And so it begins... 1976 KZ750B Twin barn find project.

I just want to throw this out there. Throwing a chain on a motorcycle can be bad, m'kay? It can cause a broken engine case, a rear wheel lock up, or even worse down you and the bike. Don't cheap out on the safety stuff. This is one of them.

Just a thought..All that rust that was removed off the chain was steel. Lost strength due to removed metal. Increased clearances to allow more vibrations.Please give a thought towards new chain and sprockets.

azman857 wrote: Just a thought..All that rust that was removed off the chain was steel. Lost strength due to removed metal. Increased clearances to allow more vibrations.Please give a thought towards new chain and sprockets.

Removing the rust didn't weaken it. The bigger question is how worn is it? and of course those stiff links are not good. Personally, I'd swap it out for a 530 setup. New chains are drastically improved compared to how they were 45 years ago so it's money well spent.

I tried saving the chain when I was bring back to life my barn find. Thought I did a good job in soaking it in vinegar and then kerosene or something like that. In less than 200 miles it ate my brand new chain sprocket. Can't remember if I also change the front sprocket or not. So in the end, I had to purchase a new chain and new sprocket, or sprockets. In addition, I came close to being stranded 30 miles from home. The symptom was that it became very hard to start moving from a stop in 1st gear. Maybe slippage? Couldn't hear any at the time. Just had to keep raising my rpm and letting the clutch out slow to start moving. Thankfully I made it home that day.

The chain and both sprockets should always be replaced as one unit. Replacing a chain without replacing the sprockets will quickly wear out the chain, and replacing the sprockets without replacing the chain will quickly wear out the sprockets.

This happens is because even though it may not appear obvious to the naked eye as sprockets wear they gain a somewhat different gap between the teeth. A new chain will rather quickly wear so that it matches that gap, and that causes the chain to wear out prematurely. Likewise, a worn chain has somewhat different spacing between links than a new chain, and that slightly wider gap will cause the new sprockets to wear rather quickly so the gap between the sprocket teeth will match the chain.

All this seems rather subtle until one discovers the new item wears out quickly. Replacing the chain and both sprockets ensures that the sprockets teeth gap and the chain link length are a perfect match, and that ensures that the chain and sprockets will last quite a long time.
Ed

Trying to use and old chain and /or sprockets is false economy and as much safety related as tires and brakes.

I am interested to see where this project goes. I picked up a 78 750B for $380 over the winter as well. I got mine running but need to tune it properly. Working on a 74 yamaha tx500 as well.

Took the rust off the chain. Still works just fine! :silly:

I'm also excited for this project as well. I picked one up last year for $250 bucks in pretty rough shape and got it running, but there are little things here and there I'm excited to learn here. 

wrote:

Took the rust off the chain. Still works just fine! :silly:

That has got to be some kind of record