Sidewinder ATV sprockets and chain - Heavy Duty Drive - ATV at Off-Road.com

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Sidewinder ATV sprockets and chainHeavy Duty Drive

Publish date: Jan 1, 2003
By: Dean Waters
Source: ATV at Off-Road.com

If you have been following project Raptor you know that we have built it with the intention of desert racing. The desert and desert races are a brutal environment. We wanted a chain and sprockets that we do NOT have to worry about. You should always replace the chain and sprockets all at once. A worn chain with new sprockets or worn sprockets with a new chain will not allow everything to "wear" together as 1 unit. It will cause premature wear to the opposite component. An easy call for the whole setup? Vic Krause at Sidewinder Sprockets. Sidewinder has a number of different options depending on your application. We decided to go with the "Ti-Moly" ATV racing sprocket. Titanium and Chrome-Moly alloys are brought together in a complex composite material to produce a sprocket with a number of advantages. The sprocket is much lighter than a comparable stainless steel sprocket yet it has nearly twice the hardness of stainless steel without being brittle. You may have seen our reviews in the past on the stainless sprockets and now, thanks to this new technology from Sidewinder, we can go to the next level with the "Ti-Moly" sprocket. For a chain we chose the Quadra-Max "Ti-Series" O-ring Chain. This chain is built to handle the monster HP drag racing quads that some are building with a tensile stregth of nearly 14,000 pounds. While we are not putting out that kind of HP we wanted the strongest drive system we could get. As with all the Quadra Max chains it is built with heftier sideplates and larger pins than the standard motorcycle chain. The quadra max chain is built to minimize stretch and also has a one year warranty against breakage. For wet conditions, which we don't see much of in the desert, and minium friction losses the Teflon O-rings pass the most power to the rear tires. Installation .In preparation you will need to clean your new Sidewinder chain. It comes with a preservative grease on it that should be removed. Mineral spirits are the recomended solvent for this process. We found a small pail just the right size to cover the chain with mineral spirits, then with the help of a small brush, we got the preservative grease removed.

Remove sprocket guard to access front sprocket

You need to bend tab back to allow removal of front sprocket.

Remove your current chain. If it is an original it may not have a master link and will require a chain breaker. You can pick one up at most tool stores or you could order one along with your chain and sprockets from Sidewinder. With the chain removed you can remove your front and rear sprockets. We had some difficulty getting our front sprocket removed even with required socket. We ended up enlisting the help of our local shop, SandTech Racing. We installed the new 41 tooth Ti-Moly sprocket on a GYT-R aluminum sprocket holder. With new sprockets mounted you will need to determine the proper length for your chain. If you are using the same size sprockets and same swingarm you may be able to use your old chain as a guide. Just take your time and make sure you don't cut it too short. You can always shorten it but you can NOT lengthen it. Since we had a complete new swingarm we installed the chain and marked the proper length. We then shortened the new Quadra Max chain to the proper length with our chain breaker. Now install chain and master link. Make sure to install the master link with the closed end pointing in the direction of rotation to prevent it from getting knocked loose. Also make sure the clip is all the way in the groove.

Installing the sidewinder "Ti-Moly" sprocket.

New Sindewinder sprocket and chain installed on GYT-R sprocket holder.

With chain installed you can set the proper tension on the chain. Move your suspenion through its complete range of motion to make sure you have chain properly adjusted. Summary The Sidewinder sprockets and chain should last us a longtime and a lot of miles in the desert. We can concentrate on the terrain and not worry about our drive system. The Sidewinder Titainiam series chain and sprocket are not cheap but if you have a high HP quad or you are racing and want something you can rely on then then we believe this is a good option. Sidewinder does have other options if you are on a tighter budget.

"Ti-Moly" Series Rear Sprocket - $149.99
Front Srocket
Quadra-Max "Ti-Series" O-ring Chain - $129.99 as part of package

Contact Information

Krause Racing - Sidewinder Sprockets
Dept: ORC
3705 Stern Avenue
St Charles, IL 60174
(630) 513-1000
www.sidewindersprockets.com

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