M Endurance Maintenance Free Chain

[Colin]

Thought I would bite the bullet and order the new maintenance free chain, on the Motorrad site they advertise it for 2019 - 2020 XR’s which I thought strange given that’s Gen1 & Gen2 but only 2019 Gen1, anyway after giving the guy in Europe my chassis number he confirmed it’s not compatible so basically it’s just for Gen2  ,........now where’s that chain lube......

[SimonUK]

did he give a reason why it is not compatible? AFAIK they are 525 pitch, the only other thing could be #links.

[Colin]

 No I was on a online chat with him and the fact that he should have just said that the chain isn’t compatible with a Gen1 instead of asking me for my chassis number didn’t inspire confidence ?

[SimonUK]

Looking at REalOEM the standard XR chain is the same part number for ALL years XR

33818551930
Chain
From:03/01/2015To:-Weight:2.595 kgPrice:
Part 33818551930 was found on the following vehicles:
K49 (S 1000 XR)   (05/2014 — 11/2019)
K69 (S 1000 XR)   (12/2018 — 11/2019)


So I do not see why the 'Endurance' chain will not work on all years.

[ecard]

I just received the chain, and new front/rear sprockets as well. I bought it right off the OEM (US) parts catalog for my Gen 1 (2016) XR.
The part number is 33819444386 for the M chain and 33819444388 for the M chain link, which I have yet to receive.
Will post a photo and comments once installed and tested.

[bobdave]

Originally Posted by Colin

Thought I would bite the bullet and order the new maintenance free chain, on the Motorrad site they advertise it for 2019 - 2020 XR’s which I thought strange given that’s Gen1 & Gen2 but only 2019 Gen1, anyway after giving the guy in Europe my chassis number he confirmed it’s not compatible so basically it’s just for Gen2  ,........now where’s that chain lube......

You indicate on your post that it was the chain you discussed - were you also including the sprockets? If not, it may be that the maintenance free chain needs a specific type of sprockets different to the older generation 1 type?

[Colin]

So i've just had an interesting conversation with my local dealer and he confirms that yes the chain and sprockets are identical for Gen1 and 2 but BMW cant recommend the endurance chain for the Gen1 simply because there hasn't been any testing on it and the 'characteristics' might not be the same. He also said that regardless of this he has sold a number of these to Gen1 buyers. I'm not really sold on the 'characteristics' thing and understand BMW are covering their arses but I will be going for the new endurance chain and new sprockets when I change my rear tyre. Thanks for all the feedback!

[MelbXR]

And, ahhh, do we actually believe that this chain is "maintenance free"?

Are we going to have a pile of "my chain failed at 20,000kms" threads in a year or so?

[smithy]

Originally Posted by MelbXR

And, ahhh, do we actually believe that this chain is "maintenance free"?

Are we going to have a pile of "my chain failed at 20,000kms" threads in a year or so?

Agree...there's no such thing as a "maintenance free chain"....park the bike in the ocean for a wheek and see how it gets on..??

Smithy.

[Mareng1]

Whatever BMW have advertised is the abilities of the new chain - (I forget what they are)

Can someone take them literally and stick to that regime and report back of progress?

No cheating!