The Hot Granny's Honda VF-750-C Magna needed a new chain and this was wrench day.

The old master link was removed by grinding off the rivets using a Dremel tool and a large cut-off wheel. We used it to link the new chain with the old and, with the rear wheel in the air and the transmission in neutral, pulled the old chain off while the new one took its place on the sprockets.

Our friends at Dynamo Cycle made sure the chain we ordered came with both clip and rivet master link. The service manual warns against using the clip type, of course. This is where the fun began. I expected that the new link would have holes in the ends of the rivets and could be crimped using a small chisel. After a trip to the closest hardware store for throw-away quality Chinese vise grips and chisel, I find that the rivets can only be crimped with a chain tool. Back at Dynamo, I'm told that the “economy “ version runs about one hundred US bucks.

While talking things over with Dynamo’s excellent staff member, the light goes on and he comes up with a self-crimping master link. I’d heard of them but didn’t think to ask if they sold them. I'm told that the brochure rates this link for "up to 1000 cc", which in sportbiker reckoning is in the neighborhood of 160 hp.

O-rings are installed on the rivets, as per usual, but the rivets stick way out and are threaded on the end.

Nuts are threaded on and pulled down with a wrench, crimping the rivets in the process.

The nuts are then removed and the threaded parts are broken off with pliers. Smaller o-rings fit in a groove as a back-up safety measure.

Comes complete with instructions and goes on as advertised. We’ll see how things look in 1000 miles.

Follow-up: We were so pleased with the performance of this part that, when the time came to replace the sprockets and chain, this master link was considered a "must have".