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520 Vs 530 Which Chain

16K views 43 replies 18 participants last post by  gsxcorey 
#1 ·
I am trying to lose weight off the bike and bling it up at the same time; I have been looking at some gold 520 chains and sprockets, I feel this is the way to go? I believe the 520 won’t last as long but is there a benefit with the loss of weight or is it not noticeable? Which have you fitted and could you feel the difference?
 
#2 ·
You'll definitely go through chains and sprockets much faster if you do a 520 conv. Tsubaki Alpha Gold is my recommendations with chain and a Stealth or Renthals sprockets. Up to you though but everyones opinion on which brand is going to be unique to their own standards.
 
#3 ·
The life of the chain sprockets on a 520 conversion have been debunked many times over. The only truth is that if you go with a 520 Al sprocket it will wear fairly fast. Go with a lightweight steel and you won't have any issues.

Will you notice 520......Do you use every bit of the bike as it sits now? If you don't, you won't notice it.
 
#4 ·
Stealth or renthal for 520 is like water and oil. Two very very different sprockets. One is alum and one is steel.

As z06 said a superlight steel rear sprocket in 520 with a high end chain can last as long as stock. Stealth rear sprocket, Driven evo spec superlight steel, Vortex superlight steel, etc would fall into this category. You go with a 520 chain kit with a good chain and these sprockets and 20-40k is what you should see for mileage if you take care of it.

Many 1000cc owners run alum rear sprockets and get 7-20k miles out of it depending on how they take care of it. I would say the average is 10-12k miles though.

If you're a street guy I would recommend the superlight steel 520 chain kits.

More importantly then anything though is taking care of it through proper chain slack and cleaning/lubing the chain. I've seen super strong 530 kits not last 1k miles with bad maintenance and i've seen some weak 520 alum kits run over 20k miles. Maintenance is the #1 factor in the life of your chain kit no matter what.

BTW if you want super long lasting with a steel rear sprocket then snag the ek zzz chain. Longest lasting street 520 chain on the market right now, but it's a bit more money. For a bit less money and about 5% less life you can get the ek mvxz or rk gxw chain.
 
#10 ·
Cool great link Cheers going to do that.

Anyone got a link for a hanger to hang my stock rear calliper under the swinging arm. I never use the back brake and the only ones I can find come with up graded calliper attached not just the bracket?
 
#9 ·
erv3 is the weakest high end chain out there and the most expensive? To run one of the weakest and most expensive 520 chains with a steel sprocket is kind of an oxy moron. It's only rated for a 750cc bike too. We had an issue with one on a guy with a 1000cc bike and did basically told him to pound sand as it's not recommended for a 1000cc bike. It's still a strong chain, but why not get something stronger, with a better wear rating, and less expensive if you're going to be running a steel sprocket anyway?
 
#14 ·
They are more expensive then the ek mvxz and rk gxw both of which are stronger then it and have a greater wear life then it. Most that ran it in the past all ran it with alum 520 sprockets as that is pretty much all that was available up until a year ago in 520. With alum it's fine as the alum rear sprocket would be the weakest link in the chain kit. However, with the new steel sprockets it doesn't make much sense to pay more for a chain that is weaker then other options and won't last as long.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Here is an older pic. Not really sure of the exact weight as we revolve through them very quickly. Setting up more pallet racking now to expand the chain kit area in the next 48 hours when the rest of our cross members get in. Thanks to the forum members as well as without you guys we wouldn't be needing to expand our chain kit area. Here is a pic of the chain mover too...along with some of the closeout Gilles we have been blowing out to you R1 guys :fact :rock
 

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#22 ·
I went with the 520 pitch Driven Evo Spec Sprockets with RK GXW from MotoMummy :sing:







I've done 520 in the past with no issues... I get about the same mileage on this setup as I do on OEM :dunno I think the whole 520 myth was due to people using aluminum sprockets instead of AFAM's
 
#26 ·
def go 520. i got the mvkx cuz it's gold looked the best to me. glad to hear it's still considered one of the best. i've already been through one rear sprocket, an aluminum drive systems. now i have driven aluminum, hopefully it lasts a little longer. but they cheap anyway. chain's still good.
 
#27 ·
ek mvxz is a damn strong chain and surely one of the best. When you swap rear sprockets that go bad without swapping the front or chain just pay extra attention to the chain as it accelerates the wear on the chain. When a sprocket is out of spec it stresses a chain in certain spots and puts it out of spec. They basically go out of spec together. If you then put an in spec rear sprocket on there with an out of spec chain it's harder on the chain and accelerates the wear even more. Just be careful because now your rear sprocket most likely isn't the weakest link, but the chain is and the last thing you want is the chain breaking on you. It's always best to replace a chain kit in full to ensure it all wears together, you get max life, and to ensure your chain doesn't go on you.
 
#31 ·
But please clean that gawd awful white lithium off before you ride. Stuff goes EVERYWHERE and is a PiTA to clean off. Use goo gone and wd40 and clean the crap off. Some people leave it on and it makes a nasty mess.


Sent from my iPhone using Motorcycle.com App
 
#33 · (Edited)
To be honest the normal alum compared to the "lightest" alum will only differ in an ounce or two so I wouldn't recommend going for a super light one as we have seen some lightweight sprockets completely break apart at their core (not teeth, but the core of the sprocket) due to being too light.

I would recommend the Driven Racing alum rear as they are great quality. Renthal and AFAM are also great alum sprockets, but they are imported so if you have an issue you won't get the level of service that you can get from Driven. That is the only edge Driven has over the other two. They also have a more modern anodizing process which allows them to have a black sprocket.

If you want super lightweight then I would recommend the DID ERV3 with an alum rear. Just realize if it's on a 1000cc bike you won't get much support from DID should something happen. However, the sprocket will be the weak link in the set up so it shouldn't be an issue at all. The one nice thing about having the sprocket be the weak link in the chain kit (vs the chain the weak link with a steel rear sprocket) is that it's better to sheer the teeth of the sprocket should something fail compared to having the chain break and take out your engine, swingarm, foot, rearsets, etc.

You can save money by getting the ek mvxz or rk gxw chain which is stronger (not relevant with an alum rear sprocket), but more importantly it's less expensive and only ounces more weight. You won't notice ounces of rotational mass, but if you want the lightest set up then the alum rear with did erv3 would be it.

I run alum rear with ek mvxz chain and clean/lube my chain kit all the time and my last rear sprocket lasted me nearly 15k miles. Maintenance is the #1 factor in the life of a chain kit :fact
 
#36 ·
all front sprockets are steel of course. You can't make them out of alum as they attach to the bike using very small teeth and you would sheer alum teeth right off. You'll see what I mean when you look at a front sprocket.

The only difference in weight is if they drill extra holes in the body of the front sprocket. Not all manufacturers do. I can say that Driven does on all of their fronts. Renthal does on their 520, and AFAM does on their 520, but i've seen their 530's without those lightening holes drilled into it.
 
#37 ·
I've got a renthal 530 ultralight on there now, it's got holes drilled. I know they're steel. Various manufacturers use larger or smaller holes and anywhere from 6-9 (maybe wider range) of them. An ounce here or there adds up fast, so I try to be cognizant of that kind of thing.
 
#38 ·
Normally the size of the holes and how many on a front sprocket is due more to the model the front sprocket is and the tooth count as that will change the area that the manufacturer has to deal with. Yes, they do add up, but even added up you're only talking like 3-5 ounces which isn't much at all. However, with a front sprocket +1 on the holes as it doesn't cost extra so you might as well ensure you get them :fact
 
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