Sidewinder Chain and Sprockets

[rideslikeoldman]

I am thinking about calling Vic over at Sidewinder to see if he would manufacture a line to fit our bikes. I have used these extensively on all my enduros and moto cross bikes over the years and to be honest, there is no more durable chain and sprocket set on the market, period. I have used them on 4 different bikes and never had to replace them again, they are that strong and durable. I'd burn through a oem set in a few months then replace them with sidewinders and then never again. They have a Ti 2 line of sprockets that are gauranteed for life, which I never used them but the tool steel or regular Ti line would be a substantial improvement over the stock set that's on the F800 now. Here's a link to Krause's web page. Just seeing if there is much interest in a group buy.


http://sidewindersprockets.com/index.html

[Hucker]

I'd be interested. Will need replacements soon.

[CrazyMike]

I'm interested.

[costas68gr]

me to also!!

[JRWooden]

They sound very nice - I don't see any prices on the website ....
Would you have a rough guess on prices?

[LukasM]

You are probably the first person I have heard from that was happy with Sidewinder products. Looking around on various forums the word I usually hear is either "snake oil" or "waste of money".

How many actual miles are you getting out of a set?

If you want something light and durable, I'd stick with the well proven DID ZVM-2 chain and try to get Dirt Tricks to manufacture one of their Ironman sprockets for our BMWs. They also have a great track record, even on high powered bikes like the big KTM twins.

IIRC Colebatch had about 30.000 mostly off road kms on his set before it started showing some wear.

And of course they look fucking awesome!

[roundtripping]

Supersprox. DID. Done.

[rideslikeoldman]

There are prices on the website it depends on which type of material and model they are and the how long of a chain.

[rideslikeoldman]

OK, I just got off the phone with Andy @ Krause and here's the deal we worked out. Ti-moly2 sprockets front and rears and the Ti-moly2 chain with 525 pitch. Front $69 (reg $89), rear $149 (reg $179), chain $149 (reg $189) total $367 for the Ti-moly 2 chain and sprockets lifetime gaurantee on all components. Thats $90 off the normal price. Also ask for a extra master link because they are specific to Sidewinder, other master links won't fit the sidewinders they are to small. Ask for Andy and tell them this a group buy we put together from Adventure Rider Web forum. Specify how many teeth you want (stocks are 16 and 42) chain pitch is 525........ Also I forgot to add that the chain is the 16,000lb tensil strength version, the strongest they make.

Andy 1-630-513-1000

[TowPro]

back in the early 90s I was running Sidewinder products. The sprockets seemed to last for ever, but they were hardened alu vrs the stock steel stuff. And the chain was Krouse if I am not mistaking back then.

Even then the only way I afforded it was a coupon for something like 50% off I won for a getting a top 5 finish in my class.

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by LukasM

IIRC Colebatch had about 30.000 mostly off road kms on his set before it started showing some wear.

Yep thats about right .... I get 50,000 + km all up out out of the Ironman sprockets ... and yeah, they look the mutts nutts.

[Indy Unlimited]

Sidewinder chains were over priced failures on my dirt bikes and a disaster on my Liter bike. DID ZVM X-ring and Ironman or Supersprox Stealth are the best I have used on my bikes and my buddies bikes.

[rideslikeoldman]

Originally Posted by Indy Unlimited

Sidewinder chains were over priced failures on my dirt bikes and a disaster on my Liter bike. DID ZVM X-ring and Ironman or Supersprox Stealth are the best I have used on my bikes and my buddies bikes.

Never used DID products but I see they barely warranty their products, it does not cover normal wear. Yes the sidewinders are expensive but your getting a warranty that gaurantee them a lifetime. My experiance is totally opposite of yours. I have know idea of how you or your friends maintained your equiptment but thats a factor I consider paramount in service life of chain and sprockets. I know through my own experience that they took a ton of abuse from me and never needed replaced after a few years before selling my bikes. What was your disaster on your litre bike? Did you have the correct pitch chain? What model of sidewinders was it? How long were they on? Was the angle of your chain and sprockets off? All things I consider when I hear things like what you said. I also don't how you maintained your equiptment or how long of intervals you go between lubes?

[LukasM]

Lifetime warranty is nice in theory, but if you search ADVrider for Sidewinder these are some of the "testimonials" you will get from other members:

Originally Posted by bush pilot

This was after only about 12k miles on the KLR. The experience with this asshole Alex was quite bad. Essensially refusing to honor the so called warranty.

And my so called smart chain failed after only 8k miles.

Aluminum sprockets and standard DID o-ring chain are much better.

Forget this Sidewinder snake oil rip off.
My experience is not isolated either seems others have had similar issues.

Originally Posted by muddyrabbit

Update, 1 year later...

1. Lifespan on the Sidewinder setup? I got 8,000 miles out of their chain and sprocket setup and it's SHOT. I had gotten 11,000 out of the stock ALUMINUM setup.
2. Replacement, it is going to be 2 to 4 weeks to get my replacements, and that is after 3 weeks of phone calls and threatening legal action.
3. Why did the holes not line up on the early G650X sprockets? Alex confessed that they were selling us all a Husquvarna sprocket!
4. Replacement fees, they waived mine because I was so pissed off, but yes, a $20 PER SPROCKET "proccesing fee" to get your free replacements. So after paying for their uber expensive set up and one set of replacemnets you could have bought 3 or 4 sets of high quality stuff elsewhere.

Originally Posted by 10Cup

Same here, they are over priced and there chain and sprockets don't last one bit longer than any other of the same material. I called them for a couple of master links and they said I had to buy four and they only ship on FedEx so I would have to pay FedEx freight as opposed to say parcel post..........totally unacceptable. I cancelled my order and will not buy from them again.

Originally Posted by Gunslinger1

Nate at DirtTricks has a great product and gives Great service.....


I had a very poor experience with Sidewinder.....I will not use them again....a lot of trouble getting my card credited back after retuning product.

Originally Posted by johnwesley

In my opinion they are a rip off. I run a set of their sprokets and chain. They didn't last any longer than my steel sprockets did. I thought no bigg deal I'll still get free sprokets for life right? nope not really. You'll get a free sproket but there handling fees are the same as a replacement from anyother company. Nothing is as it seem in marketing. They have an unbelieveable story and they are making big money selling snake oil. They said that i did not use the stock sproket size that cam on my bike and therefor I had a higher handling charge. Never mind that it took 3 months to get me a replacement so I still had to buy a sproket while waiting. Not worth it to me. they took me once, no more

[rideslikeoldman]

Originally Posted by LukasM

Lifetime warranty is nice in theory, but if you search ADVrider for Sidewinder these are some of the "testimonials" you will get from other members:

That's fine, but by the looks of that KLR rear sprocket it looks severely neglected, look at the coloration of the rear sprocket. What does concern me is how they might choose to handle their warranty and shipping and processing. I will call them and ask some more questions. My experiences are totally different from the few that you posted and will still not change my thoughts on how durable they are. Like the few negatives you posted there are alot of positve reviews, google sidewinder chain and sprockets review.