A while back I decided to stick a Fleabay chain on my 06 14. I was a bit cash strapped at the time so I decided to roll the dice. Spoiler alert, despite what you may be thinking, this did not all end in tears. Actually, I got 3 good seasons out of it, probably around 12,000 miles. Then I noticed that half my x-rings were missing and the infamous red dust was everywhere. Now this may just be a coincidence, but all this degradation began when I started using a Grunge brush and Motul cleaner. I suspect the brush more than the cleaner, Motul has a good reputation. Well, anyway I put a new EK ZVX3 on and during the install I matched up the chains and the Chinese Junk had not stretched one bit. I'm not a real hard rider, but I do pound it on occasion, probably more than a 68 year old should. Moral of the story, not all that is Chinese and cheap is garbage. And Grunge brushes should only be used on unsealed chains. Any thoughts?

* Last updated by: jokacz on 4/14/2017 @ 1:05 PM *

You are correct about the brush. It's too stiff for sealed chainz. Kerosene and an inexpensive paint brush are the ticket. Don't dawdle: you get ten minutes to play brushy brush from the time you first apply the solvent until it gets wiped or blown off.

despite what you may be thinking, this did not all end in tears.

Moral of the story, not all that is Chinese and cheap is garbage.

The problem is the customer service if you make an error in ordering. Once you click, it's yours and it's too expensive to return it. Don't bother.

And Grunge brushes should only be used on unsealed chains. Any thoughts?

When I used WD-40 on the stock chain, the o-rings broke almost immediately. I think it was the Motul.

I have found all the Asian parts to be of very high quality except the anodizing is often off color.

You can say that again, there were 3 different shades of gold plates on the Chinese chain.

I have used a Grunge brush with kerosene on my EK ZZZ a hundred times. NO problems.

When I used WD-40 on the stock chain, the o-rings broke almost immediately. I think it was the Motul.

The plate clearance on EK chains seems much tighter than other brands, I don't think a Grunge brush's bristles would fit in there. I may give up cleaning entirely and subscribe to a popular theory in some quarters that all one should do is lube, lube, lube, with teflon or wax based products.

* Last updated by: jokacz on 4/14/2017 @ 7:33 PM *

Nothing but Bel Ray Super Clean chain wax for me. Original chain and sprockets like new after 27,000 mile on my '11 before getting hit and totaled. I'm a believer.

To Rooks point no doubt Chinese stuff has got better. There's no doubt China is able to manufacture goods as well as anyone else these days. The question is do they always?

IMO the problem is quality control. I suppose the stuffs cheap emough that if you have to buy 2-3 it would be about the same. But these are motorcycles. There are actual occurences of some of these parts failing such as controls which could leave someone in a very dangerous situation. People have had their $30 China levers just break from usage. Most no, but what if you go to pull the break and it snaps next thing you're eating glass off some van's rear doors.

100% +1 Vic.

I agree that with cheap Chinese parts, you should be okay.
But "should be" has never been good enough for me in the name of saving a few dollars when my health and life rely on my motorcycle and the parts that make it complete.

A mirror or seat, maybe. But a chain???

As Vic said quality control is not consistent and you just don't know the percentage of good product over poor.
Yes, I know some are now going to say OEM parts fail as well.
True again, but all would admit no where near the frequency of Chinese copies.

You're riding at 200km/h and your $30 chain fails / breaks and locks the rear wheel because you were the unlucky one to get a dud!
I've got a pretty good idea what some of your last thoughts might possibly be as you are sliding down the road towards...

Again, just to save a few bucks?

Sorry guy's but thats the way I have always felt.

* Last updated by: yannih on 4/14/2017 @ 9:25 PM *

I would be apprehensive about a chain too but it seemed to have worked for you.

* Last updated by: Rook on 4/15/2017 @ 1:54 PM *

I've been soaking x-rings from the Chinese chain and the EK chain in WD-40 and Motul cleaner. So far the only damage has been the Motul dissolved the plastic cup it was in, went to a glass container now. The Motul is pretty volatile, evaporates rapidly and needs replenishment after a few hours. I'm using Dupont Teflon/wax chain saver on the new chain and will be going to Bel-Ray when it arrives, hoping it flings less.

From what I have seen after disassembling the OEM chain, here's how O-rings ware. They get squeezed and rub between the plates which causes a bur to form all around the outer edges where they touch the plates. This delicate bur is what breaks off when you lube with something that is less than gentle on rubber. Everyone knows petroleum softens rubber. At first you only see black whiskers sticking out between the plates and stuck to your rear rim but if you make a habit of using WD-40 or other harsh cleaners, I'm sure the O-rings will succumb eventually.

Kerosene is also petroleum but I've never seen it cause the whiskers to form. Maybe because it flings out easier and evaporates. All I know is it works as good as any expensive cleaner and it never damages anything.

I assumed people used WD-40 as a lube, but I suppose it has some cleaning properties too. I used kerosene to clean for years, but I got sick of the smell and was looking for an easier way to clean. It does eat rubber gloves and some types of plastic containers. I learned that the hard way. I'll just be cleaning the outside of the plates from now on, for cosmetic reasons, with kerosene. And let the wax and teflon build up, within reason. I figure it's one more barrier to protect the rings.

Kerosene is the recommended solvent according to the service manual, it used to be dirt cheap too, I picked up a 10 liter jug years ago for around $10 but its $28 for the same thing. Kerosene doesn't evaporate fast enough to not do damage, I give the chain a "quick" brush, wipe, then blow it clean using compressed air and re-oil.

I tried using the bel-ray chain wax but found it didn't do a very good job of keeping the chain lubricated, my chain started making noise when starting from a stop even though it was "oiled" the day before with a hot chain. I re-oiled the chain using 90w gear oil and the noise disappeared. I now use Maxima chain lube (random website I found it on http://www.dirtbikebitz.com/maxima-chain-synthetic-guard-crystal-clear-chain-lube-p-26338.html ) which seems to do a good job of keeping my chain happy.

Maxima wax for hot or Maxima Synthetic for cool weather. The sythetic is just oil not wax and it does fling off but the chain stays looking nice and clean. Just give it another spray in a couple hundred miles.

LOL yeah, you don't want to know what the inside of my rear tire looks like... But at least my chain is happy and I enjoy not having to replace it very often. After about 50k km I opted to replace it since the rear sprocket was starting to show signs of wear and it had been well... 50k km & 7 years since the chain was new so I figured it was time, never bothered measuring the old chain after it was removed.

I read something the other day, a publication, stated that chains are expected to be replaced every 20,000 miles these days. What kind of bullshit is this? The only thing I can attribute this to is the popularity and use of spray lubes and waxes.

I'm an old school gear oil user and I have to say it's HAS to be attributed to the use of these inferior lubes these days. My chains still basically like it was after the initial stretching, after 21,000 miles. I think there's definitely better sprays/waxes and worse but as un-tech as it is I'm sticking with gear oil. For one thing, it's helluva lot nicer not to spend 2 hours on some process of spraying down a chain, brushing it, waiting for it to dry a couple times a week. 15 minutes and I'm done.

20,000 miles?? maybe a lower quality chain. If the chain hasn't stretched to the service limit, I'd say it's still good.

It has been my experience that many people all too easily equate quality to cost. Furthermore most do so without any quantifiable data to substantiate their claims, more times than not they are just regurgitating what they heard from various message boards.

I am so tired of the typical "ermugod that Ebay junk is going to destroy your bike because the interwebz says so".... I ran an "Ebay" chain on my Repsol 600 for years, and another on the Ninja 600 before that (for WAY longer than I should have). Guess what? Both NEVER failed me.

Bottom line; don't go bottom of the barrel but if you can save some money on a product and there aren't numerous reports of failure or defect go for it. If it does fail, spread the word and don't buy it again.

Glad you had good results with yours.

Here's another area where we're getting screwed, brake pads. I once bought a set of EBC sintered pads for 120+ bucks. They were OK, but the price left a bad taste in my mouth. I've been using Ebay unbranded or Volars since then. Just as good for about 25 bucks a set. I just recently replaced the stock front rotors at 44,000 miles. They were not warped and the runout was in spec, but they were just under minimum thickness. I bought Chinese knock-offs of Galfer waves for 150 bucks a pair and they are great quality, highly reviewed, and stop better than stock. A fool and his money are soon parted.

If it does fail, spread the word and don't buy it

Mmmm.
It could go something like this.

"Just had my cheap chain break and lock on me at 100mph. So from my hospital bed as a new member of the paraplegic club it would be advisable to give this particular item a miss. Hope this helps y'all..."

Im not saying all cheap products fail, but the simple fact is a higher percentage fail than OEM. Plus one cheap brand could be far less reliable and lacking in quality than another but how can you tell?
KHI's have phenomenal experience and spend millions on development. They cannot afford to have a product that is sub standard in the market place. Only top quality materials are used and their product has been proven over and over due to strong quality control. Their pricing is indicative of all of this.
Little Ho Chee Min just cares about profit and will cut every corner possible to achieve this. What does he care if some customer on the other side of the world has an issue? Cheap materials are used and there is zero after sales service. These products are not proven, quality control is lacking and the company will probably change name in the near future. And the pricing is definitely indicative of all of this.

On a motorcycle you need every single thing in your favour. Why increase the odds of an issue to save a few dollars when it is in your power to give yourself and your motorbike the best chance possible?

A fool and his money are soon parted

Just remember we are not talking about a jar of cheap brand peanut butter here. We are talking about high performance machines that we are relying on to keep us as safe as possible and the cost of getting it wrong can be extremely high.

Your call boys...

* Last updated by: yannih on 5/2/2017 @ 9:23 PM *

Just my 2 cents ... well, 4 cents cuz I'm gonna respond to 2 issues at 2 cents each

1) At age 48 I've tried cheap items enough times over the years that I have a good feel for where I can get away with being cheap: The drive chain on a $13,000 200 HP sportbike that I trust with my life at 150+ isn't one of those places.

I may give up cleaning entirely and subscribe to a popular theory in some quarters that all one should do is lube, lube, lube, with teflon or wax based products.

2) That's me! Haven't cleaned my chain once! Don't care! It's all black ... still don't care! I just re-lube whenever I see shiny chrome rollers. I'm at 7,500 miles now. If the chain was beyond use as of right now I don't think I'd change. I'd rather replace it than spend time cleaning it all the time. OK ... if the black gunk gets so thick it's slinging off or getting on my boots or pants I might drag a rag over it quick and throw the rag away, but that's probably all I'm ever gonna do.

I use a grunge brush and Liquid Wrench O-ring safe chain lube for cleaning and Bel-Ray Superclean every 3-400 miles, depending on the rollers getting shiny. I get 30,000 hard miles out of a premium-quality chain. Once I put a cheaper EK chain on BW I and it lasted about 20K miles. Since it cost about 2/3 of what the top-of-the-line chain went for, using the cheaper one was false economy and just makes for more work changing chains more often.