How to know which chain pitch to choose for my motorcycle

Are you thinking of changing your transmission kit? One of the aspects you have to take into account, apart from choosing a quality product, are the measurements of both the chainring and the chain. Some of our customers ask us how to know which chain pitch to choose for their bike. Well, here we tell you. Stay tuned.

The most logical thing to do in this case would be to refer to our motorbike manual, which explains the main components, the type of fuel and oil to be used, etc. If we don't find this information, either because we don't have the manual at hand or because it simply doesn't appear in the manual itself, the best thing to do would be to dismantle the chain we already have installed so that we can check it carefully. We should also bear in mind that most motorbikes can be converted, i.e. their original chain pitch is 530 but they can be used with a pitch of 520; although this is generally only done for competitions, where lightening the weight and reducing friction due to friction is essential. In future posts we will tell you a little more about this.

So, once we have dismantled the chain, we can start measuring it. The first thing would be the length of the chain. The best way to do this is to count the links it has. So, the new chain should be the same or a little longer but always with caution (this issue is important for the issue of safety, in our previous article we told you how to grease and tighten the chain correctly).

Once we have this measure, we must go to the subject that concerns us here: the pitch and width of the chain.

To be able to measure the pitch correctly we must first understand what exactly these numbers refer to (415,420,520...) These are composed of two parts, the 4 of 415, 420 and 428 refers to the distance between rivets which would be in this case 4/8 inches. Therefore, the 5 of 520, 525 and 530 would have a distance between rivets of 5/8 inches. This would be the list of measurements:

• 400 Series (4): 4/8 inches (0.5 inches) or 4/8 x 25.14 millimetres (12.7 mm)
• 500 Series (5): 5/8 inches (0.625 inches) or 5/8 x 25.14 millimeters (15.875 mm)

The other figures on 15, 20, 30 of 415, 420, 530, etc. refer to the inner width of the chain. The list of measures would therefore remain as follows:

• 15: 15/80 inches (0.1875 inches) or 4.7625 mm
• 20: 20/80 inches (0.25 inches) or 6.35 mm
• 25: 25/80 inches (0.3125 inches) or 7.9375 mm
• 28: 28/80 inches (0.35 inches) or 7.95 mm
• 30: 30/80 inches (0.375 inches) or 9.525 mm

So, to know which pitch of chain we must acquire for our motorcycle, we must measure the pitch or distance between rivets and the inner width of the chain, as shown in the following picture: