530 X-ring Chain Conversion for a Z1

[simon gilling]

Talking with Jerry at at Donnington a guy was asking about 530 chain on a Z1B so I thought I would add my previous magazine article to the 'searchable' web site.

The chain that came with my ?restoration project? was well past it?s best. I looked in the M&P catalogue and selected Sprockets and what I was led to believe was an X-ring chain. Unfortunately it appears that you cannot get X-ring chain in 630 size. I have read that X-ring has 50% less friction than O-ring and also has a much higher wear resistance. So I set about seeing how I could fit a 530 chain to the ?Z?. The smaller pitch means that I could have more teeth at the gearbox thus spreading the load per tooth and giving smoother running.

A combination of 16/38 tooth sprockets gives a ratio of ?1.7% against the stock 630, 15/35 tooth sprockets. 17/38 gives +4% and is similar to the Z900 final ratio of 15/33. The gearbox sprocket was easy to source over the counter a VN800 513.17 fits nicely, a 513.16 is also available

The rear sprocket mounting for a Z1/Z900 rear wheel in a 530 chain size is known as 482, unfortunately I could only find this ?over the counter? in a 45 or 47 tooth. The solution was to have a 482.38 made up in alloy by B&C at Potterhanworth for ?29.06, it was delivered within two days. The Alloy sprocket weighed in at 400g compared to the stock steel sprocket at 1.2 Kg.

As 530 pitch is smaller the 530 chain requires 108 links (against the 630 at 92 links)

Obviously a new chain and sprockets will improve smoothness, I am sure that the fine pitch and lighter chain are also better than the 630 oem fit. Another benefit is that that there is about a 1.6 Kg weight saving. I am sure that 530 chain is up to the job as it also fitted to ZZR1100s and YZF R1s.

So 530 X-ring gives 50% less friction, about 75% better wear, runs smoother, weighs 30% less and cost about ?5 more overall, I?m happy with that. I will let you know how well it wears.

As this is an update, I can report that 6 years on the chain the chain has performed well. I only adjust it every 1,000 miles and maintenance is by spray chain lube. Even another trip to the Isle of Man and much thrashing around did not require adjustment.

Definitely a worthwhile mod. to any bike that has a 630 ?anchor chain? as standard.

p.s. it also allows easy playing around with the gearing, the 17/38 gives relaxed cruising but peaks around 130mph in 4th gear (no faster in 5th). 16/38 feels much quicker, though I don?t know what it does to the fuel consumption!

pps not sure whether the VN800 gearbox sprocket would fit a Z900/1000 as they have an offset built in, thus would need a small spacer made.

[Steve R]

Thanks for posting this Simon, I will definatly go with this when I need to change my chain, great post.

[DogsbolloxofZ1B]

Can you actually fit the 16 or 17 tooth front sprocket into the space with a chain on? I would have though its larger diameter would then have the chain cutting into the inner chain/sprocket backplate.

Nice if it works though.

[debben1]

18 tooth 530 sprocket is almost identical diameter to 15 tooth sprocket

[debben1]

opps!! That should read 18 tooth 530 sprocket almost the same diametre at 630 15 tooth sprocket, so with the smaller 530 chain the overall clearance to the clutch push rod would be increases over the 630/15 tooth sprocket and chain. Steve

[Rich]

Rear wheel sprockets are usually made with an odd number of teeth to even out the wear.

[Pigford]

Sprox - odd no. teeth?
Gotta take front sprox & chain no. links into account to!

[Rich]

One tooth more or less doesn't make that much difference on the rear. Gearing is a relationship to the number of teeth on the sprockets and how many revolutions one makes compared to the other.

Chain length doesn't matter as long as it is compensatable for wear / stretch by the chain adjusters.

If you run 16/33 as I do then adding one tooth to the gearbox represents taking two off the rear, but I need to go for the bigger diameter fronts to clear the swinging arm pivot

[DogsbolloxofZ1B]

Ok, so what is the pitch of the 5xx chain

[DogsbolloxofZ1B]

Ok looked it up. I notice the Tensile Strength of the 530 is 2900Kgf Vs 4000Kgf of the STD chain. Isn't going to look like a large bicycle chain alongside a STD one?

[Jeff Saunders]

good quality 530 chain is PLENTY strong for any Z1. You will find 530 chain on all the new sport bikes - so if a 150 + HP Busa or ZX14 uses one, don't worry about it on the Z1... bear in mind chain technology has improved considerably over the last 30 years to the point no new generation bikes run 630 chain.

Steve D's point about even teeth is really make sure you don't have even teeth counts on both the front and back sprockets - this ensures each roller will run in every position on both the front and back sprockets.

530 chain is 5/8" pitch 630 is 6/8" (3/4") pitch. The 30 in 530 and 630 relates to the width of the roller - in this case 3/8".

[debben1]

The tensile strength of a chain is down to the manufacturing process not the size, the Tsubaki 530 HQR chain for example has a tensile strength of 10,500 lbs, very popular with drag bikes with massive horsepower outputs, 10" wide slicks, wheelie bars, and very hard launches. 630 its becoming less available as demand for this chain gets less. The gearing /drive ratio is worked out by dividing the amount of rear sprocket teeth by the amount of teeth on the front, so 33/15 (33 divided by 15)would be a ratio of 2.2. Converted to 530, 18/40 would be a ratio of 2.222, (to get the exact ratio of 2.2 would require a rear sprocket with 39.6 teeth) ................Anybody still awake after that. Steve

[debben1]

100 links of 630 is the same length as 120 links of 530

[Rich]

divide it by 5 and times it by 6

[debben1]

or just multiply by 1.2