530 vrs 520 chain

I am Carbon

I am Carbon

shade tree mechanic
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I am interested in size chain you use on your bikes. when I got my bike it had a 520 on it and i have stayed with that size chain. If you have used both size chains I would like to know what's the differance in performance? if any. And which one do you prefer? Thanks, Ed
 
The 520 chain is lighter, and let's face it, we're not exactly dealing with some high horsepower beasts here. Less rotational mass is the advantage of the 520 chain. I believe the 530 is rated to be stronger.
 
I accidentally picked up a 520, these bikes are heavy, didn't save much weight, but it has barely worn at all. Will go back to 530 when the sprockets go, since mine is no race bike.

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The only difference is the 520 chain is an 1/8 of an inch narrower. Motogp bikes use 520 chains. I don't own anything that makes more power than those so I use 520 on everything.
 
I have a 520 on my ducati 999....nothing noticable in the rotational mass dept going down from a 525. A 520 with steel sprockets should last along time on an XS. I just went 530 on the xs cause i was being cheap. ha.
 
Lighter weight, why wouldn't you?

Rotational parts are a great place to shave some weight, especially in wheels/tires and driveline..
 
Reduction in rotational weight is only part of the story. Most of the weight of the chain and all of the weight of the rear sprocket is unsprung weight--the weight of the stuff that moves in response to the road surface and has the most adverse effect on handling. Total weight reduction converting from 530 to 520 is about 2 lbs., and around 1-1/2 lbs. of that counts as unsprung weight. That may not sound like much, but in terms of suspension performance, it's a lot. The cheapest modern O-ring 520 you can find is much stronger than the 530 these bikes left the factory with.
 
best bang for buck...well...it is shitty expensive.... is light weight wheels. better stopping, works better with your suspension setup, faster acceleration.
 
xjwmx said:
How can I take rotational weight and calculate the equivalent non-rotational weight?
Click to expand...

Most performance handbooks figure 2.5 - 3X as a ratio. Losing 1 pound of rotational weight is roughly the same as removing 3 lbs on the whole machine.

I'll have to do some reading to touch up on the math, but it seems to me that it takes 3X the energy to keep something in rotation as it does to carry it ( Wheels/Tires/Brakes Vs. Chassis)...
 
I'm using 530 on my custom build because I can't get a 520 rear sprocket in the right gearing for the cush (85 VF500F) I'm using on the rear wheel, and can't justify the cost of getting one custom cut for me.
 
In comparing chain sizes one must not forget that the 520 chain made today is probably a better chain than the 530 chain of 30 years ago. My 1978 H-D Superglide weighed about 650 lbs and came stock with a 530 chain. A 450 pound XS650 should have no problems with a modern 520 chain.

I've put 4000 miles on a 520 chain so far this year and have only needed to adjust in once.

I think the biggest difference is the quality of the chain. Spend a little more for Japanese or American made (German if it exists) and you'll do fine.

PS. As for any difference in performance. Chain size alone is probably undetectable. A lighter chain combined with lots of other changes would be required before you'll notice any difference in performance.
 
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What many people have already said here, the main advantage is less unsprung weight.

There's also less friction and inertia losses, but I'm not sure it's a noticable difference.
 
I have been totally happy running a 520 chain setup, long life is not a problem if Regular maintenance is done, i.e. I wipe it clean as i can get it while warm then relube at 250-300 miles, for me thats most fridays with bel-ray spray lube. The 530 seems like over kill to me but I only tried the one that came with the bike till it was worn out.
New sprockets every other chain is working well for me. I'm on my second 520 chain.
 
Right, Highside, if you're going for handling gains by cutting unsprung weight, no single item will make a transforming difference (apart from carbon fiber wheels, maybe--too rich for my blood). But small items add up to significant gains. I've drilled the chain adjuster blocks and installed duraluminum bearing spacers in the hubs, a plastic front fender, titanium fasteners for the front fender, brake rotor, caliper, chain adjusters, and chain adjuster blocks, a Brembo full-float rotor (much lighter than OEM), and a pair of Works Performance alloy body shocks. The front rim is 18", and though weight reduction wasn't the motive for the change, it lets me use a lighter tire--lots of weight differences among brands, Pirelli Sport Demons and Shinko 712's are quite a bit lighter than Bridgestone BT45's, for example. There's a plastic chain guard in the stash that I'll get around to modding for the XS one of these days.
 
grizld1 said:
Right, Highside, if you're going for handling gains by cutting unsprung weight, no single item will make a transforming difference (apart from carbon fiber wheels, maybe--too rich for my blood). But small items add up to significant gains. I've drilled the chain adjuster blocks and installed duraluminum bearing spacers in the hubs, a plastic front fender, titanium fasteners for the front fender, brake rotor, caliper, chain adjusters, and chain adjuster blocks, a Brembo full-float rotor (much lighter than OEM), and a pair of Works Performance alloy body shocks. The front rim is 18", and though weight reduction wasn't the motive for the change, it lets me use a lighter tire--lots of weight differences among brands, Pirelli Sport Demons and Shinko 712's are quite a bit lighter than Bridgestone BT45's, for example. There's a plastic chain guard in the stash that I'll get around to modding for the XS one of these days.
Click to expand...

I'm looking to do a lot of that, eventually, and also an aluminum swing arm.

I'm also looking into a 17" front. The tire selection is better.

Thinking if I can build an aluminum con-rod motor too. ;)
 
prodgod said:
I'm using 530 on my custom build because I can't get a 520 rear sprocket in the right gearing for the cush (85 VF500F) I'm using on the rear wheel, and can't justify the cost of getting one custom cut for me.
Click to expand...

hey supersprox makes custom sprockets now for all kinds of bike and wheels. i dont think that they are much more than just buying a regular sprocket. go check out their web site www.supersproxusa.com
 

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