rust can sometimes be cleaned up, but if it is serious corrosion, especially from the deep oozing of the roller or the chain link seal ring around the “red dust” , which represents the internal has occurred catastrophic wear and neglect.
Pin rotation: carefully observe the pins connecting the links. If the head of the pin appears to be rotated or square instead of flat alignment, this indicates that the internal bushing has worn, causing the pin to rotate inside the link plate.
Visual Inspection: Check The Toothed Disc
You can watch this video for a demonstration of the sprocket teeth inspection:
If you do not check the chainring, you will not be able to fully determine the condition of the chain. The chain and the toothed disc are a linked system; if the chain is used, the toothed disc is usually already damaged.
Hooked Or Pointy Teeth
Check the tooth profile of the front and rear toothed discs.
Healthy teeth: The top should be flat and symmetrical on both sides.
Worn teeth: Looks like “shark fin”. As the chain lengthens, it will ride higher on the teeth and wear the force surface to form a hook-like, sharp or sharp contour.
Broken Teeth Or Broken Teeth
In the case of extreme wear or high impact stress, you may see gaps or even broken teeth in the toothed disc. This belongs to the extremely dangerous risk of failure, absolutely can not ride.
Chain Series
The brake calipers and sprockets offer excellent performance.
Calipers & Sprockets
The brake calipers and sprockets offer excellent performance.
Caliper series
Lighter weight、Corrosion resisting 、Sliding resistance
How To Check Your Chain Properly
To confirm the above symptoms, follow this simple process:
Rip up the rear wheel: Use a large ladder (middle support) or lift the frame (paddock stand) to allow the rear wheel to run freely.
Turn and feel: Turn the wheel slowly by hand. Feel if there is resistance (dead knots) and observe if the chain tension fluctuates between tight and loose.
Perform a pull-off test: Pull the chain at the rear chainring as described before to check for light transmission.
Check the gear plate: visually compare the stressed surface and non-stressed surface of the gear plate to check whether there is “shark fin” effect.
What To Do: Replace As A Set
If you find obvious wear based on the above symptoms-whether it is a dead joint, a failed pull-off test, or a toothed disc tip-the solution is mandatory: the chain and the front and rear toothed discs must be replaced together.
Never install the new chain on the old gear plate, or the old chain on the new gear plate. Because the pitch of the old and new parts (pitch, that is, the distance between the chain links) is not matched, this will cause severe wear and tear, so that you can use the new parts for a long time in a very short time scrapped. Although the complete set of replacement looks expensive, it is the only correct way to ensure safety, smooth power output and long-term durability.
Author： Alex Morgan
With over 12 years of experience wrenching on bikes and riding cross-country, I’ve learned that a healthy drivetrain is key to safety. I specialize in simplifying motorcycle maintenance to help you keep your ride smooth and reliable.