BMW has revealed its M-Endurance series of motorcycle chain that does not require any maintenance like lubrication or tension adjustment. Although BMW has said that more models will be launched with an M Endurance chain in the future, this new maintenance-free chain will debut on BMW’s premium superbikes, BMW S1000RR and S1000XR. It can be opted as a factory option or as an official accessory by existing owners of these bikes.
How’s That Possible
BMW’s M-Endurance chain achieves this impossible feat with permanent lubricant filling between its rollers and pins, encased by X-rings. The company has also applied an industrial diamond coating to the roller and bushes of the chain. The industrial diamond coating is known as tetra-hedrally amorphous carbon (ta-C). On the diamond scale, it lies between the Diamond Like Coating – DLC (used to reduce friction in engine internals) and pure diamond. The ta-C coating prevents the chain from friction and thus reduces wear and tear, which helps the chain to stay maintenance-free in the long term.
The traditional lubricant for the chain is unnecessary on its M Endurance chain since it never wears off due to friction. Also, it doesn’t require any re-tensioning or adjustment. Thanks to excellent dry lubrication properties and the elimination of wear, the tetrahedral amorphous carbon-coated rollers of the M Endurance chain offer maintenance comfort equivalent to that of a shaft drive motorcycle. This includes all the cleaning work that is unavoidable with a conventional chain due to splashed lubricant. Accordingly, the M Endurance chain also offers maximum environmental friendliness.