I have an update for those interested. I put on a different chain and did a little dissection of the JT chain.
There were 3 'sections' of the chain that showed the 'red rust of death', so I picked one and broke it down to the components.
Obvious signs of a lack of lubrication from the factory, as the pins are completely galled:
And in this last pic, a new/unused master link is on the right to show the difference:
A final note regarding the slack spec: I mis-stated the spec in my original post, but even if I was on the tight side of things, the swingarm geometry on the Tiger 800 creates MORE slack when the rider sits on the bike.
There were 3 'sections' of the chain that showed the 'red rust of death', so I picked one and broke it down to the components.
Obvious signs of a lack of lubrication from the factory, as the pins are completely galled:
And in this last pic, a new/unused master link is on the right to show the difference:
A final note regarding the slack spec: I mis-stated the spec in my original post, but even if I was on the tight side of things, the swingarm geometry on the Tiger 800 creates MORE slack when the rider sits on the bike.