Chain lube??

[olemangixxer]

What does everyone use for chain lube? How often do you apply it? The guy I bought my bike from said that he lubed after every wash and that he would dry the chain with a towel before application. Is that necessary??

Thanks for any advice given

[tlrmike99]

As far as brands.. Bel Ray SuperClean, No fling, and good protection, and I mean NO FLING!!!

I put it on about every 350 miles or so, and I try to do it when I get back and the chain is hot, but with the Bel Ray it don't matter much.

There ya go!

[roadrunner]

torco
when needed
more often in the winter months.
apply when warm

[Flyte Risk]

Whats chain lube? And before everyone decries me for that I use steel sprockets and get 15k miles out of a set.

If you clean your chain alot, you need to lube it alot. If you use a good O or X ring chain and don't over clean it or pressure wash it every 3 or 4 k miles is plenty of lube.

[olemangixxer]

Hey thanks you guys. Great info!! What about after a wash job? Do you dry it thoroughly with a towel?

[Flyte Risk]

If it'sa nice day I don't do a thing. If it'd cold I give it a quick blast of something just to dispell the water

[olemangixxer]

What I need to do is come to bike night and pick some brains.

[Xusia]

I'm with you Flyte. I don't use lube much. When I do it's almost always immediately after a ride. I don't give the bike a full wash much, and when I do, I tend to leave the chain alone. If it doesn't start out greasy, it doesn't pick up crap...

[olemangixxer]

I grew up on dirtbikes and now ride quads and I was always taught to lube, lube, lube. Guess things are different on the street. Love all the info on this site!! :thumbup:

[Matt]

Just remember...there's no point in lubing a chain unless you clean it thoroughly first. Otherwise you're just trapping all that dirt and old lube down in there under the new stuff, which actually makes a chain wear out faster then not lubing it at all.

[KnightReiteR]

I use some chain cleaner and a grunge brush to get rid of the crap and try to make it a habit to lube after every ride. It just depends how much life you want out of your chain and sprockets. Some see it as overkill, but OCD has the best of me.

[roadrunner]

Some see it as overkill, but OCD has the best of me.


thats why running gear last 50 60 70 thousand miles for me.

[jep 1971]

for al thoughs that don't lub your chain you reay need to because you lose alot of power for the drag. lub and lub often is what I recomend. you will feel the difference.

[Flyte Risk]

wow, that was hard to read.

[Xusia]

yeahthingsaregenerallyhardtoreadwhenyoudontuseprop ercapitalizationandpunctuation

[Stacya_250]

Ok so am I over lubbing. After every long hard ride over 300 miles??

[Matt]

Ok so am I over lubbing. After every long hard ride over 300 miles??



As long as you're cleaning it real good before the lube, then no you are doing it 100% perfect:thumbup:

[Rashmaster13]

I try to lube at least every 300 miles, maybe more. And as Trailer said the BelRay is awesome. I dont however clean my chain, except maybe once or twice over its life. I get over 30,000 miles on a liter bike.

[Stacya_250]

I don't clean it every time only when I clean my swingarm maybe once a month. I have no chain gard so it flings alot every were.

[Xusia]

I dont however clean my chain, except maybe once or twice over its life. I get over 30,000 miles on a liter bike.

He apparently begs to differ...

[roadrunner]

He apparently begs to differ...

me too.. i do way less cleaning than i do lubing.

[Rashmaster13]

I believe the chemicals used to clean do more damage to the rubber O rings. Plus cleaning chain sucks.

[Matt]

Lol that's why use use a cleaner that won't hurt rubber :yes:



I'm simply saying it's been proven that cleaning is better. Dirt wears things out, and if you look closely, you can see that dirt simply gets trapped in there by spaying more lube on there without cleaning.

[Rashmaster13]

Its not a dirt bike, very little actual dirt. Where is it proven? Cleaning can take the lube from in between the O rings and relubing might not get it back in there.

[Matt]

Its not a dirt bike, very little actual dirt. Where is it proven? Cleaning can take the lube from in between the O rings and relubing might not get it back in there.


just look at it closely. chain lube attracts dirt, even though it may be a small amount. If it's not getting back in there, most likely you're using the wrong lube...or even more likely you're doing it wrong.

Ya I don't clean mine EVERY time either...just not wanting to give people the wrong info here. IDEALLY you would every time is all I was saying. Most of the time chains and sprockets wear out first from not being adjusted perfectly anyways, so most people will never see any negative affects from the lube and/or dirt building up anyways.

[Rashmaster13]

Well, I guess we'll just disagree. Jennifer gets 60+ thousand miles with minimal cleaning, I've done over 35 with minimal cleaning with a high HP liter bike. What kind of mileage are you getting Mr Clean? lol. I'm quite happy with over 30k with minimal fuss (cleaning a nasty chain). I keep my chain at the proper tension, lube often and occasionally rub excess dust off with a rag.

[Flyte Risk]

I feel like just beating my head against a wall here.

Lube, don't lube, clean, don't clean, clean before lube, etc... etc...

Everybody just do what works for you and lets not bicker about it. I said I get 15k out of my chain/sprockets because I've never kept a bike longer then that with out changing the gearing or something. In the end it's my firm belief that frequent cleaning and lubing costs the same amount of money over the long term. I buy a new drive set twice as often but I paid for it with the money I didn't spend on 10 cans of lube.

Dirtbike chains are different, O-rings and X-rings are different, the crap build up from springfield or Eugene is different.

And for those of you who want to come on here and spew "facts" you better have some PROOF. I've already called out one person who ran away with their tail tucked when I produced the facts. Who wants to the first one to correctly post how to tell when a chain needs replacment?

[Matt]

Well, I guess we'll just disagree. Jennifer gets 60+ thousand miles with minimal cleaning, I've done over 35 with minimal cleaning with a high HP liter bike. What kind of mileage are you getting Mr Clean? lol. I'm quite happy with over 30k with minimal fuss (cleaning a nasty chain). I keep my chain at the proper tension, lube often and occasionally rub excess dust off with a rag.


Wow dude I never said anyone was wrong. I was simply saying that it would be ideal to have it clean. Like I just said in my last post, stick with whatever works best for you.

Hell I built drag and show banshees for a LONG time and we never ever put any lube or anything on the chains and we would get a super long life out of them. Why? cause they were clean. Anytime we'd leave them dirty for long periods, they'd end up snapping way sooner.

[roadrunner]

Who wants to the first one to correctly post how to tell when a chain needs replacment?


1. when is at the end of its adjustment
2. when you can pull the chain off the back side of the sprocket and see through
3. when the sprockets show uneven wear
4. when its obvious youve blown a ring
5. theres a spot that has seized up
close??

ps. watch out for snapping chains :rad:

[wesleyw]

Hey flyte...my owners manual says to replace my chain if the rollers start coming apart, stiff links occur, or I run out of adjustment...It also says something about seeing iron-oxide dust on the side-plates... Is that correct? :-P BUT, I've also been known to cut links out and keep running the chain until I run out of adjustment again, ran dry chains, o-ring chains, and lubed and cleaned the living hell out of chains...I've not yet broken one, but then again as so many have reminded me, I'm running a "crane-chain"...

Like you said, its pretty much personal preference. I've seen chains that were dirty and packed with gunk go forever and hardly stretch, and I've seen correctly tensioned/aligned chains die after only a couple thousand miles...I'm with Flyte on this one, pick a method that works for you, stick to it, and lets not bicker about something so trivial as chain lube...

[Flyte Risk]

While all of those factors can be used to tell you it HAS to be replaced they are also wrong.

There is a different measurement over XX number of links from each manufacturer of course but the correct way to judge the wear is by stretch. Wes, I'm so ashamed of you for not figuring this out.

Besides the obvious signs of long-term wear, rust, "hooked" sprocket teeth and bound links; There is a mathematical formula for determining when the chain needs to be replaced.

A= # of Links (We'll use 120 for an example)
B= .625 for 520 pitch chain. (Measurement of center of pin to center of pin)
C=.03 (ratio of wear)

(A x B)=Y
(Y x C)=Z
(Y + Z)=X

X=When the chain exceeds this length - replace the chain!

Example:

(120 x .625)=75
(75 x .03)=2.25
(75 + 2.25)=77.25"

You should replace the chain when its length exceeds 77.25".

Because no one here or that I know is going to measure overall length I do it over a distance of 20 links.

Nathan, does your head hurt now?

[Flyte Risk]

Just to add some fuel to the fire a quote from RK Chains FAQ highlighting by me

Lubing an O-Ring chain is vital for maximum wearlife. All RK O-Ring chains are injected at the factory with a lifetime supply of internal lubricant. The purpose of an O-Ring lube is to keep the chain from rusting and the O-rings from drying out. Use a lubricant specifically designed for O-Ring Chains.

[Flyte Risk]

I propose to the court that everyone is right and should buy the person posting below them a beer at the BBQ.

Drop Top please.

[Rashmaster13]

Wow dude I never said anyone was wrong. I was simply saying that it would be ideal to have it clean. Like I just said in my last post, stick with whatever works best for you.

Hell I built drag and show banshees for a LONG time and we never ever put any lube or anything on the chains and we would get a super long life out of them. Why? cause they were clean. Anytime we'd leave them dirty for long periods, they'd end up snapping way sooner.
I was just giving a different point of view until you decided to say I was wrong. I have no beef, I was just giving "what works for me" Anyways scrub away, I'll be out riding. :ride:

[Rashmaster13]

Quote:
Lubing an O-Ring chain is vital for maximum wearlife. All RK O-Ring chains are injected at the factory with a lifetime supply of internal lubricant. The purpose of an O-Ring lube is to keep the chain from rusting and the O-rings from drying out. Use a lubricant specifically designed for O-Ring Chains.
So chemically cleaning the chain can destroy the factory lube, again how do you get it back in there w/o taking the chain apart link by link. I'm sure most have put an O ring or X ring master togther with the supplied grease.

[Flyte Risk]

Are you arguing for the sake of arguing or do you just truely not get it?

[willcbr600rr]

Nathan, does your head hurt now?

Jesus my brain hurt :blowup: ...LOL

[nvoelsch]

Nathan, does your head hurt now?

Not at all... I just stopped reading after Wes got going. :nutkick

My outlook on things when it comes to chains is pretty simple (that's not saying much because I don't have much motorcycle experience yet compared to others here, but am always happy to share my uncanny noobie-ish outlooks on things).

I grew up with chainsaws. From my point of view, a chain is a chain is a chain. It goes round and round two sprockets and keeps things moving. When the chain gets loose, you tighten it up and continue. If it's lubed well with chain oil, used motor oil, corn oil, sweat, spit, piss, or what ever and still goes round and round without burning up the sprockets, then all is good. When the chain can't be adjusted anymore, you either cheat by taking out a link for a bit (which is hard on sprockets but sometimes it's necessary) or you go and get a new chain and repeat the process.

So I'm applying the same logic to my motorcycle chain. I've been using 80-90w gear oil whenever I see that it's a bit dry (simply because my manual said that's what to use and I have a heck of a lot of it, and I apply it with a paint brush). Sure, it flings off a bit, but I have a rear hugger so it's not all that bad. Plus, for some dumb reason that I'm sure someone will be more than willing to explain and I'll probably get lost, or not read it, when the chain gets dry it starts to hum pretty good. Put a bit of oil on it and the hum goes away.

There's probably a little buildup on the muffler too, but the burnt smell goes away after a few minutes.

I've adjusted the chain once, and have plenty of adjustment left. I just flipped over 16,000 miles this weekend. I look at the chain from time to time and think, "yup, it's still there". I look at the sprockets to check for wear and ask myself why I just wasted that amount of time.

I talked with my dad about it and he had a 1980s Kawasaki 500 something or other around 1980. He said all he did was hit it with WD-40 from time to time and had no problems.

If I ever have to replace the chain and sprockets, I'll have everything apart and will clean it up. Then I've been toying with switching to a teflon spray, just to see what happens (please don't ruin the surprise for me by explaining what could happen).

So truth be told, as long as it keeps going round and round and I'm riding with a smile on my face, then life is good. And if folks want to argue about what lube to use, they're definitely not riding enough or have way way too much time on their hands.

:smilewink

[wesleyw]

Sorry flyte, I'd read about a formula on one of the various parts websites I frequent for my old dinosaur bike (probably z1 enterprises, actually) but could not find it nor could I correctly quote it, so I wasn't going to feed inaccurate information to the general masses...only what I could remember in my owners manual. :-P I have a 630 chain, could you figure out the stretch for me, and I'll let ya know when the second or third rounds of taking out a pair of links gets there? :-P

[Rashmaster13]

Are you arguing for the sake of arguing or do you just truely not get it?
Isn't that what you wanted when you added fuel to the fire? But seriously, if you spray kerosene, wd40, carb cleaner, or whatever else you decide to remove gunky chain lube with, that thin liquid will work in between the O rings and remove that (factory) grease along with the chain lube you just put on. How do you prepose to get grease back in there? (insert scientific formula here). Sure you can relube with thin oil that will penetrate in there, but it also sprays right back off when the chain spins at a million miles an hour, coating your rear wheel in lots of goo. If you spray with a thicker clingy grease, it just wont penetrate in between those tightly mated surfaces.

[Matt]

Isn't that what you wanted when you added fuel to the fire? But seriously, if you spray kerosene, wd40, carb cleaner, or whatever else you decide to remove gunky chain lube with, that thin liquid will work in between the O rings and remove that (factory) grease along with the chain lube you just put on. How do you prepose to get grease back in there? (insert scientific formula here). Sure you can relube with thin oil that will penetrate in there, but it also sprays right back off when the chain spins at a million miles an hour, coating your rear wheel in lots of goo. If you spray with a thicker clingy grease, it just wont penetrate in between those tightly mated surfaces.


And that's part of riding :yes:. That's why any lube that does fling off...is better in general. Unfortunately you do have to lube after every ride then though.

[Rashmaster13]

Or.....You lube it with O ring chain lube, and occasionally take a dry rag and rub off the dirt dust and dried up lube, leaving the factory grease inside the O rings.

[roadrunner]

Unfortunately you do have to lube after every ride then though.


god ive been doing it wrong. i wonder what my mileage will be if i do it right??? 90k?? 100k?? 200k?? hehe

and im gonna try the formula out. i love that kind of stuff. you dont happen to be a little bit german do you flyte??

[olemangixxer]

Didn't mean to get everyone all fired up. Calm the $%&# down!! Ok.....now, how do you know when the chain needs adjusted? How much slack is too much?

[Flyte Risk]

1, Yes, I happen to be alot German. Just not the good german... Let's just say the blue eys stuck, but the blond hair was bred out.

2, According to EK chain Kerosene is the suggested cleaning agent, even for submersion.

[Flyte Risk]

If your chain comes in contact with water, be sure to use a moisture displacement (like WD40)

Kerosene may be safely used for cleaning, provided you have adequate ventilation and no ignition sources nearby.

Flyte Risk may be use to dispell myths about maintaining anything mechanical

next.

[roadrunner]

kerosene rules. pretty color too. just dont rub the paint off...

youll find a sticker on your bike that tells you how much chain slack to have. and in case you dont, its in the owners manual as well..

[Matt]

god ive been doing it wrong. i wonder what my mileage will be if i do it right??? 90k?? 100k?? 200k?? hehe




Jeez you people take this stuff too seriously!! If you look at the rest of what I said, it was if you use a lube that really flings off a lot :thumbup:

[Matt]

youll find a sticker on your bike that tells you how much chain slack to have. and in case you dont, its in the owners manual as well..


Ya every bike is different, due to there being different distances between the c/s and rear sprocket

[wesleyw]

The distance between the sprockets alone doesn't have as much effect on how much slack is required as does the length of swing-arm and how close/far the countershaft sprocket is from the swing arm's pivot point...since the countershaft sprocket is not at the same point as the swing arm pivot, there are two different arcs of motion, the chain's pivot being the countershaft sprocket and the rear-axle's being the swingarm bolt...if there isn't enough slack, when the suspension moves at some point the chain could be over-tensioned and break or cause other damage, and if there is too much slack, it could become too loose and hop right off one or both sprockets, which wouldn't be good either...

[tlrmike99]

OK... here we go.. trying to end this with 3 comments...

1) clean the chain when and with whatever you want... we will never all agree on this.

2) At least TRY Bel Ray Superclean lube... it's really really really no fling...

3) Can you EVEN believe they had to remind people not to use kerosene near an ignition source... if your that dumb, you shouldn't be riding or smoking...LOL!:rad:

[nvoelsch]

Oh come on Mike! I just half assed cleaned part of my chain with a bit of green palmolive and water! I'd say that's the only way to clean your chain and keep it properly maintained.
:drunk

(for those that don't get it, that's my attempt at being sarcastically humorous...)

[Flyte Risk]

I personally prefer a sand blaster for cleaning, knocks the crap right off.

[wesleyw]

it makes those o-rings nice and shiny too. I prefer MEK. (Methyl Ethyl Ketone)...you can actually watch the grunge, slime, and sludge melt right off the chain, as well as all those pesky little pieces of rubber...cleans your skin and fingernails like a pro too!