Chain & Sprokets from UK

Dr Pepper

Hi Lads, (and Girls!)

Just want to get a few opinions on something... My V-Strom 650 chain is knackered. I'm looking at buying this one off ebay for €100 +€17 shipping. A knowledgeable colleague of mine told me:
a) you need a special tool to attach the new chain (o-ring)
b) he wouldn't recommend trying to do it myself because if it snaps off while riding, it could take my foot/leg/head with it :eek:

Now, I'd bet any amount of money that if I went into my local friendly motorbike shop in Dublin, I'd be charged €200+ for the chain & sprocket and whatever extra to fit it.. In fairness, I haven't even bothered to ask yet because in all my experience re bike parts, (Irish price)=(UK price)x2 (can give 3 recent examples if anybody wants them).. So, the question is this:
- Is there a way to get these things fitted in Dublin at a reasonable cost if you've bought them elsewhere?
- How do Dublin bike shop owners react to that? I know some of the tire fitters have a hissy fit if you try to avoid being shafted with 'Irish prices' (see Rant & Rave no9 - Strong language)!!

Just wondering how people fell in general about this awkward situation we Irish bikers are in.. (If you want something fitted properly, you've gotta pay double for it to start with). Really just a rant thread I suppose but if anybody has any tips about fitting it myself (I've plenty of hands-on experience with the bike!) or where to get it fitted, let me know.

Cheers,
Brian

Steffano2002

I don't give a sh!t about the Irish mechanic's feelings. I buy where I find the cheapest and I get it fitted by whoever is the cheapest. End of story.

That chain is mighty expensive on eBay. I'd recommend calling Crossan's (+44 870 757 2207) up in Newry and asking them how much they'd charge for a chain and sprockets (free delivery to the Republic!). You need new sprockets when you get a new chain. If you don't change the sprockets the chain will be fooked within a few months.

I recommend two good mechanics to get the work done:

- Danny (DLM Racing) in Santry: 087 2711836

or

- "Chopper" (Biker.ie Admin) who has his own shop in Boardsmill, Trim (Co. Meath) called Poleon Motorcycles: 086 8809098

Give them both a ring and see what they can do for you. And see how much they'd charge you for a chain and sprockets. You never know, it could be much cheaper than you expect...

Dr Pepper

Thanks Steffano! Just saved me a lot of money and hassle (and possibly my life ) in one post!

Crossan have a regina O-ring set for £110 and a Z-ring for £125, overnight delivery free (so it works out around the same as ebay).

Anybody know if it's worth the extra £15 for the Z-ring?

Poleon mc are fitting it for around €50 which is fine by me! - Would probably take me half the day to do it!

Run_to_da_hills

Spend a bit extra and get a good X Ring.

Steffano2002

Dr Pepper wrote: »

Thanks Steffano! Just saved me a lot of money and hassle (and possibly my life ) in one post!

Crossan have a regina O-ring set for £110 and a Z-ring for £125, overnight delivery free (so it works out around the same as ebay).

Anybody know if it's worth the extra £15 for the Z-ring?

Poleon mc are fitting it for around €50 which is fine by me! - Would probably take me half the day to do it!

I'm glad I could be of assistance!

I've never heard of Z-ring so I couldn't advise you there I'm afraid... However I do know that X-ring is better than O-ring so like Run_to_da_hills I'd advise one of those!

Question: What do you call a "set"? Chain + Sprockets?

As for Regina chains, they are very good! I got a Regina chain from Crossan's for my race bike and it's the best price/quality chain out there IMO. And Crossan's are EXCELLENT to deal with!

And €50 EUR for fitting is cheap! And Poleon Motorcycles will look after you well!

Dr Pepper

Thanks Lads,

Yeh, I meant chain & sprockets when I said 'set'.
I'll be giving Crossan a ring to order that so I'll ask him about X-ring vs Z-ring..

Yeh, Crossan seem to be very good alright. The fella knew the exact bike and chain & sprockets I was talking about (DL-650 is fairly unusual). He had the price straight away (no looking through a phone-book sized catalogue, scratching head and wondering what to add on!). I've gotten stuff off them before and the free next-day delivery is fantastic!

Cheers,
Brian

Steffano2002

+1 for Crossan's! Excellent to deal with!

And that's not a bad price at all for a chain and sprockets!

Green_Martian

Get an x-ring chain mate, im changing mine soon and thats what im ordering, im also changing the sprockets as they should always be done when changing the chain as Steffano already pointed out