M Endurance Maintenance Free Chain

[Winger]

I’ll take the DID Gold ZVM-X every time thank you, but a maintenance free chain blimey that’s some wishful thinking 

[Molsal]

Does anyone think that the oem chain is oor quality? It's certainly not in the same league as a Triumph oem on a Stripple

[SimonUK]

Originally Posted by Molsal

Does anyone think that the oem chain is oor quality? It's certainly not in the same league as a Triumph oem on a Stripple

yes, it rusts far more easily than any aftermarket chain I have  used.

[runnerhiker]

I think the new M chain will last longer than the standard chain because it has harder metals in the friction points.  I also think that modern o-ring and x-seal chains are close to maintenance free.  I have 8,000 miles on my 2019 XR, I got a new set of tires at 6,000 miles, I haven't had to adjust the chain on this bike yet.  At the tire change, I pencil marked the rear axle, changed the tire, put the axle at the pencil mark, checked the chain slack and it was ok, I did not have to adjust it.  I have not cleaned this chain, but I do spray it with chain lube infrequently.

For me, that's close enough to "maintenance free", I'll take it.

[PaulS1000XR]

Originally Posted by runnerhiker

I think the new M chain will last longer than the standard chain because it has harder metals in the friction points.  I also think that modern o-ring and x-seal chains are close to maintenance free.  I have 8,000 miles on my 2019 XR, I got a new set of tires at 6,000 miles, I haven't had to adjust the chain on this bike yet.  At the tire change, I pencil marked the rear axle, changed the tire, put the axle at the pencil mark, checked the chain slack and it was ok, I did not have to adjust it.  I have not cleaned this chain, but I do spray it with chain lube infrequently.

For me, that's close enough to "maintenance free", I'll take it.

I have found that after an initial stretch over the first 2 k miles chain adjustment is rarely required on the non M chain

[Speedy]

Am I reading this right...using the part number above, the new "m" chain is $366.  I've never owned a bike long enough to need a replacement chain, but that seems like a lot of money for a chain. 

[wascallyrabbit]

I clearly don't understand how chains work. You have pins that use some sort of seal x-ring, z-ring or whatever you want to call them. those seals will eventually fail due to friction because the chain moves. modern seals don't really need much if and lubrication.

I do know when the seals start to fail I find a reddish powdery color stuff on my chain. Then my chain starts to need frequent adjustment cause it is failing. When the red stuff starts to show up I order a new chain and sprockets. For me this is usually around the 18k-20k mile mark.

curious to see if the M chain gets better mileage. it is still using seals.

[Colin]

Everything with moving parts has its shelf life, the way I look at it is if I can stick the M chain on and not worry about when I last lube’d it (and shouldn’t have to worry about the adjustment as this will be checked at the service intervals anyway) and its good for say 20k miles then that’s money worth spent.

[SwiftTone]

M Endurance chain with "zero" maintenance is designed to last as long as a regular chain with regular maintenance.  Recommend cleaning and lubing it (with special BMW lube) the same time as your do oil changes. I would imagine if you maintained the M Endurance chain the same amount as a regular chain then it would last far longer than a standard chain. Average regular chain life is 18k-22k miles.

The M endurance chain is designed and manufactured by Regina. Same as the regular chain. I am waiting for Regina to release it to aftermarket so it wouldn't have the BMW markup.

Currently I can get a DID ZVMX (best chain IMO) for about $120. I don't slouch on chain maintenance but if it means I don't have to clean and lube my chain every night on multi week tour then I'd happily pay around $250

[ecard]

This is how I see it. I am not a big fan of chains (two K1300S and a VFR 1200F before the XR), so even if I still need to replace sprockets once in a blue moon but not service the chain is good enough for me. Fantastic actually. Money well spent.
By the way, this is BMW we are talking about making this claim of a maintenance free anything, not Tesla. So maybe, just maybe, they did a little homework and testing before coming out with it. Just saying.
In any case, I will report what I can in due time to those interested.