Chain cleaner and lube to use?

[madsen203]

Chain wax prevents fling. The TORX cleaner (when found for under $10) works amazing at cleaning.

 

[NorCalBusa]

If your chain is a sealed X ring type- stop lubing it. Just clean with WD40 or whatever you like.

 

[VFRBenny]

Which do you use? And which is best for absorbing fast and non-splatter?

$3. per quart Kragen brand 90 wt.

 

[zrex]

Modern sealed chain?? WD 40 is all I use.

 

[otterley]

I clean with kerosene and lubricate with DuPont Teflon Multi-Use Lubricant.

Kerosene cleans better than WD-40 or any other spray on stuff that I've used. The DuPont lubricant seems to work about the same as chain wax for protecting the chain, but it's quite a bit less messy.

^^ This.

 

[otterley]

I've been looking all over for that stuff since I read in more than a few MC mags that it's the awesome. No Lowe's around here.

True Value? Ace? They all have it.

 

[rsrider]

True Value? Ace? They all have it.

Thanks, I'll look there. I use a local hardware store, so I don't go to the franchise stores if I can avoid them.

 

[killakeyes]

I like WD40 to clean and Rockoil to lube. best lube I ever used. doesn't burn off as fast as Motul.

 

[Vanilla_Gorilla]

Something no one has mentioned that I think is important is lubing/cleaning the chain when the chain is warm. I get very little fling off, even when i load it on. Basically I'll clean and lube or just lube my chain when I get back from a ride and let it sit overnight. I make sure I put a piece of cardboard under the chain because some dirty lube will drip off. But other than that it's pretty mess-free. When I would lube the chain cold it would get everywhere. I've been using Motul Chain Clean and Maxima Chain Guard synthetic lube.

 

[beginner]

90w gear oil. Like recommended in the manual. No need to ever clean anything. It throws off a bit, but that's not a big deal, I'd rather wipe my rim down once in awhile than have to clean my chain. Also dirt cheap.

I agree. In three different owner's manuals the same advice, 90w gear oil. In the absense of advice I consider definitive here's my practice.

The manual for the bike in the photo below says lubricate before AND after every riding day. I've tried that and end up with way to much oil on the chain so I lubricate about every 30 miles, generally at the end of every riding day, 3 drops per link--each side and the center. To minimze oil drip I clean the frame and chain slippers with Simple Green and a toothbrush, rinse with water, then oil the chain. The bike is parked with a pad under the chain to catch oil drips, if any.

Oiling would be a miserable job without the pump oiler pictured below, $10 from an auto supply store. The milk crate holds the odds and ends and is a good seat for cleaning and oiling.

The manual indicates cleaning the chain if it's allowed to dry out so I try to prevent that from happening. The oil attacts dirt but also reduces migration into the chain works. Surface dirt on the chain is harmless unless it's allowed to dry out. Oil fling prevents the surface dirt from building up. After 10,000 miles, half in the dirt, the chain has never been cleaned and slack has been adjusted only twice.

Daily inspection of the chain is wise. The above gets that done too.

 

[Raider]

torx stuff and grunge brush to clean
teflon multi purpose to lube

i've also tied kerosen to clean and some other cleaner in a black can, tried klr to lube and some black and gold stuff as well...

torx and teflon in my opinion was the best combo i've used...

 

[luckett]

I lubricate about every 30 miles, generally at the end of every riding day, 3 drops per link

 

[ScottRNelson]

If your chain is a sealed X ring type- stop lubing it. Just clean with WD40 or whatever you like.

Modern sealed chain?? WD 40 is all I use.

The rollers still need to be lubricated. WD-40 isn't good enough to help there.

 

[SM610]

If your chain is a sealed X ring type- stop lubing it. Just clean with WD40 or whatever you like.

Modern sealed chain?? WD 40 is all I use.

Do not follow this advise....

 

[Z3n]

The rollers still need to be lubricated. WD-40 isn't good enough to help there.

O-rings, not rollers...the rollers in modern chains rely on the orings staying well lubed to keep the factory lube in place.

 

[BradManUWF]

I use WD-40 (sprayed into a rag then wrapped around the chain) to clean, Bel Ray Super Clean chain lube (a waxy spray on) to lube. Zero fling.

What's the best way to clean off all the dirt and fine dust after riding on a dirt road, without removing and soaking the chain in something? Years ago Vetta made this contraption for bicycle chain cleaning - it has a reservoir for cleaner/degreaser solution and built-in brushes on all sides. You'd clamp this thing over the chain and drag the chain thru the solution and the brushes so all the dirt comes off. I wonder if there's something like that for motorcycle chains.

Is this what you're talking about? I ordered a chain breaker/riveting tool and it was in the box with it, dirty and used. I guess it fell it while they were packing the box up and didn't notice. I kept it cause it looked useful, and at the time I didn't even know what it was. There's no name or anything on it, just "Pat. Pending ######"

 

[ScottRNelson]

O-rings, not rollers...the rollers in modern chains rely on the orings staying well lubed to keep the factory lube in place.

The piece that makes contact with the sprocket teeth is the roller. That is completely separate from the rest of the chain and anything that has factory lube in it. None of the lubricant held in place by the O-rings ever touches a roller.

I've had a roller break before. That particular link of the chain now has one spot that doesn't contact the sprocket and the others now get additional forces applied to them. Your sprockets will wear much faster once you've lost a roller and the other rollers near the broken one will also wear faster.

Proper lubricant provides an additional cushion for the roller, helping it to last longer.

 

[bountyhunter]

If you think 90W or wax is best, understand this:

The vast majority of stress and wear is not on the surface of the chain you see. The rollers and sprocket contact areas you can see have fairly large surface areas. Most of the wear is INSIDE the chain where the cross pins go through the chain, which has all the "pull" on it but a fairly small surface area. As that wear, the chain stretches. To properly lube, it has to get INSIDE the chain and penetrate. That's why you need a lube you can saturate the chain with and have it be very thin (low viscosity) to carry the lube into the links, then have the solvent evaporate and leave the heavier lube in place. 90W and wax will cover the surface, it can't get into the chain.

I think lubing a hot chain is better but not essential if you are using good stuff that can get into the chain. If the lube is very thick (like 90W) the hot chain will help thin it down but it's still inferior lube.

 

[bountyhunter]

The rollers still need to be lubricated. WD-40 isn't good enough to help there.

IMHO, WD-40 isn't good enough to lube anything. "WD" stands for "water displacing" and that is what it is for. It can be used as a saturating spray to displace water but it congeals into sticky varnish pretty fast and gunks up anything it is in. Virtually any other lube is better than WD-40. Some have posted that WD-40 attacks the rubber in the O rings, but true or not, it's worthless as lube.

 

[thinmac]

I use good old WD to clean, and then lubricate with Maxima chain wax. I always clean and lubricate when the chain's warm, and someone suggested. I think every 30 miles is waaaaay too much - I'd be cleaning my chain every day. I generally clean and wax every 1000 miles and wax on the 500's.

Has anyone else tried Maxima? I've been using it for years with pretty good results. In my experience when I clean like I'm supposed to I get 10,000+ miles on a chain, and when I've slacked off they only last half that long. If anyone has tried Maxima found something else to work better, though, I'd love to hear about it.