BMW Motorrad has launched a new maintenance-free chain system dubbed the M Endurance Chain. The German premium motorcycle manufacturer has announced that the M Endurance chain is now available for the BMW S 1000 RR and the S 1000 XR in 525 pitch, directly from the factory or as an accessory option. Furthermore, BMW Motorrad has also announced that more models are being prepared to receive this chain system.
For more than 90 years BMW Motorrad motorcycles enjoyed the brand’s maintenance-free, comfortable and environmentally friendly Shaft Drive technology and for the first time, the M Endurance chain offers comparable characteristics that are similar to the shaft drive system along with more flexibility and lower weight translating to improved suspension quality compared to the shaft drive system.
The M Endurance chain works on the same principles as the previous X-Ring chains where a permanent lubrication filling is packed between the rollers and pins, enclosed by X-rings. But, the previous chain systems required additional lubrication from the outside for the rollers. The new M Endurance chain system additional chain lubrication is no longer necessary. The company also claims that any re-tensioning required from time to time due to the usual wear is also no longer necessary with the M Endurance chain.
The feat is possible because of the use of a new coating material called tetrahedrally amorphous carbon (ta-C), also known as industrial diamond. This coating is characterized by extreme hardness and resistance which is positioned between DLC coating (Diamond-Like Carbon), a coating that is now synonymous with front forks on premium motorcycles and pure diamond. The tetrahedrally amorphous carbon coating does not wear off and even drastically reduces the friction co-efficient making the rollers effective against wear.
The tetrahedral amorphous carbon-coated rollers of the M Endurance chain offer maintenance comfort equivalent to that of a shaft drive motorcycle, including the unavoidable cleaning required with a conventional chain system, due to splashed lubricant. Accordingly, the M Endurance chain also offers maximum environmental friendliness.