BMW announced a new drive chain design that it claims requires as little maintenance as a shaft drive. The M Endurance chain will initially be offered in 525 pitch as an accessory or a factory option for the BMW S1000RR and S1000XR, before eventually being offered for other BMW models.
At first glance, the M Endurance is a typical X-ring design, with a permanent lubricant filling between the rollers and pins. The secret, says BMW, is a new coating material called tetrahedrally amorphous carbon (ta-C), a type of industrial diamond, to the rollers and bushings.
We’re familiar with Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) coatings used for reducing friction in parts like fork tubes or engine internals that benefit from added hardness and reduced friction. Ta-C is a particularly effective form that BMW claims performs somewhere between typical DLC coatings and pure diamond. According to BMW, ta-C coatings do not wear off metal surfaces while offering a low friction coefficient.  

The result, says BMW, is a chain that requires no maintenance or cleaning, benefits typically found on shaft-driven motorcycles but without the added weight.
There’s no word on U.S. availability yet but the M Endurance chain is listed on BMW UK’s online bike configurator as an £100 add-on (US$132).
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BMW Motorrad presents the M Endurance chain
Lubricating your chain was yesterday. Maintenance-free like the shaft drive for the first time.

For more than 90 years, the mainten...