Making a Chain(ge)

This was my last weekend home so I needed to get some final preparation work done.  I started a list of stuff to bring and got most of what I needed while shopping with my wife.  On Saturday I took a ride down to Connecticut to meet three friends; each of whom have helped me get ready for the trip.  I packed the bike like I would while traveling and even strapped a (empty) gas can to one of the panniers.  The bike did great with the exception of a bungee cord I placed too close to the muffler.  Better to know now than in Labrador.

I'm 2/3rd of the way through final work on the bike.  Changed the oil last night and changed the chain and sprockets today.

The engine sprocket was very difficult to remove.  It took a cheater pipe on my ratchet and my wife holding down the rear brake to finally persuade it to come off the spline.  You can see in the picture how the teeth are starting to turn.  The new sprocket is behind it for reference.

I went with the stock gearing.

The bike has almost 15,000 miles on it.  I could have gotten another few thousand miles out of the chain/sprockets if I was riding local.  But there's no way it would have lasted through Labrador.

rear sprocket is not as worn as the front one

I've bought my chain and sprockets from Sprocket Center for years.  Just select the bike you want and they'll send you the correct chain and sprockets in one package.

Having a new chain and sprockets is like getting new tires.  Security in that you won't have to deal with it for a while.

Finished up some other stuff too:  cleaned out the air filter and spent the night in the new tent Friday night.  

The last thing to do to the bike is put on new tires.  My friend Craig is going to help me with this on Wednesday. 

This trip is looking serious now.  Four more days of work.