Do O-ring chains really rob H.P.

[jbsurf]

Ive been told O-ring is the way to go, then I hear they rob horsepower(cant have that)...... Could use some help. Read that the older ones may have but not the newer ones....

[tl1000crf250]

i have read the same thing, but it was more of a problem with street bike racing then dirt bike racing. i will try to find the article on this.

[DEMI]

I've never seen any numbers on this...but from the seat of the pants on a small bore,it makes a difference.Maybe the x and t(?) ring types have less drag than the O,I'm not sure.With a bike on a stand ,spin the tire on a bike with and w/out these chains and the drag is there.I wouldn't run one on a small bore,but 250 and up-sure.The advantage is they last longer and require way less adjustment.

[jbsurf]

Thanx, just placed an order to upgrade to 520 chain and sprockets, not too late to change the order on the chain type...

[Kev_XR]

There is more friction. The counter is when the chain is heated up by using it, the friction will go down.

O-rings will far outlast non-rings chains and not stretch as much. Stretched out chains kill sprockets.

I'm going to have to fix the cases of an XR that stuffed the chain in the cases and cracked the cases.

[jbsurf]

Thank you both. very much!

[Kev_XR]

Thank you both. very much!

Unless you are really pressed for every fraction of a HP, go with an o-ring.

The difference in durability is like night and day.

[treehopper]

I think that o-ring chains are like plain bearings: there is drag at turning-it-by-hand speed, but at operating speed there is no difference. I think that what you are feeling is the added weight of the chain which comes from the longer pins. This weight acts like added flywheel weight.

[Dwight_Rudder]

There is no measureable difference in HP in a broken in and warmed up O ring chain and a standard chain. A rusty standard chain will rob much more power than a O ring chain.

I run O ring chain on my 1973 Hodaka Combat Wombat piston port. I won OA Vintage bike at the Barber's Vintage Cross Country last month.

Dwight

[Mike38]

I've seen dyno run results of a Honda CRF150F. Held the papers in my hands, not some doctored results on an internet web site. First run, stock, 520 O-ring chain. Second run, same bike, non O-ring 520 chain. Third run, same bike, 428 conversion. There was a slight improvment between 1 and 2, then another slight improvment between 2 and 3.

Bottom line... O-ring chains eat horse power. Over sized chains eat horse power. When you only have 10 - 12 HP to start with, you can't afford to loose any. But if you have a 50 HP bike, loosing half a HP to an O-ring chain isn't noticable.

[Dwight_Rudder]

I've seen dyno run results of a Honda CRF150F. Held the papers in my hands, not some doctored results on an internet web site. First run, stock, 520 O-ring chain. Second run, same bike, non O-ring 520 chain. Third run, same bike, 428 conversion. There was a slight improvment between 1 and 2, then another slight improvment between 2 and 3.

Bottom line... O-ring chains eat horse power. Over sized chains eat horse power. When you only have 10 - 12 HP to start with, you can't afford to loose any. But if you have a 50 HP bike, loosing half a HP to an O-ring chain isn't noticable.

First of all you are wrong. A broken in Oring chain vs a standard chain , there is no measurable amount of difference in HP. Next there is no difference in HP between a 520 and 428 chain. There is a difference in weight which can translate into acceleration but no difference in HP. Believe what you want. I have enough experiance with this to know . You will lose more power with a dirty or rusty standard chain than with a NEW oring chain. Years ago when Oring chains first came out there was a big difference in power loss with a new Oring chain. Now days there is no appreciable loss. Especially when the chain is broken in and warmed up.

Cher'o,

Dwight

[Mike38]

So this dyno results I saw lies, right Dwight? You've done it yourself and found different results, right Dwight?

[TrikeKid]

I went from non to ringed on my old TTR125 and didn't notice a single thing, other than I didn't have to adjust my chain every ride.

[Dwight_Rudder]

I went from non to ringed on my old TTR125 and didn't notice a single thing, other than I didn't have to adjust my chain every ride.

Same here and I even had put a 15T front sprocket on mine with excellent results.

Dwight

[Dwight_Rudder]

So this dyno results I saw lies, right Dwight? You've done it yourself and found different results, right Dwight?

Actually we did testing by dyno and by acceleration testing. No significant difference. There was a difference back in 1981 when we first started running Oring chains but they have improved greatly in the past 25 years. By the way you can get different HP numbers on the same dyno and same bike on 2 different runs back to back . You have to be very careful and average out at least 3 runs on every change to get the most accurate results. Especially when testing something as minute a change as a Oring chain and a Non Oring chain. As for the chain size difference it is only logical to understand that the Chain is like flywheel weight and once moving it doesn't restrict Horsepower. It can feel like more flywheel weight though. Say you take a YZ250 and run it on a dyno. Now put a heavier flywheel on it. Do you think it changes peak horsepower ? Or does it just slow down the acceleration response a bit ? I have had a bit of expericance with small bores and Oring chains.

Cher'o,

Dwight

Formerly of Suzuki Team Enduro ( PE175 & PE125 ) ( Silver 1979 ISDT, Silver 1981 ISDE )

Hercules Factory team (GS175/6a , GS125/6D, & GS125/7a )

Yamaha Factory Enduro Team (IT175 with Carl Cranke porting )

Husqvarna Support ( 125XC , 125WR, 250XC, & 250WR ) ( Bronze 125cc class, 1982 ISDE , only 8 out of 36 Americans finished )

Team Xr's Only ( XR270, 280, 285, 300 ) ( 1 bronze, 1 silver and 1 gold , ISDE 350cc class )

Team Thumper Racing (XR320 , XR440 , XR600 ) ( 1 silver medal 350 class at ISDE 1994)

KTM Support ( 525EXC )

OH, Yes, TEAM STRICTLY HODAKA ( 1973 Piston Port COMBAT WOMBAT with ORING CHAIN , 1st OA at Barber's Vintage Cross Country in OCT. , 1st under 350cc bike in final MX test at the ISDTR ).

[ebardzel]

Glad you cleared that up Mike. Adding an aluminum sprocket will add speed also cause your taking some unsprung weight off and making it easier to spin. They don't last as long as a steel one though.

[Bultaco206]

Formerly of Suzuki Team Enduro ( PE175 & PE125 ) ( Silver 1979 ISDT, Silver 1981 ISDE )

Hercules Factory team (GS175/6a , GS125/6D, & GS125/7a )

Yamaha Factory Enduro Team (IT175 with Carl Cranke porting )

Husqvarna Support ( 125XC , 125WR, 250XC, & 250WR ) ( Bronze 125cc class, 1982 ISDE , only 8 out of 36 Americans finished )

Team Xr's Only ( XR270, 280, 285, 300 ) ( 1 bronze, 1 silver and 1 gold , ISDE 350cc class )

Team Thumper Racing (XR320 , XR440 , XR600 ) ( 1 silver medal 350 class at ISDE 1994)

KTM Support ( 525EXC )

OH, Yes, TEAM STRICTLY HODAKA ( 1973 Piston Port COMBAT WOMBAT with ORING CHAIN , 1st OA at Barber's Vintage Cross Country in OCT. , 1st under 350cc bike in final MX test at the ISDTR ).

Dwight, you forgot your dramatic sliding-on-your-butt finish at Monster Mountain a few years ago.

[jbsurf]

Some battle, good to get some tested info, O-Ring it is........ Battle On!!!!!

[Dwight_Rudder]

Dwight, you forgot your dramatic sliding-on-your-butt finish at Monster Mountain a few years ago.

That's right and that was with a 250 Can Am on my arse. And YES I was running a O-ring chain.

O-ring chains last longer, Need less maintaince, and less likely to be thrown with too loose a adjustment due to less side play.

Cher'o,

Dwight