520 chain VS 530 chain on a KZ1000?

Whoa sweet!

Seriously beautiful...

I love the blue/black/silver color scheme over the red... to me anyways looks 100% better.

Outstanding, truly a work of art...

OMR

79mk11 that turned out really nice.i hope it looks like you expected it to,it sure does look good.

Outstanding bike!
-KR

Brand new member around here and don't want to come across as a know it all but...520 chain may be worth while if clearance is an issue, such as those guys running meaty tires out back. For a normal chain/sprocket upgrade though, 530 makes more sense. It's not just a matter of the chain being strong enough to not snap in half, there is also durability to consider. 530 chain/sprockets are wider than 520 thus the sprockets and chain rollers will wear less since the load will be spread over a wider area. In fact, 530 should be more durable than even 630 since there are more cog teeth to spread the load over.

Sorry if this ruffles feathers, not my intention.

Not at all Nessism...

This topic has been discussed numerous times now and keeps us old farts energized....

There's quite a few of us who've made the move to modify the rear swing-arms where offset counter sprockets are required.

The downfall on some of the projects have been due to excessive rear rim widths the need for 5/8" offsets are required. This in turn has caused some major FUBAR where the chain hits the frame tubing.

With the 520 chain being 1/8" narrower, the frame clearance although small is about the only option outside of cutting and re-supporting the frame at the point of contact.

As you have mentioned correctly, longevity and tensile strengths have been a concern as well but new chain technology has provided some cushion.

Basically comes down to a choice, 520 or cut the frame...
For some who've powder coated their bikes (no names) cutting the frame would be a true PITA and bummer.

OMR

BigBlockT... Well, what did you end up doing to correct your situation?

Were you able to find a 520 or did you modify the frame?

Anything you can pass onto to others as in a solution?

OMR

520 will hold up just fine to a 1Kcc bike of this era. not like we are working on late model 150hp superbike engines. 520 is used extensively on the track, and there is no reason to not use it on the street.

before I hear all the crap about it will break. if it were gonna break, don't you think it would on the track in a race with an engine that makes almost double the power at the rear wheel of anything we have in the garage? Don't you think the effect of super sticky tires, and clutch drops out of corners would bust it on the track? If it would not hold up the racers would not use it. 20 laps on any track on a superbike is the equiv of 5 to 10K miles on anything you or I have......

Doc

Skinthead wrote:

before I hear all the crap about it will break. if it were gonna break, don't you think it would on the track in a race with an engine that makes almost double the power at the rear wheel of anything we have in the garage? Don't you think the effect of super sticky tires, and clutch drops out of corners would bust it on the track? If it would not hold up the racers would not use it. 20 laps on any track on a superbike is the equiv of 5 to 10K miles on anything you or I have......

Doc

Did you even bother to read this thread before you posted? I just read the whole thing again just to make sure, and there's not a single post that says 520 "will" break, so who in the world are you arguing with????????

myself personally i wouldn't use any thing less than the 530. even then it is suspect when doing any that may put extra stress on it. every time i've tried any thing less than 630 chain at the track i usally end up with a coiler on the track usally right on the start line i run 530 on my mild 1974 but anything that i own with some horsepower gets 630 i did run 520 on my hillclimber but all i did with that was spin it never hooked up at all. even so after every hit i made at the hill i had to readjust the chain quite a bit.