Comeon, thodi to limit mein fekh (phek).
Chain covers are made up of aluminum and both upper and lower one weighs less than 1 kg.

Things to ponder in case of open chain

1. In India, females with sarees and other tradtional dressing can have long hanging part of cloth which can easily get stuck into sprocket teeths and make bade pull over.

2. Open moving chain has created havocks for young children sitting behind his father, whose leg barely reach to the height of foot pedals.

3. As a rider if you try to raise your side stand during drive and unlucky if any part of your trouser catches the moving chain then be prepared to oiled/greased paint and worse getting engulfed into it.

4. Chain split in a open chain could tore off the pillions calf muscles like water mellon.

Indian bike manufactures have some good idea of many similar issues, thats why they have been trying to put some sort of cover over chains, initially they where fully covered, some new bikes p220 etc have semi covered, where the upper segment of chain is covered to some extent. They are trying to make some balance between security and style.

My RX135 runs only with the top chain cover, The lower one fell down on the way and never fixed it back.

And coming to Chain Cover and No-Chain Cover.

Eg: R15
1. My R15 needed chain spay and lube every week, which costs me 100 which is done at yamaha showroom. I felt getting it done at showroom for 100 bucks rather buying two tins of 850/-.
2. The irritating noise, no matter how good I try to maintain it.
3. Have to think before taking out in to dusty areas or in rain.
4. There is always risk for lady pillions.

Eg: CBX Xtreme
1. Forgot that my bike has chain.
2. Dint even cared to look at it, Coz It never gave me any sound or problem other than ocassional tightening.
4. Was saving monthly 400/-
5. Safer.

And transparent Chain cover???
Why not using the belt rather chain as final transmission.

Looks wise, exposed chain is better. I had to remove my chain cover because my fatter 120 rear tyre was scraping it. It definitely shortens the life of the chain. I usually have mine grease packed every couple months. No oil sprays on my wheels or clothes, and a much quieter chain. Also much more resilient.

If your bike did not come with a chain cover, it probably uses an O-ring chain that's made for exposed use. Still if you feel like you want to take good care of it, you could buy an oil can for 100 bucks, and buy some thick heavy duty oil, like the gearbox oil for trucks. Oil your chain every week, or even after every ride! While doing that, also take some time to clean the rest of the bike a little.

@viny : Well said mate !!


After hearing many freaky accidents while oiling naked chain, I feel covered chain is much better !! I think it's a good cost cutting measure for companies (naked chain)...

... but no one can fix price for a lost/crushed finger

I have been running an open chain on my P180UG3 for one year now. One thing I noticed about the open chain is that it makes lesser noise while shifting gears. Earlier with the chain cover, the chain used to make a lot of noise.... especially when downshifting...

One problem I face is that, during the monsoons, the chain needs to be lubed quite often.
Apart from that , it looks cool. I got the Discover 135's half chain cover installed.

As opposed to what everyone thinks here O-ring sealed chains are not necessarily superior to conventional chains.
India is a land with more off road conditions than on road,(atleast where I live), and if you notice motocross or offroad bikes have conventional rather tham O-ring sealed chains because they are heavier and provide no serious advantage over normal chains beacuse o-ring sealed or not you still have to oil them. And we are talking professional motocross/supercross bikes here so it should be fine on shitty commuter bikes.
Engine oil for oiling is fine as long as its not used engine oil hehe
Someone hit the nail right on the mark, yes the chain covers were put to cut out chain noise and probably also to prevent sarees from getting pulled into the chain.
Bottomline - You can throw your ugly chain cover away and it wouldnt make a difference. You'd still need to periodically oil it anyway.
Karizma has the best placement of fiber panels when it comes to oil spray from the chain or water spray from the tyre, FZ-16/Fazer has the worst.

If I'm not mistaken, even motoGP motorcycle uses conventional chains. Surely they are not concern about chain getting dirty but I read somewhere that the loss of torque is less on conventional chains than o-ring or x-ring. When chains are absolutely clean and lubed properly, they perform better than o/x-rings as the o/x-ring have rubber sealants that makes the chain that much harder to flex however small they may be.

BUT...When my bike was one month old or about 1.5k kms(Conventional chain). I removed the chain cover. I was surprised to see how dirty it was even though it has been oiled/serviced twice. I removed the chain itself and dip them in diesel and cleaned it with brush..Oh! the amount of grime..Once it was completely cleaned, I was surprised how flexible the chain has become. Been cleaning and lubing them myself ever since as service center guys doesn't do the job well. Cleaning completely at about 2k kms and lubing every 500kms. I can maintain my chain this way only with chain cover removed and also inspect them properly for any problems. BTW, rain is hell on open chain .

Just because you can't see them or there's a cover doesn't mean your chain's clean. It only mean it will be cleaner than one without cover for the same amount of kms on similar road condition. By 5k, it'll be pretty dirty, cover or not and you'll be losing power to the chain.

Chain cover does provide better protection, no arguement. However if you think that your 5k kms chain is working perfectly. Just take it out and see how good it can actually get once you clean it (not just oiling it). If you are not up to cleaning them regularly, you're better off with cover.

I think so... regular washing with improper drying and no lubrication will make ur chain rust.
lot of my friends who have the Fazer and FZ's have this problem. Their chains get rusted in 3 weeks. they keep running to the SVC for lubrication.

Is it Possible to Fit Full Chain Cover for Bikes Like Apache RTR ?

Suggest

Hey is it ok to remove the chain cover for my HH HUNK ...anyone please suggest ..

Thread approved and moved

semi open chain cover for stunner

guys i have honda stunner from d very first models in 2008.it came with closed chain cover..i want to put semi open chain covers which are coming with new models of stunner.so are chains which were coming with old models diff than new ones?i told svc centre guy to replace it he told me this reason that this chain is not capable of open chain cover.pl someone guide me.

@ siren215,
I think old stunner uses the traditional chain not the 'o' ring chain. That's why its not compatible.

so is there any other method or way by which i can go for open chain?