Originally Posted by 02SE
15mm sounds tight to me too. On the loose side is better than too tight. I've seen lots of short life-span chains, and damaged countershaft bearings and seals, and some wheel bearings, from chains run too tight. I run all three of my high-powered streetbikes towards the loose end at around 30mm of slack, with the chain at it's tightest.
Which is usually with my weight compressing the rear suspension.
Agree with the above. I have met riders who adjusted their slack on the centre stand with no weight. That will kill a chain. I run my DL650 at the top end of the slack spec. Also great advice to check your alignment.
Regarding chain maintenance, I've flipped to the dark side after chatting with a member on the stromtroopers forum who put 70,000 KM (~44,000 miles) on his original chain, and currently tracking towards 100,000 KM (~62,000 miles) on his current chain (same bike). His regiment?
Never clean your chain, and lube with Wurth's HHS 2000 every time you fill up with gas (a 30 second process) and after each ride in the rain. That's it.
So I contacted Wurth Canada and had them ship me 3 bottles. The idea of never cleaning my chain again is liberating
And yes, don't cheap out. Buy a DID.