I had about 27k on mine when I tore into mine doing that hot rod thing, and found very little wear too. I changed the tensioners out anyway, but that's because I'd already bought them. I think the old style chain, think it's called a kette type chain???, is better than the newer style roller type chain in that wear is reduced on the tensioner pads, the gear teeth and the chain pivot pins due to the larger surface area in which the chain itself makes contact with. In the industral end I've seen the kette chain, again not sure if that's the correct name, run in high speed PIV type gearboxes for over 10 years with little wear to chain or tensioner, nor have I rebuilt a crashed gearbox due to chain failure. I can't say the same for the roller type chain. Also the fact that roller chain is more widely used puts it more readly available and cheaper for H/D in the manufacturing process. Now that I've put my .02 cents worth in the pot, hope my stuff doesn't crap out on the ride into work tomorrow.