Remember, many reccomend you replace both sprockets at the same time as well as the chain. They say
"They wear together". Another reason to do this is because mismatched chain, countershaft sprocket and rear sprocket will
WHINE. It will sing as you go down the road. But get this, it goes away to a great degree after many hundred miles as the
gear begins to mate. This may not be a good idea. For safety reasons there is one thing that should always be replaced. The
master link clip in the chain. You do not want chain failure on an RZ350. Binding chains have been known the break the crankcase
on RZ350 and Yamaha banshee near the countershaft sprocket area. The curved unopen area of the masterlink clip always faces
the direction of travel of the chain.
What is the key to putting the masterlink clip on a chain? A simple
pair of pliers. People make it out to be more complicated than it is. Carefull put one tooth of the pliers on the curved closed
end of the clip. Now put the other tooth of the pliers on the pin that the open end of the clip will slip on to. Very gently
squeeze the plier handles sliding the clip over the pin. It should go right in like butter. Before putting the clip on, make
sure the chain is squeezed in position so the clip grooves on the pins they slide in are exposed. When you think you have
your clip on, start wringing the chain side to side in abuse with both hands to see if you can twist the chain to make the
clip come off. Another words, twist the chain at the link area to make darn sure it's 100% secure and on there. You want to
triple check things like this.
Chain Oil: Chains and Sprockets are disposable/last forever items.
Oiling a chain is doing damage to the underside of the bike and swingarm areas. Have you ever cleaned 30 years of chain lube
from a motorcycle? Surely it will cut your bike's value considerably at sales time. Don't use chain lube unless your are on
a touring bike. Only keep enough of some kind of lubricant on the chain to keep it from rusting. "But it says it won't fly
off". Don't listen to claims or people with 15 minute DIY films on how to properly lube a chain. Dont do it. Your engine will
blow up by way of high milage before you wear out a set of sprockets on an RZ350. The way I service my chain is: I wipe it
off with a rag that has a few sprays of WD40 on it. Job done.
