100% MAINTENANCE FREE MOTORCYCLE CHAIN? LONG TERM REVIEW Regina HPE Chain KTM 1290 Super Adventure R
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- čas přidán 20. 05. 2023
- Too good to be true? A completely maintenance free motorcycle chain that does not need any lubrication and re-tensioning once installed!
I was keen to find out and bought this chain for my brand new KTM 1290 Super Adventure R. This is the long term review of using the Regina HPE (High Performance Endurance) chain to the end of its life.
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In the bike business 20 years and raced before that. In my experience RK HD O-ring chain, stretches least and lasts longest! Just installed RK PREMIUM GOLD ROADRACEING CHAIN! Why trust a company ,famous for shaft drive bikes, to design a chain? Use chain wax...wont fly off!
I think you may have misunderstood the claim from Regina. They clearly state that the chain doesn’t require lubrication, not that it won’t need adjusting. By “maintenance free” they’re simply referring to the lubrication aspect of chain servicing. A chain that never stretches or wears is a physical impossibility. On top of that, even if the chain never wore, the sprockets do, which would necessitate chain tensioning…..
That is what they are claiming now but the original marketing promises was no lubrication and tensioning btw BMW used the same claim and compared the maintenance to a shaft drive
Great honest review, thanks.
Then you very much 😉
All chains can be maintenance free. It just comes down to how long you want it to last.
Very true! Modern O-ring- sealed chains are permanently lubed from the factory. All the lube they will ever have is already in them, and there is nothing you can ever do to replace it or add more. All you can do is lube the interface between the rollers and the sprocket teeth, and between the plates and the seals. It is debatable whether either of these interfaces even need regular lube. Still, If you maintained a chain according to manufacturers recommendations, you would hardly have time to ride. I do very little chain maintenance, save for necessary adjustments and a bit of spray lube here and there. I just don't worry too much about it, and instead accept that I will be changing chains and sprockets here and there whether I do this all the time or not. I've ridden by this chain philosophy for over 50 years, and am currently on motorcycle number 40 or so. Both of my current bikes have around 25K miles on their original chains, and are still going strong, and I haven't had to knock myself out maintaining them. That's good enough for me. When those chains and sprockets need to be replaced, I'll do it with a smile.
NOW... all bets are off with non-O-ring race chains. These definitely do have to be meticulously, cleaned, lubed and adjusted all the time.
I have a Regina Endurance chain on my Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx and it’s getting changed next week after over 30 000 kms. I find it’s a good performance, I ride all year long, all kind of roads, even some gravel and sand, no oiler. I’ve never bought the claim that it was maintenance free, I treated it pretty much like I would care any other regular chain. For me the mileage is a bigger aspect than the maintenance and in this regard I consider it a very good chain, my mechanic at the dealers’ (who by the way didn’t sell it to me, he never even had heard about it) also was very surprised by how the chain has lasted. Regards
I use a DID ZVMX chain in conjunction with the Scott chain oiler system on my SAT 1290 together with the SUPERSPROX Sprockets. The mileage is currently around 26,000 km. During this operating time, I only had to retighten the chain 4 to 5 times in a very small range. The play as well as the wear on the sprockets is top and I already assume that the combination will easily fall another 10 - 15000 km. In addition, the oil prevents dirt from adhering in contrast to chain grease. The dirt is simply ejected due to the lower viscosity. On that there's nearly no splashing of the oil / dirt at the rim or wheel. In my opinion, that's an ingenious combination, furthermore of the very small consumption of chain oil is needed.
Thank you for sharing your setup. I had good experiences with a chain oiler as well. czcams.com/video/cFhGtYTyfYA/video.html but I was curious about other options 😉
I run my chain dry. If it gets wet I only oil the side plates. Works for me 🍻
Awesome video and great landscape you are riding there! Will there also be another video on Ireland? 😉👍
Thank you very much - yes, there will be 😉👍
My BMW S1000XR M Package (model 2022) was equipped with the M Endurance chain at the BMW factory in October 2021.
I arbitrarily greased the chain using BMW Kettenspray every 5.000 km, even though every 10.000 km was recommended.
I retensioned the chain slightly for the first time at about 18.000 km.
Starting at around 24.000 km, that chain was getting old like crazy.
I had to retension the chain at least every 1.200 km.
For the bike's 30.000 km service (at 33.000 km in my bike's case) I had my BMW dealership mount a new M Endurance chain and new sprockets.
The beginning of my 2nd experience with an M Endurance chain.
Thank you very much for sharing your experience 👍
thank you for sharing..
So it didn't last any longer than normal chains?
On my s1000xr gen2 2020 it had the standard regina chain on it I got 15 k miles befor it was at its stretch limit and developed a tight spot.
@@basmca1I'm afraid that this is indeed the case and confirms the results of a test of that chain, which I read two years ago in the German magazine MOTORRAD.
I use Regina with Scottoiler, but with the minimal amout of lubrication all the time, after 3000 km no retention was needed. The biggest test will be in june on round trip in Norway ( 7000 km) in 14 days, and I will see how it works.
Well - let me know how the Regina chain works for you - enjoy Norway - I was there last year for the first time and was absolutely impressed by the beauty of this country
So how did it do?
This is why I choose shaft drive bikes, even though it limits my choice.
Excellent video. I had been interested in this chain however its become clear that they are not worth the money.
Great roads you were on, the Lecht and Gairnshiel. Local roads for me
Thank you very much Stuart. Better spend your money elsewhere 😉
Based on your first video and this video I feel confident that this chain will work for my needs.
Kawasaki Vulcan S Cafe bought the Regina 520 HPE 120 also some new sprockets. This will be my third chain on this bike. Last chain only got 8,000 miles. I commute to work 120 miles a day three days a week. And I don’t always have time for chain maintenance on weekends so I’m expecting a better experience with this chain.
Your commute sounds more like a journey each day with 120 miles a day 😂 8000 miles longevity on your previous chain seems incredibly low. I hope that you get more out of your next chain. Would be nice to get your feedback at some point 😉 cheers
Thanks for that....
Took me long enough 😂
Recently found your channel, it's been few months since release of this review but here are my 2c.
I have my 3rd Regina HPE chain, first 2 were on S1000R and now on KTM SD GT, on BMW I had to change it after ~20k km, service cleaned and lubricated it during scheduled maintenance I didn't have to do anything. GT is a new bike with only 11k km, so far so good.
For comparison I changed DID 530 every 20-22k km on my R1.
For me it's not a big difference in range I can live with that.
Biggest advantage is no maintenance on the long trips.
At 270 Euros for the Regina HPE vs 100 Euros für a DID quality chain it is a big difference to pay for the convinience. I bet you could get the same milage from a standard chain with the same kind of maintenance you describe - may be worth a test some day 😂
Schönes Review-Video, dann werde ich wohl lieber auch bei der Standardkette bleiben! Was die Fettung angeht: ein komplexes Thema, da man ja offroad mit viel Dreck andere Eigenschaften als auf der Straße will. Ein großer UK YT Kanal (Bennets bikesocial) hat quasi alle marktgängigen Sprays, Öls sehr umfangreich getestet, und das beste "Allzweck"-Spray scheint das Maxima Chain Wax zu sein.
Generell zur Kette: nachdem ich zuletzt auf dem YT Kanal "Marc Travels" unterwegs war, der mit seinem zero bike quer durch Europa fährt, frage ich mich, warum nicht viel mehr Hersteller ein Riemen anstelle einer Kette verbauen. Den Riemen konnte er (als er einmal gerissen war), am Straßenrand wechseln. Der Riemen hat quasi nur vorteile (Lebensdauer, Wartung, usw.), außer bei sehr kalten Temperaturen, aber wer von uns fährt schon auf Spikes durch die Eislandschaft?
Ja, Kardan ist auch toll, aber teuer und schwer.
Das mit dem Riemen hab ich mich auch schon gefragt. Die meisten Harleys haben Riemenantrieb. Mit off-road fahren ist das aber definitiv nichts, da dort die Wahrscheinlichkeit zu groß ist das Steine in den Antrieb kommen und der Riemen reißt
Thanks for the info, it will help when I go to get my next set of drive gear.
But your story says you got a new ride...
Do share!!
Already did czcams.com/video/QWCnTq1H-2A/video.html 😉
Scottoiler is the answer, if you are getting to much crap gunking on the chain/sprocket/rear wheel it is because you have the frequency of the oiling set too frequent. When I ride through rain or wash the bike I actually spray the chain/sprocket/rear wheel down with soap and water to clean it all down and then put the scottoiler in prime mode for about a minute or minute and a half after the chain spins dry and I haven't bought a chain or sprocket in the last 6 years of frequent riding, including commuting a few times a week 65km in each direction year round and probably more in the rain than dry. The trick to the scottoiler is to find the sweet spot, and less is more with it, you want the chain to look almost wet. I also use the scottoiler scorpion to get both sides of the chain, which is another must have for this to work - oiling just one side of the chain is just stupid... and yes, power wash the grit off the chain and sprocket weekly...
Thank you very much for sharing your experience- how many kilometers are you getting out of your chain and sprocket with that?
@@MotoVibes bike currently has 42,000 kms on it, I installed the scottoiler on it when new. Adjusted for chain slack 2 times, but just ever so slightly each time, the second time it probably didn't need it but I had the back wheel off for new rubber. I check the chain for wear, binding and lateral bending everytime I change the oil or tires and it is fine. Same for the sprockets.
14K miles (22.5K km) original chain, only adjusted twice. I use an oiler. My previous bike had 25K miles on the chain and I only changed it because I was bored.
An oiler works really well that has been my experience too czcams.com/video/cFhGtYTyfYA/video.html
Bei mir kommt die Regina jetzt auch! 🙂1290GT- Bin gespannt, wie sie sich schlägt. Hab Dank für Deine Erfahrungen mit der Kette. Grüße Aus BLN-Charlottenburg
Vielleicht kommst Du etwas weiter mit regelmäßiger Schmierung - weniger Regen und Offroad Einsatz helfen sicher auch. Wünsche Dir alles Gute! Oliver
Man, tell me about those supersprox sprockets. Want to buy similar for my africa twin but couldnt find that much feedback about them
The main reason is to add some „bling“ to the bike - they are a bit more expensive than stock but much better quality and look. They last at least as long as the OEM part.
I realize this is now an old video, but what tension do you keep your chain at? I SWEAR my chain is too loose on my '17 SAS, yet even after looking in the maintenance manual, and setting the bike up on the center stand, and doing the measurements how it shows, I get 40mm, and this says 40-45, but it just seems really loose regardless. I was curious what you set yours to, and perhaps how you measure your chain tension. Perhaps I'm just not doing the measurement right?
If set correctly the chain will have some slack - that is on purpose so the chain does not get overly tight when the shock is fully extended (let's say you jump over a small hill, etc). I kept my tension to the specs which are listed at the rear swing arm - I measured at the point where I could get the most distance of the chain from the rear swing arm when I pressed down on the chain. Then I pressed up on the same spot - the distance should be within the tolerance (I believe it was 40-45 mm like you said). I hope this helps a litte.
Different sellers are obviously promising different things. It was sold to me as only needing the tension and lube looking at at service time, unless there is a lot of off road work or continual bad weather. It is not designed to last longer than normal chains. For me not having to lube it and check the tension every few thousand KMs is a good result.
It was initially clearly advertised as not needing any maintenance- after the first issues were reported Regina added “some” maintenance to the wording
A little of topic here but what windscreen are you using? How is the buffeting?
It’s this one czcams.com/video/iFs_xPkD91k/video.html 😉
Thank you for your review. I can't imaging having a chain needing lubrication every time it has rained. I would prefer my chains from 1978 without O-rings. I never bought more than two chains for my motorcycle back then. One on the motorcycle and the other one stored in a tin of oil after it had been cleaned. I just got a motorcycle again after a 34 year break and the first thing I'm considering is to buy two chains without O-rings. It seems much easier. Any comments from the off-roaders here?
Thanks for your feedback and for sharing your experience. For off-road use I found dry lube to work well as sand doesn’t stick to the chain as much as compared to typical road biased lubricants- however that does mean frequent reapplication after rain rides
i clean my chain and sprockets with WD 40 and penrite (australian brand) ten tenths chain lube because youre not only lubricating the chain but also the sprockets from wear/friction,because when the sprockets wear rapidly it accelerates the chain wear as well,my last bike (Z900) had 30,000kms on the original chain and sprockets before the accident that wrote it off (and nearly me) Im sure it would have lasted another 5-7,000km I treat the chain and sprockets the same on my 1290 sas.....safe travels
Thank you very much for sharing your chain maintenance routine - save travels to you too 😉
Hey everyone, i just got my s1000rr and it has this m endurance chain, is it ok to clean the chain with gas oil and brush it, rinse it and dry out, reapply lube? İ have this habit to clean the chain every once in a while when the chain gets too dutsy and loses its shine
This should make sure you get the most life out of it. 😉
I can't for the love of me remember the chaiin company but I watched a video about chains sometime last year and they don't recomend 'X' chains for adventure/ enduro/ offroad biles, they claimed 'O' ring chains are better suited.
OK? Not sure why? However, most of my riding is still on tarmac
Is the chain-link link stiffer than the others? That's what I'd expect to be the weakest link - 'scuse the pun.
😂 they were overall relatively stiff 😉
and the front sproket how many kms ... i take a new one 16 tands every 10.000 kms
I always change the entire kit - chain front and rear sprockets 😉
Removing the lube at the start was a mistake. Need to use it as it came.
I was testing Regina’s early promise that the chain would need zero lubrication - they have since changed their recommendation to periodic lubrication now it would be better to leave the wax on or remove it and lubricate it with proper lube (wet or dry)
I have the original chain. 20k and have only had to tension it once.
That is pretty good- I had similar results with an automatic chain oiler
I've been using maintenance free chain for around 15 years, that is i just don't lube it. Only difference is that you don't get the bike dirty from chain grease. If you ride dirt and gravel roads, lube is just worse. Seriously, if you put lube on the chain, for how long do you think it will have any effect on the mating surfaces of thechain and the sprockets? 1 km perhaps? The actual links, rollers, pins doesn't get any lube anyway.
Yeah - that was my hope that the chain would last longer without lube but I guess any other high quality chain will get you just as far without lubrication
I use o-ring and x-ring chains on all my bikes street and dirt. I don’t ever lube them. I do spray them down with wd40 after washing the bike and wipe them down afterwards. The reason for wd40 is it’s a water displacement. I’ve found if I don’t use wd40 after getting the chain wet it will eventually rust and cause premature wear on the chain. Another reason for not using chain lube. Lube will collect dirt and cause your chain and sprockets to prematurely wear out faster than not using it.
use putoline tech chain or dry tech
Hello please where can I get your helmet to purchase?
The helmet has been discontinued because it was rated under the now old ECE 22.05 safety standard now which has been replaced by the new ECE 22.06 standard
Rear sprocket is knackered, Chain wont stand a chance of keeping tension
25000 km is acceptable for a chain? My 42000km V-Strom 650 has the original chain and sprockets, and they're as good as new!
Guess you proved that with good maintenance mileage like that is possible. If I did not have to do any maintenance 25k km would be good for me 😉
@@MotoVibes You are right! I go by the manual. Lube with gear oil (90) every 500km, and thoroughly clean with kerosene every 1000km. Never used those sticky chain sprays that are sand magnets and turn chain and sprockets into grinders! And I'm pretty sure your bikes see much more off-road than mine!
Meine letzte Regina hat 30 k gehalten, hab mir sofort wieder eine montiert, die ich jetzt aber alle 1000 Kilometer fette.
Das ist natürlich deutlich besser. Allerdings würde das auch mit einer normalen Kette gehen bei 1000 km einfetten oder hast Du andere Erfahrungen gemacht?
@@MotoVibes ja definitiv, meine original Kette musste ich alle 300 Kilometer fetten und ständig auf großen Touren nachspannen, ich fahre nur noch mit Regina 😎
Selbst das nervige Kettenschlagen ist Geschichte, einmal richtig gespannt und man hat lange Ruhe im Karton. Das ständige "singen" der Kette (meist schon nach 300 Kilometer) ging mir auch richtig auf die Nerven 😅 Was man natürlich berücksichtigen muss ist das sich die Ritzel auch abnutzen.
@@pierreschmale OK - interessant. Ich werde mal schauen wie weit ich jetzt mit einer normalen Kette komme - hatte ja schon bei der Regina DryLube verwendet - das ist eigentlich ganz so lange man nicht im Regen fährt. Das kommt bei mir allerdings eher häufiger vor - also vielleicht wieder normales Kettenöl - mal sehen ;-)
But how on earth can you expect a chain not to wear out when you use it?
The chain wear was not the point - the MARKETING PROMISE was that this MAINTENANCE FREE chain would get the same life as a standard chain WITHOUT lubrication and that it would not NEED retensioning of the chain during that time. It would have been a breakthrough development if Regina would have gotten close to that promise
@@MotoVibes It's strange.
I am in the country of production where it was advertised differently.
Also let me say, to think that there is a chain that does not wear out because of the friction and stresses to which it is subjected is literally ridiculous.
@@HeartFilledHatred actually the idea that Regina has put forward is not bad at all. It was just not followed through all the way. The rollers and pins did not get the diamond like coating - which means there is still a permanent grease package to keep them lubricated and this requires conventional rubber seals. My guess is that this is the failing point for premature wear when the chain is used without chain lube. If the pins and rollers would get a low friction durable coating the chain would not need any lubrication other than to prevent superficial corrosion- not sure if that is indeed technically possible but maybe someone will figure this out some day
Regina don't claim tensioning isn't required and never did - their claim was about lubrication - which isn't true either! :-)
Yes they did - they did „adjust“ the message later but the did claim no retensioning over time - this from their earlier press releases www.asphaltandrubber.com/products/bmw-m-endurance-chain/
@@MotoVibes Yes, that's what BMW claimed about the Regina manufactured chain - I don't recall Regina ever making similar claims - could be wrong of course! 🙂
@@LondonSteveLee not sure about that either 😉
Use wax
Don't ever use lube of any kind on a chain, it's a waste of time and money. There's videos out there proving they make no difference. What you want to do is stop the chain rusting. All I ever do to my chain is apply ACF50 and never have a problem. Every time I wash my bike I also give the chain a quick clean then I apply ACF50 to my bike (you can put it everywhere apart from tyres and break discs) and I have a little paint brush especially for the chain and just paint some ACF50 on the chain, works a treat, the chain never rusts and never needs lube.
Interessting approach - what mileage to you get out of your chains typically using this method?
@@MotoVibes The only time I had to change a chain was years ago when I had an 02 V-Strom and I used to oil it like everyone else when I didn't know about ACF50 or that lube is a waste of time. Ever since then I used my new method and never had to replace a chain again but I've never had a bike long enough to go beyond 10000 miles so I have no idea what the actual mileage is that it can survive using this method but what I will say is that cleaning the chain and applying ACF50 kept them in tip top shape, no rust at all and hardly ever had to tension it.
Your advice is totally useless since you do not give us any idea of a COMPLETE life cycle of the chain by using your method of applying ACF50.
Using ACF50 on a motorcycle chain would seem to be a huge waste of time, because it does not stick to the chain, unless you apply ACF50 every 500 km to that chain.
I use BMW Kettenspray, which literally sticks to the chain.
ACF50 was not designed to lube motorcycle chains.
@@marcos.1771 You're free not to follow my advice. 👍👍
I choose to use ACF50, it works because I've seen it work and used this method for years without a problem. The fact that you do not believe me is irrelevant.
good infidel, that chain could not be miraculous, thank you for commenting on it, the barbarian of Pakonan will not put it in his Black Panther sas2021. thank you. Greetings from your faithful unbeliever Pako
Glad it was helpful 🤙
Is this what Regina claims? Is that genuinely how they market the chain?? What mileage do they accept as “normal life”? As an engineer, I’d have to say this has got to be bollocks unless they define the durability as something really low like 10k miles… If they make the chain so robust that it can survive without any lubrication, the sprockets would wear out pretty quickly. If you don’t want to do chain maintenance, buy a bike with shaft drive FFS.
They have since adjusted their claim and added „some“ maintenance
160hp KTM grunt is not the same as a sleepy GS........of course ANY chain will stretch when the power is up.
Just wonder why Regina / BMW hyped up the marketing message so much 🤔
@@MotoVibes 2,5 higher cost did you say?
@@spoonvalleyracing yes - even more - high quality DID chain is approx 100 Euro- the Regina was 270 Euro 😬
Maintenance free chain sounds like BS marketing for weekend warriors with no mechanical skills. Applying some WD40 every 1000k or so depending on use is really not that hard
well - they are on the right track with the low friction coating but they did not apply the same coating for the rollers and pins so the chain still needs the traditional permanent lubrication for the pins and therefore the x-rings. These x-ring are the weak point in the end. without lubrication they will loose their sealing abilitiies.
I disagree chains are garbage every bike should be shaft driven. They can do it if they really wanted to. Even in a sports bike if everybody stops buying motorcycle with chains and starts buying shaft driven ones watch how fast they make a shaft driven sports bike handling be just as good as one with a chain. The reason they don't do it because it's more profit margin for the motorcycle companies.
It’s a big scam! Mine was stiff and destroyed after a year of riding. Did clean and gave I a bit of oil.
Waste of money
Thanks for sharing your experience. I will be buying standard high quality chains from now on 😉
Science tells you there is no such thing as a Maintenence Free chain.
My practical experience confirms that - for now at least 😂
Chains are garbage the only reason the motorcycle manufacturers use them because they're cheap and more profit-making. They talk about weight that's a crock of shit the Vmax one of the fastest bikes ever quarter mile shaft driven no maintenance at all they should do away with chains their garbage.