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MV Agusta is restarting their operations strong with the announcement of two new colour schemes for their latest and arguably most beautiful superbike yet, the MV Agusta Superveloce 800. This neo-retro beauty was amongst the first to roll off the factory line after the Italian manufactured resumed their operations after the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. (more…)

After a long (and probably much needed) break, Sepang International Circuit is back in business with the official announcement of operation commencement since the start of the Movement Control Order (MCO) here in Malaysia due to COVID-19. (more…)

  • The motorcycle chain is the most common type of final drive.

  • More specifically, it’s known as the “roller chain.”

  • There are also different sizes to consider.

The motorcycle chain is the most common type of final drive. More specifically, it’s known as the “roller chain.”

As with all motorcycle parts, there are plenty of misinformation and confusion about them, so let’s get down to the basics.

The parts

The roller chain is a series of interconnected pins (also called rivets). These pins are covered by cylindrical “rollers” that allow smoother running over sprockets. The rollers are held over both pins by “inner plates.” Next, unimaginatively called “outside plates” connect this one link to the adjacent link. These spaced connections leave holes for the teeth on sprockets to fill.

So far so good, right?

Grease or lubricant is usually filled under the rollers. This is why higher end chains have “O”- or “X”- or “XW”-rings to keep the lubricant inside.

The drivechain design has stayed the same since its invention because it operated on an elegantly simple principle. The only things that have changed are better metallurgy and sealing.

Sizes

What does it mean by a 520 chain? Or 525? Or 428?

The first number for example, “5” is from the pitch, which is the distance between the centre of the two pins. It’s a “5” in this case because it’s 5/8 of an inch. Yes, unfortunately chain sizes are stuck in in Imperial measurements.

Next, the 20 means the width of the roller.

Considerations

While both pitch and width are listed as ANSI standards, it’s best to buy chains according to the chain manufacturer’s recommendation for your bike, since the rollers may have different circumferences.

It was back in April 2019 when the WorldSBK intermediate class, WorldSSP, was shocked when Team Toth Yamaha reported that their beloved Yamaha R6 race bike was stolen the night before race day. Authorities came storming into their garage at the Motorland Aragon circuit, where there was obvious friction between the team owner and their ex-MotoGP rider, Hector Barbera. Both parties are now getting ready to duke things out in court. (more…)

Looks like there will be no high-speed runs or records being broken at the Bonneville salt flats this year, folks. The organisers of the 2020 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials have announced that the event has been officially cancelled due to the outspread of COVID-19 in the country. (more…)

Two Singapore start-up companies are currently in high gear to step up their efforts in producing the country’s first batch of electric motorcycles for the Southeast Asia market – Scorpio Electric and Ion Mobility. The news was reported as Singapore relaxed its ruling for electric bikes with more than 10kW to be allowed on the roads in their move to adopt environmentally-friendly vehicles. (more…)

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