530 O or X ring chain

[Dodger]

My bike uses 530 chain and I wonder if it is commonly available in Latin American countries . It is as plentiful as rocking horse sh#t up here in Canada so I wondered what the chances would be of finding it easily down south .
Maybe a conversion to 520 would be the way to go ?

[Lone Rider]

530 is common for powerful street bikes over 600/750cc.
The 525 on my DR650 is also used on 600cc sport bikes.
Dealers in the large cities should have 530 chains, naturally where those bikes are sold. It's my guess (and that's all) that 520 chains would be easier to locate from moto repair shops, even if one was needed to be pieced/cobbled together.

Learning what life to expect from your chain would be very smart. Trying to soak every last mile from a chain and it's sprockets doesn't make sense unless you have replacements on-hand.

[Dodger]

Hi Patrick ,I'm sitting down with a sharp pencil and a brand new paper pad ready for my lesson !!

The bike is my old TX650 about 60 hp by now I would think [ a few mods ] .
They came with a non O ring 530 when new .But [ like you ] I like the Xring chains and they are very hard to come by around here [ special order and don't even think about asking for a master link ! ] ,520 O and X chains are very common though .
I have heard about a 520 conversion and wondered whether to jump for it ,but as I am intending to take this bike south in the next couple of years I thought it best to opt for a system that is common in S America .I'd rather pick up a spare if I need it at a small bike shop than have to head for a large city and twiddle my thumbs for days waiting for a chain to arrive .
I don't think that there is a 525 option apropos sprockets for this old bike .
I'd rather retain the understressed 530 if at all possible .

[Dodger]

Hi Patrick thanks for the treatise on chains - ha ha !

I think I'm going to keep the 530 even though it's overkill , then I can always use 5/8 x 3/8 agricultural chain if I'm in a bind .

My bike never goes to a bike shop for work btw and I think I know how to rivet a chain ,been doing it on agricultural machines for a decade or two .They [ rivets] are much stronger than clip master links and I've seen a few of those break dramatically .

TX650 s [ and XS1 ,XS650] are the vertical twin Yams that were used by sidecar motocrossers and flat trackers ,53 hp stock in stock form and can be bored out to 700,750,840 and 1000 cc with horsepowers to match .A very strong engine .

When do I leave ? Tomorrow if I could !