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First trip to the shop...

937 views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  bill815 
#1 ·
...and no major bad surprises with my recently purchased '04 V-strom. Shop owner was generally pretty complimentary of the bikes condition.

They mounted and balanced my Mitas E07+'s and I also had them return the front forks to stock height as the bike was lowered when I bought it. I don't know if the rear was lowered. The shop said they looked stock. I think the bike looks "more right" now.

I haven't put a lot of miles on the new tires as it was raining on the way home, so I wasn't pushing it at all. My initial impression was that the bike felt much better both on the road and the 1.5 miles of gravel to my house. Looking forward to getting some more miles on these tires.

On the down side, the shop owner said my chain and sprockets were in pretty bad shape. They quoted ~$500 to do the job. This is a race oriented shop and I'm sure they were quoting high end parts. Does this seem in the ballpark or crazy high for this job?

If I opt for a DIY over the winter, what suppliers should I look at for good quality sprocket and chain kit?
 
#2 ·
I just did chain and sprockets from sprocketcenter. Com for $140-180, cant recall exactly . There is a bunch of labor and you would need a chain tool to put the new link on. 500 doesn't shock me if you paid someone to do it.
 
#3 ·
I just did chain and sprockets from sprocketcenter. Com for $140-180, cant recall exactly . There is a bunch of labor and you would need a chain tool to put the new link on. 500 doesn't shock me if you paid someone to do it.
You can avoid the chain tool if you use a 'screw type' master link. I've used one on my just sold ZRX and it worked great! 36,000 miles and counting when the bike was sold. However, I don't know if a 'screw type' link is available for a V Strom chain.



Screw Type Master Link Pic Below
 

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#4 ·
$500-ish seems upper reasonable-to-high IMHO, for a better quality chain and front & rear sprockets. An efficient shop with an experienced staff I would think could remove, reinstall and adjust the chain & sprockets in about 2 hours or less.
I like D.I.D® chains personally. They hold adjustment well and are durable-about 18,000mi on my ZX11; YRMV. Revzilla has Vortex® complete chain & sprocket sets in stock chain lengths and sprocket sizes for $150-250, depending on application and features. Separate chains and sprockets allow you to customize ratios. I prefer to use a riveted master link on my chains over a clip-type, but I have never had a failure with clips- I just feel safer with a riveted link. The main thing is get the correct number of links.
If you have the means to keep the bike stable with the rear wheel removed and a chain break & press tool, it is not too difficult job to DIY. Some people can do the job without removing the rear wheel on some bikes- I don't know if that's possible on a 'Strom, and I would remove it anyway to look over brake and axle hardware; good time to check bearing wear and maybe install a new cush drive damper.
DYI, start with pencil and paper. Be sure you have the gaskets, tools, thread lock, correct part numbers for the job. Don't forget Nitrile gloves or lotza hand cleaner for the thick chain glop.
 
#5 ·
Fwiw, mine was 174. DID chain gold, and jt sprockets. Frond sprocket is a dampened stock type not solid.

The chain tool was 25 on amazon. There was no screw link option that I saw, but I wasn't looking.
 
#6 ·
A decent set of chain and sprockets is about $200. $300 to do an hours' work is an insult to injury.
A friend did mine in his garage in about an hour and we f'ed to death goofing off. The rear wheel has to come off to change the sprocket, duh.
The front sprocket helps to have an impact driver to loosen the nut. Don't forget to bend the folded washer up out of the way. And fold it back down when done.
There is a proper link count for the chain depending on the year. Some are 116, I think, and the other a bit longer due to a change in swing arm length.
Check the google search or the stickys to get the skinny of doing it right.
 
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