Chain Reactions

Mark sorted the sprockets last month and found some odd things. Sorting the chain should be simple, right?

- Mark Haycock

We are now ready to fit the new chain to the CB750, and I shall take a look at a couple of very reasonably priced tools to facilitate this.

First though, before putting back the cover over the front sprocket, I did notice that the electrical connections in this area (Photo 1) were not in great condition as the insulation must have shrunk after being heated by the engine for years, exposing the conductors, so I wrapped them with extra insulation in the form of non-sticky plastic tape: best to sort this out now, rather than by the side of the road.

The chain in the kit was supplied as being the correct size and length for the application so I was a little surprised to find that it was actually too long and so it would need to be shortened to suit. Also I should point out that time has moved on and the old-fashioned spring link originally used on CB750s (and everything else come to that) is now regarded as insecure and hence unsatisfactory. The recommended way now is to use a riveted link and everything you need should be included within a kit such as this.

In the past I simply used an angle grinder to shorten chains and did the riveting for joining by hand and this worked okay, but I decided to ‘get with it’ and buy the proper equipment. What put me off before was the price of the kit which I would rarely use, but things have changed and now you can apparently buy the tool you need for a tenner, in fact, here it is (Photo 2). Even I am not that stingy. Sounds remarkably cheap, but does it work? I have seen a few reviews of this tool which were somewhat less than glowing, but let us see.