Sidewinder Chain and Sprockets

[Indy Unlimited]

I am not going to post pictures for you to raise disbelief but my R1 eat a 530 smart chain with brand new sidewinder sprockets in less than 1000 miles in one season of track days. Just the facts. I did not bother getting a warranty claim because I just did not want another smart chain to put me on my back. I trust my ass to DID quality.

[Motoriley]

Thank for doing the legwork for us. Won't be sending these boys any cash anytime soon.
Better Business Review doesn't look very good. They got the big F

http://www.bbb.org/chicago/business-...es-il-88032934

Factors that lowered Krause Racing Sidewinder Sprockets and Chains' rating include:

Failure to respond to 4 complaints filed against business.
BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating. BBB made two or more requests for background information from the business. BBB has not received a response from this business and/or has not been able to verify information received from this business.
BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business. BBB made two or more requests for background information from the business. BBB has not received a response from this business and/or has not been able to verify information received from this business.

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:

[BrokerBiker]

Krause over at Sidewinder Chain and Sprockets convinced me to spend twice as much on a chain and sprocket for my ZX-14. I spent a total of $599 with him (of course I had to buy his lube too; you know, 'it's the best lube' too...). I have been riding my whole life and I cannot believe I was that stupid.

I purchased the chain in August of 2011. My ZX14 was down early fall through almost mid-summer 2012 due to a PowerCommander issue, so I put very few miles on it this year. When I did begin riding, the chain didn't stretch at all at first and then went way faster than the heavy-duty D.I.D. or RK chains I typically buy.

With less than 6,000 miles on the chain, and while on a cross-country trip to D.C., the chain became so bad I stopped at a dealer in Kokomo IN to have a second set of eyes look at it. The mechanic and the owner of the dealership agreed that something was wrong and I should probably install a new chain, but I might be able to get away with it until I got back. Against my gut feeling, I carried on. The next day, the chain seemed so bad I located a dealer in Springfield OH who agreed to bump me to the front of the service line to change my chain and get me back on the road. With the bike in the air on the stand in a well-lit shop I was able to look at the sprocket closely. I could not believe his 'last forever' sprocket's teeth were beginning to round off already!!!

Needless to say, this was a gigantic (and expensive) P.I.T.A. So, when I got home the following week I called Sidewinder to discuss it with them. They didn't answer their phone (which is typical if you've dealt with them), so I left a voicemail. Several days later I had not heard anything, so I called back and left another voicemail. When I did not hear back from them within several more days I sent an email. That was a couple days ago and I haven't heard anything back. I sent another email just prior to posting this, but I do not expect a response, so I figured I would go on a couple forums and let anyone who may be considering buying one of these chains or sprockets know of my experience.

On a side-bar, I have a SuperSprox Titanium/Aluminum rear sprocket on my FZ1 that I have beat the piss out of for 15,000 miles that looks better than this Sidewinder sprocket.

The only reason his chains and sprockets cost any more money are because he is a super small shop. He does not have the same economy of scale that real manufacturers do. This is most likely also why he cannot backup his guaranty.

If you think some guy out of nowhere is going to have better R&D than a major manufacturer (D.I.D., RK, your OEM replacement, whoever) you're crazy. I already made the mistake. Learn from mine.

Have a good one.

(By the way, my FZ1 and ZX14 have a combined 100,000 miles in less than 10 years and I live in Chicago where you can't ride 4 months out of the year, so I think I do a fair amount of riding and motorcycle maintenance)