I'm the owner of a 2004 660R. My riding is primarily straight line desert riding at speeds of 45 to 50mph. I recently decided to replace my chain and sprockets. I purchased an RK / vortex gold o-ring chain and sprocket kit P/N GB520EXW-92 w/OEM 13-40 gearing. The stock OEM chain is endless, and the Yamaha manual does not recommend the use of clip type master links on replacement chains. In the RK box containing the chain and sprockets came instructions that recommended the use of a rivet type master link, and yet they supply a clip type master link with the new chain??? I called RK about this apparent contradiction and they just said that all their sponsored desert racing teams use the clip type master links!!!!
There are hundreds of blog opinions regarding this matter, but I wanted to get some specific input from other raptor owners regarding their experiences with clip type master links.
1) Apparently, the rivet type master links are more secure, but require a special tool to set the rivets. Can you recommend a supplier of a tool to do this?
2) If RK only supplies a clip type master link for my style chain, where can I purchase a rivet type master link for my RK chain? Are all 520 gold o-ring rivet type master links the same?
3) Is wiring a clip type master link an option?
Thanks for any help.