TUSK CHAIN TOOLS

By the staff of Dirt Wheels

TUSK CHAIN TOOLS

If you ride a performance sport quad with any regularity, you will get into chain maintenance. And if you are running in the woods with any mud, that moment of inevitable chain work will come even sooner.

We are fortunate that modern O-ring chains help with chain life and performance, but they do eventually need to be replaced or repaired. Working on O-ring chains without the correct tools is very frustrating. Rocky Mountain ATV’s Tusk house brand has the chain tools you need at reasonable prices.

WELL-BUILT

TUSK CHAIN TOOLS

Tusk offers a vast assortment of off-roading parts for ATVs, dirt bikes and UTVs, but also has a wide variety of affordable tools and hardware packages. Generally, we are big fans of their products. They are economical and generally very well-built. To work on an O-ring chain properly, you need both a chain breaker and a chain-press tool. While a chain breaker will usually force the chain pins out, it can greatly help if you grind the peened end of the hardened pin off first.

A pin that is too hard can damage the inner part of the chain as the mushroomed end is forced through. In some cases, you can buy the correct-length chain, but some outlets simply stock 120-link chains that almost always need to be shortened.

When the chain is the correct length, you need to fit a master link, but O-ring-chain master links are a press-fit. Trying to use the chain breaker to press the link one side at a time usually just damages the link. A chain press is two metal slabs that have precision grooves machined into the inner faces. Two bolts connect the slabs of metal. One slab is threaded. The shallow groove goes over the back of the master link, and the side with the deeper groove goes over the side with the press-one chainplate.

The deeper groove allows you to press the link plate down far enough to expose the grooves for the master-link clip. Without the tools, breaking and adding a master link to an O-ring chain is a giant hassle that will leave you covered in sticky grease. With the proper tools, it is fast and easy.

CONTAIN YOURSELF

TUSK CHAIN TOOLS

We have nothing but good things to say about the Tusk chain tools. The Tusk heavy-duty chain breaker is $13.73, and the chain press is only $5.14! Those are literally small prices to pay to have the correct chain tools on hand to deal with O-ring or normal roller chains. For normal, non-O-ring chains you don’t need the chain press, but no quad should waste time on a non-O-ring chain. You can give them a call at (800) 336-5437 to order or go to www.rockymountainatvmc.com.

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