Swingarm eaten by chain

motokid wrote:

DestinationOffroad wrote:

motokid wrote:

JB Weld is an epoxy.... it's not really actually welding the swingarm.

Just filling in the grooves with epoxy that's gets hard as hell.

Oh, i have used epoxy on a few wakeboards and skimboards before. Its great to fill cracks in fiberglass. Never heard of JB weld. Could i do the same for the swing arm? I would have thought it would peel with the chain rubbing against it, but the above results don't look bad.

With a proper chain slider, the chain should never rub against any part of the swingarm.

http://www.jbweld.com/ <-- clicky

Just know that the chain slider is a wear item. It's got to be checked with some regularity and replaced occasionally.
Chain adjustment is crucial to longevity of the slider. Poor chain maintenance will result in slider needing to be replaced more often.

Check out this entire thread and you can see pictures of repaired swingarm damage.
Look into the JB Weld, and for sure buy a new slider. Also, check your chain tension/adjustment.

Yeah i've looked at the thread a few times, i ordered a slider last night. I'll replace it and epoxy the damage soon. Also i'll keep up with chain maintenance. Thanks guys.

I makes no sense to me to bother trying to fill the groves with anything because if you simply pay attention to the slider wear and replace as needed the chain will never touch the swingarm again. I would think that anyone who posted here has learned a valuable lesson and will keep this common wear item in mind for any routine maintenance in the future and your swingarm will be fine.

wristpin wrote:

I makes no sense to me to bother trying to fill the groves with anything because if you simply pay attention to the slider wear and replace as needed the chain will never touch the swingarm again. I would think that anyone who posted here has learned a valuable lesson and will keep this common wear item in mind for any routine maintenance in the future and your swingarm will be fine.

I think it is more for the peace of mind that comes with knowing your swing arm doesn't have huge rips through it. :-)

Hello all,

Just in regards to this subject & for possible other alternative chain slider part options....
I'm sure that you guys would have this issue covered pretty well, so sorry if this has been previously posted.


Anyway there seems to be a few aftermarket sliders around - click onto the links below to see all details for item & supplier etc.

Both below seem to be a more heavy duty option to the stock Yammie slider - especially the "baja rally" unit.



http://www.chaparral-racing.com/Product/acerbis-chain-slider/257-208155-0001.aspx?year=2012&make=YAMAHA&model=WR%20250R


http://www.chaparral-racing.com/Product/tm-designworks-baja-rally-ebdurance-2-stage-chain-sliders/397-1580.aspx?year=2010&make=YAMAHA&model=WR%20250R



Please note that i have not actually tried either of the above parts - but i reckon when my stocker is due for replacement i would go for the baja rally, in blue of course ! lol

Also just to add that i have no connection whatsoever with this company or these parts. Just merely bringing this to the table as a possible option that may help other members out.


Cheers, Gavin.

Also check out the description for the baja-rally slider - says that requires removal of the swingarm to fit - but no big deal really.
As obviously the picture shows that it is a full "wrap around" unit. So that by design should make it a better wearing, more duarable unit. More covered area of the swing arm & thicker material, so should be a win win propersition. ( I suppose for that sort of coin you'd want to expect that at the very least hey = not cheap ).


Cheers.

^^^ Cool stuff, the first one looks a little weird. The baja definitely does require you to take the swingarm off.

^^ Yeah mate, i'd say that in both photo descriptions of those chain sliders they show a "generic" pic - so if you were to order the unit to suit the WR then it would be a direct replacement fit to the Yammie stocker.


The feature description's for the Baja-rally unit sound pretty good in regards to being "oil impregnated" & also being backed up with a 1 year "unconditional" warranty. So this should mean that even if you were to have accelerated wear due to "incorrect" chain tension, or in relation to front sprocket size, then they will replace the unit regardless. ( Although the one condition is that it only applies to USA purchace - so good for most of you guys here ).


Also for the money the Acerbis slider would definately be worth a run to see if it might "hold up" a bit better than the factory slider.


Cheers.

Not sure I want a chain slider that requires me to remove swing arm to install. I'll usually clean the slider when I clean the chain which is fairly often (I ride a lot of mud and sand). Certainly don't want to have to pull swing arm off every time.

Thanks for posting options though.

^^ No worries mate - i suppose if you were wanting to R&R the slider frequently, then you could possibly "cut open" the front section of the Baja unit to be of the same design style of the factory slider.


I suppose it would be a matter of looking at the aftermarket slider & seeing if it's possible to do this whilst still retaining good overall sercurity. ( I'd suspect that if the rest of the mounting points are the same as per the factory unit, then in theroy it should still stay in place ). Of course this would all depend on the fact of it being a much better wearing unit - as it would obviously defeat the purpose to pay top dollar and then have to mod if it's not way in front of the stock slider in terms of long term wear rates.


So overall this may leave the aftermarket Acerbis slider as a good option for the money.... if it turns out to be a better design with more durable wear rates. ( As it seems to be of the same design style as per the stock unit - meaning easy fit & removal ).



Anyway, it seems as though both of these aftermarket sliders are only fairly new to the market - so i suppose we may find out in the near future what the go is in terms of fittment & wear rates. Judging by the current wear rate of my stock slider i'd say i will be all good for at least another year. Hopefully between now and then there will be some first hand feedback from others.

Cheers guys.

There are people that have never had to replace the slider in many, many miles of owning the bike. Like bigdogadv. I don't think it should be a problem that needs replacing if a person keeps their chain in spec, but i dont know. :-/

GT-250 wrote:

Hello all,

Just in regards to this subject & for possible other alternative chain slider part options....
I'm sure that you guys would have this issue covered pretty well, so sorry if this has been previously posted.


Anyway there seems to be a few aftermarket sliders around - click onto the links below to see all details for item & supplier etc.

Both below seem to be a more heavy duty option to the stock Yammie slider - especially the "baja rally" unit.



http://www.chaparral-racing.com/Product/acerbis-chain-slider/257-208155-0001.aspx?year=2012&make=YAMAHA&model=WR%20250R


http://www.chaparral-racing.com/Product/tm-designworks-baja-rally-ebdurance-2-stage-chain-sliders/397-1580.aspx?year=2010&make=YAMAHA&model=WR%20250R



Please note that i have not actually tried either of the above parts - but i reckon when my stocker is due for replacement i would go for the baja rally, in blue of course ! lol

Also just to add that i have no connection whatsoever with this company or these parts. Just merely bringing this to the table as a possible option that may help other members out.


Cheers, Gavin.

Hello Everyone,

Don't order the tm designworks chain slider from chaparral--it's mislabeled. I received it and there's no way it will mount to the WRR. I called tm designworks and they confirmed that they do not make a chain slider for the WRR.

-morgan

^^ Thanks for the heads up on this Morgan..... i would of been fair filthy if i had spend the big coin to get one shipped to me down under here in OZ, only to find out that it was totally wrong ! Pitty as it seemed to be a pretty good design. I wonder if the better priced and standard design style Acerbis slider is the correct listing for the WRR/X ?

Cheers.

FWIW, High Five uses mineral spirits to clean the bearings in the linkages. This guy says NO - do not use solvents. He has quite a bit to say on cleaning and lubing the linkage bearings here. He is talking about the 250F but the bearings look the same to me.

I bought my WRr from my dad (internet inept) shortly after I replaced the slider that was worn through and eating the swing arm.   I also replaced the sprockets with a 14/49 combo and a longer chain...  Beyond the initial wear on the guard, it has barely worn since (7000+ miles)  Had I known about the Acerbis unit, I would have purchased that one as it is cheaper

So is there an aftermarket slider that holds up better than the OEM?
I’m going through sliders about every few thousand miles. I’m running 13/47 on the 17’s and 13/48 for the dirt with the chain properly adjusted some would say alittle loose.
I’m starting to think its the wheelies. I do alot, sometime for a mile or two at a time. Any stunters on here that can comment on wheeling and the chain slider?

crazy_dave wrote:

So is there an aftermarket slider that holds up better than the OEM?
I’m going through sliders about every few thousand miles. I’m running 13/47 on the 17’s and 13/48 for the dirt with the chain properly adjusted some would say alittle loose.
I’m starting to think its the wheelies. I do alot, sometime for a mile or two at a time. Any stunters on here that can comment on wheeling and the chain slider?

Where on the slider is most of your wear? Top side or bottom side?

motokid wrote:

crazy_dave wrote:

So is there an aftermarket slider that holds up better than the OEM?
I’m going through sliders about every few thousand miles. I’m running 13/47 on the 17’s and 13/48 for the dirt with the chain properly adjusted some would say alittle loose.
I’m starting to think its the wheelies. I do alot, sometime for a mile or two at a time. Any stunters on here that can comment on wheeling and the chain slider?

Where on the slider is most of your wear? Top side or bottom side?

Bottom

Not a stunter but I do lots of wheelies and jumps.
I am still on my original chain slider with no damage, just slight marks where the chain has touched it now and then.
I run my chain on the looser side.

Wonder if the chain hits if the rear shock bottoms out.

f3joel wrote:

Wonder if the chain hits if the rear shock bottoms out.

I know it does.

Once when I had the shock linkage disconnected from the swingarm on my WR-250X, I swung the swingarm up through it's full travel and noted the chain-to-slider clearance as the swingarm moved upward.
At about the 3/4 mark, the chain touches the slider and stays in contact the rest of the way up.

If you have sufficient slack, the chain will have enough "give" to allow it to slide over the bottom of the slider but not cut into it, and you just get normal wear marks in the slider, as with any other bike.

If your chain is too tight, it will grind through the slider (and then the swingarm if not noticed) instead of slide over it.

What the hell could it be then? I run my chains quit loose and its just eating up the slider and my swing arm.
I have just a normal 520 o-ring chain. Do you think chain manufacturers could have different link thicknesses?
would it be worth it to go up to a 14T on the front?

I'm thinking your bottoming out your shock when you stand on your seat.

f3joel wrote:

I'm thinking your bottoming out your shock when you stand on your seat.

That very well could be. Think there is  away around it other then stop wheeling? Heavier rate spring?

That is a possiblity, I have heard of others doing it.
I had my suspension done by fast bike industries.
The rear shock in stock form is horrible.
I would think if you had your rear shock rebuilt by a quality place you probably wouldn't have anymore issues.

You could try and tighten the rear up first.
I don't know if you set the sag or not.

Being that you're running it looser I wonder if the chain is hanging onto the front sprocket until tension pulls it back in line. If it's hanging on just a bit it could be rubbing the slider even riding around on flat ground.

I went the way of the 14t long ago. I haven't checked the slider in a while, but I'm pretty confident that it's still fine with the extra space afforded by the 14t sprocket and regular chain maintenance.