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Chain Lube...


imagineer

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Knowledge and experience usually supersedes published lawyer speak for product liability. I'm sure that's why someone is asking what they expect to be experienced guys how to do things. It would be easy enough to go read what is recommended per manufacturer.

Glock tells you not to keep a round in the chamber. Experience tells us that you're an idiot if you don't.

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You're comparing apples to oranges.

Lawyer speak? Dollars to donuts the maintenance instructions were written by an engineer, not a lawyer. Probably because the manufacturer of the chain has zero liability in how you use it.

Why wouldn't the manufacturer want you to get at least the expected life out of their product? If I buy a chain and follow the care instructions and it only lasts 1200 miles, I'm not buying a chain from them again.

your way seems to work. Maybe because it keeps the chain so clean and keeps moisture out of it. Dirt is a big enemy to a chain and will cause it to wear faster. As far as 350 miles per ride, good for you. Some of us commute on our bikes. Some don't put in 350 miles a day. I'd rather clean and lube every 500 or so (which takes me a few weeks) than spritz it down with hillbilly juice after every ride. It works for me and it's what the manufacturer suggests.

I'll do me, you do you. As far as advice for younger riders, as long as they're doing SOMETHING to the chain it's better than nothing, be it wd40, motor oil, chain wax or whatever.

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I use Royal Purple Maxchain.  I tried WD40 and the only issue I had was getting caught out in rain and when I got home I had rust all over the chain.  Other than that it worked just as good as everyone has stated above.  The Royal Purple dries clear and not tacky, so after a 500 mi ride my chain still looks clean.  The crucial pivot points are greased and sealed inside the chain.  The purpose of chain lube/wax is to reduce friction at the contact points on the sprockets and protect the chain from corrosion, that's about it.  It doesn't take me very long to take a rag soaked in kerosene to wipe my chain, dry, and re-spray.  Half the time I don't warm the chain and it works just fine.  There is no sling.  Basically same effects as WD40 with a little more durability for getting caught out in rain.  My 2 CENTS. :D

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Spray the inside run of the chain as it'll work it's way out when spinning.

I used to roll the bike then spray a section, roll again. Now I have a stand.

Do not do it with the bike on and in gear if you like your fingers.

4eed54235f6be724f87fae1fba852063.jpg2184241fce209e86449e08eaa406fb32.jpg

This is what happens when you try to lube the chain with the engine running....

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All you folks that rode all day in the rain yesterday make sure you spray your chains down.Especially those of you that only use WD40 because your shit will be rusty in short order.

washed the bike today, I will be cleaning and lubing tomorrow night...

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I realized today while adjusting my chain that it has a pretty bad tight spot, I'm thinking I might have screwed it by not lubing it up when I first started riding it this season after sitting all winter, neglected it for a few weeks. It only has like 8k on it maybe, sucks [emoji17]

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Chad:  Any chance that it's as simple as a kink from your recent off-road excursion?  Might be as easy as using a chain tool to re-set the roller pins a fraction to ease the tension on the affected side plates.  Can't hurt to try--8000 mi isn't many miles and I'm sure there's not much wear.  If you can fix the binding, it won't wear funny or quickly.

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Chad: Any chance that it's as simple as a kink from your recent off-road excursion? Might be as easy as using a chain tool to re-set the roller pins a fraction to ease the tension on the affected side plates. Can't hurt to try--8000 mi isn't many miles and I'm sure there's not much wear. If you can fix the binding, it won't wear funny or quickly.

Yeah, I was thinking about that but it's been present well before our run to NKY. I just didn't actually realize the last time I adjusted it, since I did it quick, that was the issue because just a day later it became more slack than I had initially set it to, but that was really the loose spot I saw. Either way, I'll mess with it and see if I can loosen up the tight links, thanks for the advice
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I envision you with a jewelers loupe and a medicine dropper in your garage for an hour applying precisely metered drops on each o ring.

Not saying it's a bad technique, and I'm sure it's effective but I don't see it as being a superior method to using a quality spray In terms of time Spent.

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You know (detergent) motor oil is designed to attract and hold dirt right?

Have you tried any of the non-oil sprays? Klotz kl-r is what I've been using for a few years now and it's awesome. Chain is quiet, clean and there is zero fling.

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I have tried quite a few sprays over the years CSC. A few are OK I guess.

 

Motor oil is practically free. I do on average of 5 oil changes per season, and there is ALWAYS oil left in the bottom of the gallon jugs I buy.

Packing my little squeeze bottle is a lot easier (space-wise) than bringing along a can of spray lube as well...another reason why I like it. I am getting a  bit over 1 season on each chain this way (around 20K miles)

 

Bel-Ray super clean is the best stuff out there IMHO, and the original Dupont Teflon lube and even the new formulation is pretty damn good. I too ride in all conditions, all year, take big trips, and I would for sure go with a Loobman or a scott oiler before I ever applied motor oil by hand. It can be "very effective" if applied correctly, and it sounds like how you do it is correct. ;)

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  • 1 month later...

I have been using maxima chain wax for a couple of years now and it sucks as far as I am concerned. It flings off typically on first ride, its sticky, dirt and grime cling to it, and it does not keep the chain lubed. I've tried preheating chain leaving it sit over night, all that crap and still no luck. The last couple of times I thought my chain was going and it has less than 3-4k miles on it. It was making a horrible noise. I cleaned it with kerosene as I always do, took it for a preheat run and it was fine. I attribute it to the chain wax holding crap on to it. Made me think of this post and I am now trying wd40 method. Now if it ever stops raining around here i'll test it out and see what I think. I just know I'm done with what I have been using. May go back to Honda's chain lube as somebody mentioned on here, because I did use it back in the day and don't remember any issues. Back then I was young though and not as on tune with my bike, so could have been crap too. I'll see how the wd method works. Thanks for those of you that suggested it.

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I have been using maxima chain wax for a couple of years now and it sucks as far as I am concerned. It flings off typically on first ride, its sticky, dirt and grime cling to it, and it does not keep the chain lubed. I've tried preheating chain leaving it sit over night, all that crap and still no luck. The last couple of times I thought my chain was going and it has less than 3-4k miles on it. It was making a horrible noise. I cleaned it with kerosene as I always do, took it for a preheat run and it was fine. I attribute it to the chain wax holding crap on to it. Made me think of this post and I am now trying wd40 method. Now if it ever stops raining around here i'll test it out and see what I think. I just know I'm done with what I have been using. May go back to Honda's chain lube as somebody mentioned on here, because I did use it back in the day and don't remember any issues. Back then I was young though and not as on tune with my bike, so could have been crap too. I'll see how the wd method works. Thanks for those of you that suggested it.

+1 for this, I've used chain wax also for the last few years and had the same negative effects. Thought my chain was done for, due to several tight links, but I removed it from the rear sprocket and spent like 2.5 hrs cleaning it and articulating every link until they were all loose and completely clean. Some links were so tight from gunky dirty wax build up that I had to spend a good 5 minutes on some of them to get them back to full range of travel. Chain looked brand new again when I was done, and now I am also trying the wd40 method to keep it cleaner and hopefully get a full life out of it. Been about 2 weeks and so far so good, definitely staying cleaner than it would with chain wax/lube. Edited by claine650
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dayum that photo of the hand is messed up....

 

I lube mine with the engine running, in gear, spraying down into the bottom of the visible chain, with a PAPER TOWEL used to shroud the chain and keep the lube off the tire.  Keep the fingers away from the ingoing nip point (chain and sprocket) and never try to catch a paper towel that gets snagged.....pretty simple and gets the job done in under 10 seconds.  Wouldn't advise someone to do it that way, but thats how I do it.

 

I've used WD-40 to clean a chain more than a few times, but I always go over it with some chain specific oil.

 

Used to use gearcase oil on my ATV chains, never had any problems. 

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