RK Takasago Chain is heavily involved in motorcycle racing in many classes worldwide. The organisation knows that racing is important because the data gleaned from such extreme usage is essential to building better chains not only for the racers, but also for the general public. As such, RK Takasago Chains used in racing are actually available off-the-shelf.

RK Takasago Chain's race support extends to the Malaysian motorcycle racing scene, including the PETRONAS Malaysian CubPrix Championship and Malaysian Superbike Championship, too. In fact, the majority of teams were either sponsored by RK or chose RK chains on their own accord.

As such, the race series promoter of the CubPrix, Two Wheels Racing, along with selected riders and team members organised a field trip to visit the RK Takasago Chain factory in Perai, Penang on 1 December 2022.

Proceedings kicked off with a simple demonstration of how an RK chain is put together by using a mock up. The riders were then split into teams and they nominated their respective leaders who had reassemble to the mock up. The fastest rider wins.

Afterwards, the visitors were guided through the RK Takasago sprocket. Production engineers were at hand to describe the processes of producing front and rear sprockets of different sizes and finishes.

The guided tour described how the sprockets were produced, starting from raw materials and ending up as finished high quality RK sprockets. They started out as circular plates cut from a large sheet by a water jet.

These were then sent to CNC machines that milled out the teeth and holes. From here, they went to an area which stamped in the RK name and number of teeth. Lastly, they were hardened and packed.

We crossed the road from the sprocket factory to the chain factory, where once again, the visitors were received by executives and engineers.

Here, the riders learned that producing a chain involves a laborious process as it consists of several parts that require require intensive processes on their own: The pins, rollers, bushes, plates, seals and finally lubricant have to come together in perfect synchronicity in order to produce a chain that is tough, reliable and long lasting.

RK Takasago Chain Managing Director, Dato' Lee Thian Chai handed over goodies to the riders before the entourage headed back for lunch to conclude the event.