What are the advantages and disadvantages O ring chain vs non o ring chain?

Chain drive is one of the common transmission methods of motorcycles, other transmission methods include belt drive and shaft drive.

Firstly, the structure is simple and reliable, and the transmission efficiency is high.

Secondly, the cost is low, and the price is relatively cheap compared with other transmission methods.

Third, the direction of operation is the same as the forward direction of the vehicle, so when riding at high speed, the stability of the vehicle will not cause interference, this is relative to the way of shaft drive, so high-performance imitation racing and street cars are almost all using this type of transmission.

Fourth, the distance of power transmission is very flexible and can be near or far, this is far from the shaft driveway can be compared.

Fifth, compared to the belt drive method, the chain drive can bear a greater value of torque, not easy to slip.

But there are also many disadvantages：

First, the operation noise is larger, by its own structure, quality, assembly quality, parts supporting factors.

Secondly, it is easy to be contaminated by mud, water, and dust because it is exposed, so it needs to be maintained and cleaned frequently, and the common chain is especially obvious.

Thirdly, the life span is not that of the belt drive and shaft drive, and it is a wearable part.

Fourthly, it is easy to be stretched and needs to be adjusted frequently.

To solve these disadvantages, the o-ring chain emerged (also called the competitive chain), which solves most of the shortcomings of non-o-ring chains compared with ordinary transmission chains.

The main difference between non-o-ring motorcycle chains and o-ring chains is whether there is a seal between the inner and outer chain pieces or not, and you can see that there is no rubber seal between the inner and outer chain pieces of ordinary chain, and there is a gap between the inner and outer chain pieces and the roller and sleeve. After these foreign substances enter, they will wear the contact surface between the pin and roller like fine sandpaper, and after a long time, the gap between the pin and roller will increase, even in the ideal dust-free environment, the wear between the pin and roller is inevitable, but only slightly better.

The most intuitive feeling is that the chain is stretched out. Basically, a normal chain needs to be tightened once in about 1000 km, otherwise, the long chain will seriously affect the safety of driving.

The emergence of the O-ring chain solves this problem.

In the picture above, there is a rubber ring between the inner and outer chain plates (the place with a red circle), which is filled with grease, so that it can prevent the dust outside from invading the gap between the roller and the pin, and prevent the grease inside from being thrown out, so it can provide continuous lubrication, and therefore the mileage of the oil-sealed chain is greatly delayed. A reliable oil-sealed chain can be used for 3000 km without tightening the chain, and its overall service life is about three times longer than that of a normal chain.

However, there are disadvantages of o ring chains, mainly the following two points.

Firstly, the price of an oil seal chain is more expensive than an ordinary chain, and the manufacturer must bear the higher cost. The oil seal chain of the same specification is often 4 to 5 times more expensive than the ordinary chain and even more.

Secondly, the running resistance of the oil seal chain is relatively large, which is commonly called “dead”, because the tension of the rubber seal makes the chain piece rotate with greater resistance, so it is generally not suitable for small displacement models, only those medium and large displacement motorcycles use this oil seal chain. Only those medium and large-displacement motorcycles use this kind of oil seal chain. Only ordinary access tool vehicles use the ordinary chain to reduce the cost.