So I just broke a tooth on my front sprocket just now. Took off slowly for a left and *clunk*. Checked my bike and there's a shiny spot where a tooth used to be on my front sprocket. The last time my chain was WAY too loose I broke 2 teeth on the rear and 1 on the front but this time my chain isn't that loose at all. It's a bit stiff though. I haven't lubed it in a little while and the last time I lubed it I noticed a couple stiff spots. Could these be what broke the tooth?

Big  to Chris at CA-cycleworks.com for the quick delivery and awesome support. I ordered my front and rear sprockets as well as chain from him for less than $175. I also tried to order some replacements for the crappy axle adjuster plates but Chris caught my mistake that they won't fit on my bike and saved me $40 and the trouble of returning them.

Got a picture of your front sprocket?

Quote from: Speeddog on August 13, 2008, 08:13:03 AM
Got a picture of your front sprocket?

Nope, just broke it about 15 min ago so I'm at work and the bike is in the parking lot. Chain doesn't look so hot. I was poking around while I was counting the teeth on the rear sprocket and noticed one of the O parts of a link was wobbly. Looks like a bad chain.

Oh yeah, how do you recommend I try to get home? Think I could try to commute the rest of the week on it? It's about a 9 mile commute. It's 10 minutes if I run the freeway, about 12-15 if I run city streets. I'm thinking the stress from starting and stopping isn't good so I'm leaning toward the freeway.

Worn chains

If the chain breaks you will not be a happy camper.

Quote from: howie on August 13, 2008, 09:36:47 AM
If the chain breaks you will not be a happy camper.

Yeah, for this reason I'm worried about the freeway. If the chain goes on surface streets I'll be going slower so I'm hoping it will be less disastrous.

I think Pakhan or one of the riders here with a 749 dark ended up destroying all but 13 of the teeth on his rear sprocket. I mean the teeth were completely destroyed and snapped of. He did a few hundred miles like that and didnt notice. lol

Maybe when you replace the sprocket, a case saver insert would add a little piece of mind.

Quote from: Fresh Pants on August 13, 2008, 01:04:51 PM
Maybe when you replace the sprocket, a case saver insert would add a little piece of mind.

haha! Ahead of you on that one! When I let my chain go too loose it gouged my crank case. Luckily it didn't go all the way through but it was right next to the seam where the cover and case meet deformed the case enough to push the cover out a bit and cause a leak. Little bit of careful filing and slapped a case saver on there. 

I noticed Chris at CA-cycleworks also has new axle adjuster plates for the DSS bikes that replace the crappy ones that bend so I'm picking up as set of those for $39. Too bad he's not a sponsor again to give me discounts. 

Sounds to me like someone needs to check his chain and sprockets more regularly, adjust the chain more often to the correct slack, and needs to replace the chain and sprockets a LOT sooner than he has been doing in the past. I check my chain at least once every 500 miles and adjust accordingly.....with the bikes I don't ride daily, I check my tire pressure and chain tension before I leave the driveway.....every time.

I check it once a week since it's my primary. I just don't know what I'm looking for. So far I only know what it looks like once it's broken or OK. Still can't tell what breaking or worn looks like.

OK, I have a stupid question.  SInce I don't have a manual in front of me what does Ducati say on how often the chain should be checked?  I'm thinking they would have more frequent maintenance schedule?  I've had several bikes in my earlier years that went 1000's of miles without a new chain?  But now that I read this thread I will be checking more often because it sounds like loosing teeth on sprockets are quite common?

No, losing teeth is not common unless you're not maintaining your bike or don't know what you're looking for in terms of wear.

My manual says to lube the chain every 300-500 miles and if you're lubing it, you might as well check the condition of the sprockets and chain while you're at it.

I only got 15000mi out of this chain so I guess I didn't maintain it very well. Sprockets should last at least twice as long as chains I think but I didn't maintain my chain well and it killed my sprockets twice. If you do happen to loose a tooth it'll make a popping sound like you just ran over a rock and it shot out from under the tire. If you're riding too fast to hear any sounds and never physically check your sprocket you should notice some slipping once in a while if you're missing a few teeth. But at that point it's pretty serious and you should be replacing stuff right quick.

Then again I'm the guy that has stuff breaking on him so what do I know. The last time I lubed the chain I noticed some stiff spots. I cleaned them extra good and that loosened them up a bit but that should have been a sign to me that the chain was nearing its end. Hind sight 20/20. 

Consider this
Failure of Motorcycle Chains may result in injury or death. Care must be exercised when connecting or adjusting.

My last chain lasted over 22K miles and still could have gone longer.  Sprocket wear was only noticeable when placed on top of the new sprockets.