09-17-2015, 10:22 PM
(09-17-2015, 01:24 PM)JustPassinThru_imp Wrote: Now, having hit 10k miles on the CB...I can comment on chain maintenance. As simple as a spray can of lube. Takes five minutes; the small can fits in a pouch on the outside of my travel grip.
I figure on replacing the chain every season or 10,000 miles. Cost, I'm told, will be about $100. Maybe twice that.
Compare that to the nightmare of having a final-drive failure on the road, and then weighing an expensive rebuild and repair versus the value of the machine.
No thanks...given the problems related to marginal engineering on BMW systems...I'll stick to the high-quality chain drive of this CB.
JPT.. Your chain should go 25,000 to 30,000 miles. Replacing one every 10k is a waste of money.
As far as final drives go.. If they are done right, they are gold.. Zero maintenance other than a few ounces of oil, clean, same efficiency 100% of the time. My shaft system on my ST has 62,000 trouble free miles on it. On a modern chain drive bike I would be on my third set of chain and sprockets. Close to $1000 worth of repairs if I did the labor myself, which is no fun.
Many on the ST board see 200-300 thousand miles on their final drives without repair, and who knows how many miles have been put on Goldwings without final drive failures. The problem isn't final drives, it's BMW's final drives.
I would have died and gone to heaven if the CB had had hydraulic valves ( like the Nighthawk) and shaft drive like the ST while retaining the CB's stunning looks.