Topic: Why pay more for chain??

[BobbyR]

There probably is other lube that works as well, we are waiting to hear about.. bet it probably cost more than gearlube...

Andy, if I had to pack an aerosol can that would definately take up more room...

If you want to go old school you coat your non O ring heavily with wheel bearing grease and use a heat gun to soften it to a liquid and it will flow into the rollers. When it cools, it goes back to a thick grease inside the rollers. As a world class slacker I just spray some lube on them every couple of weeks let it sit over night and wipe off the excess.

[754]

Sounds a bit hard to do on the road, when you could lube it in about 3 min & not have to wipe anything off..

[BobbyR]

Sounds a bit hard to do on the road, when you could lube it in about 3 min & not have to wipe anything off..

True. I am an old fart so if I ride 200 miles on a weekend that would be the max. So my spray and wipe works ok for me. I may do the grease thing at the end of the season. For you high mileage riders you need to lube on the road so you need to find a product that works for you. 
Funny thing about this thread, nobody is wrong, they just have different ways of doing the same thing.

[Terry in Australia]

Anyone here ever use a product called "Duckhams Chain Guard"? Wonderful product for non "O" ring chains, it came in a flat round tin like a cake tin, anyway, you put it on the stove and heated it until it melted into a liquid, then drop your coiled chain into it. (preferably after cleaning it in Kerosene, or if you're English, "Parrafin", whatever that is)

Once it'd been in there awhile, you pull it out and hang the chain above the pan to drain back the excess, while the grease re-solidifys on the chain. Once cool, you refit the chain, and it's good for another couple of thousand miles! Great stuff guys, I wish I could find some now!

A quick word about "O Ring" and "X ring" chains though, they still need to be lubed on the outside, to reduce the "metal on metal" friction wear between chain and sprockets. Anyone who thinks that they don't somehow need exterior lubing, is just kidding themselves. Cheers, Terry.   

[eldar]

Many of the thicker sprays require that the chain is warm to allow it to flow into the spaces better.

Also at one time, castrol made stuff like what terry is referring to.

754, how would a small aerosol can take up more room that a bottle of gear lube?  Aside from that, I will use chain wax and then I will not have to stop every couple hundred miles to lube like you will. Bet my chain does just as good too.  So I spend $60 on my chain and you spend $40. Sure I spend more but I also have to do half the work on it and in virtually every respect, have a stronger chain too.

To each his own I suppose.

[754]

This summer I  made a holder for chainlube to mount on rt footpeg triangle. it is made from 1.75 alum bar oil bottle fits in side. OAL height is about 7.5 inches minus the snout which looks like a wd-40 spraytube but flexible.

 Used to carry it a leather bag with a rag, used a small bottle with a flip over spout like some hand lotion or shampoo uses. A bottle say 2in dia by 6 or 7 inches high would last like a few thousand miles and cost maybe 25 or 50 cents to fill. Hardest part is keeping the bottle clean.

 A lot of riders oil the wrong part of the chain. Apply oil only to the top edge of sideplates on the top off the lower run of the chain.. thats it... centrifugal force will take care of the rest..

 Once you figure your amount to apply at the interval you choose, it is quick to apply. Never take the chain off just oil on the bike, occasionally wipe off the sides (trick is to figure out amount to put on)

 Out here you can get stuck in rainy weather and after 2 or 3 hrs in the rain there is not much left on the chain, keep riding and rapid wear will result.

 Yeah its a bit of work but a good chance to check tire at same time, bike will roll easier . I priced a chain this summer here it was about 90.00 for a Tsubaki 120link. I wont run a cheap chain, they will not last  the way I ride and have tore a lot of teeth off a stock front sprocket ( got what I paid for)

[ofreen]

Out here you can get stuck in rainy weather and after 2 or 3 hrs in the rain there is not much left on the chain, keep riding and rapid wear will result.

 

Back in the good old days (mid to late 70's), I used gear lube on the 750 chain when I lived in western Washington.  Rode in the rain a lot back and forth to work.  2 or 3 hours in the rain?  My experience was gear lube was pretty much gone in 2 or 3 minutes in the rain.

[754]

I am not saying it would stay in that long in the rain, but you often had no choice but to ride in it.so when it stops re-oil sooner, not later..

Yeah , I had to buy a Belstaff in VANCOUVER, just dont fit me now..

[MRieck]

 This thread is funny. I haven't seen a street, OEM non oring chain in many years. Maybe 20 or so. All this talk of gear lube, heating/soaking in grease makes me nostalgic. Funny how no one talks about how much better sprocket material, surface treatment is etc or talk about what material works best. Remember those NEP kits. I twisted the teeth off 2 of those BUT you could get a bizillion miles out of them if you rode like a wimp. Lubing is just a part of maintenance.....proper adjustment is even more important. You can blow through ANY chain and sprockets with a poorly adjusted chain. This is where I have seen the average bike owner make huge mistakes.

[ofreen]

This thread is funny. I haven't seen a street, OEM non oring chain in many years. Maybe 20 or so. All this talk of gear lube, heating/soaking in grease makes me nostalgic. Funny how no one talks about how much better sprocket material, surface treatment is etc or talk about what material works best. Remember those NEP kits. I twisted the teeth off 2 of those BUT you could get a bizillion miles out of them if you rode like a wimp. Lubing is just a part of maintenance.....proper adjustment is even more important. You can blow through ANY chain and sprockets with a poorly adjusted chain. This is where I have seen the average bike owner make huge mistakes.

It cracks me up when somebody talks about melting paraffin mixed with graphite, or some other magic potion, in a double boiler.  What a pain in the rear.  It might be all right if you didn't ride your bike much.

I see more incorrectly adjusted chains than ones properly done.  Usually they are too loose, but I've seen some so tight it made me cringe.  The noise they make is terrible to hear if you have any mechanical empathy at all.

I settled on Maxima Chain Wax a few years ago.  It does surprisingly well in the rain, doesn't fly off if you let it sit a bit before riding off, and doesn't pack the countersprocket area with goo like the moly lubes do.  I've gotten 20,000+ miles out of the o-ring chains on both my 750F and CBR1000.  It costs 7 bucks a can which lasts me over a year, so it isn't likely to break the bank.

The chain manufacturers recommend using WD40 on their o-ring chains.  I decided to do an experiment with that on my 750F when I put the last set of sprockets and chain on it a couple of years ago.  I mentioned it in a thread in the polls section a while back.  I stopped doing it a while back and went back the chain wax.  I'll write up something on it and post what I observed when I get some time.

[Terry in Australia]

It cracks me up when somebody talks about melting paraffin mixed with graphite, or some other magic potion, in a double boiler.  What a pain in the rear.  It might be all right if you didn't ride your bike much.

I used Duckhams chain guard for several years Offy when I commuted to work and back on my first K1 and then my Kawasaki Z1 900 every day, plus my Yamaha XT500 single. That was back in the early 1980's, when "O" ring and "X" ring chains were the exception, rather than the rule.

In Oz, we have pretty much 24/7 riding weather, not anywhere near the rain, snow, ice etc that you guys in the US experience, and of course, back in those days I could only afford a car or a bike, so I chose a bike as my daily transport.

I guess if I had the option to use a modern chain and modern chain wax I would have jumped at it, but of course it wasn't available back then, and the melted grease method wasn't a "magic potion", but rather a common practise that had proven sound for probably 60+ years to mechanics who were "in the know". As now, I did all my own maintenance, and I kind of enjoyed it.

As much as it's fun to hang crap on what we did back in the day, if you weren't there, or you just had a shop do all your work for you, then you really shouldn't make sweeping comments based on your own ignorance of the subject. Cheers, Terry.

[MRieck]

 I really don't think Ofreen is making fun us Terry. I think he is pointing out how weird it seems now a days. And all that melting and chain voodoo was weird. Me....I started buying O rings when they came out in the 70's and used the old black/yellow PJ1 (with synthetic sperm oil). That always killed me. I have had good luck with chains/sprockets though it really isn't luck it's knowing how tight a chain should be, alignment and maintenance. I changed the chain /sprockets on my busa after 10,000 not because they were worn but because I wanted different gearing. And that thing has 186HP to the rear. Than you have to buy a Speedo Healer to correct the speedo............etc.

[ofreen]

 then you really shouldn't make sweeping comments based on your own ignorance of the subject. Cheers, Terry.

I was there, I am older than you by a few years.  I started riding and working on bikes when I was 8 thanks to my Dad's influence.  Mike is right, I'm not making fun of anybody.  If somebody wants to pull their chain off every couple of hundred miles to go through all that, it is fine with me.  The reason a lot of us dink around with these old bikes is because they need a little more looking after than the newer ones.   However, I wouldn't recommend that kind of ritual to a new rider or motorcycle owner because it is unnecessary.  On a 750, an o-ring chain works fine, and with really pretty minimal effort, will give long service.  If you commute in all kinds of weather like I do, an o-ring chain is the way to go.  If o-ring chains didn't exist, then I guess I'd go find out where I put the double boiler.

[Deltarider]

Like Terry I used to treat my chains with oldfashioned chainwax (Castrol). Using a spare chain you'd pulled the one on the bike. After cleaning I would let it sink in the warm and fluid chainwax (the nice part). After ten minutes you'd hang the chain and let the excess oil drip of. The stuff hardened immediately. It is the best and I believe it contains graphite. Ï'm afraid it's no longer available. Downside: much work and a bit messy. Another product long gone, is the "Becker Fettkasten", a closed chainhousing. It was an aftermarket product, made in Germany. In such an oilbath chains lived forever. I don't know why they've disappaered. Maybe they leaked. If they were still there, I definetely would buy one. I myself am not much impressed by O-ring chains and favour the simple Tsubaki QR.

[nteek754]

Hey all , got to agree with sohccbs on this one I have ran the old x chain 25 years ago finnally smartened up and got the  oring (just look at the differance in size of the plates) hmmmmm its just common knowledge that the bigger oring would last longer. yes we hear of I get  yatta yatta miles and  he got yatta yatta miles but gotta do apples for apples and  compare with  simmilar riders. Sis and I put on identical chains and sprockets at the same time. she got twice the miles I did (she dont do wheelies or burnouts) Im trying to cut down. I lube mine with pj1 or rev tech  and I also use a chain wax the  sticky spray on type every 300 miles or so. so it stays put dosnt fly all over the ass of the bike have fun Craig in Maine

[petescb]

Brian at loudfastugly.com is a good guy and I recommend him highly.  His chains are good too.

It doesn't matter what I run, o-ring or non-, I get about 10,000 miles out of a chain.  And I lube them every 200 miles.  All lubing an o-ring chain does is prevent it from rusting.  But one of my bikes has shaft-drive at least!

[Gamma]

O.K. the stuff I used in the 70's was called Linklife if I remember correctly, boil the chain in it.  Mostly used Reynolds Grand prix chains.
Then I had the chain break on my F1 and it went through both cases, that particular chain was a new chain. it was called an 'Izumi self lube chain', I never will know why it broke, but maybe it was because I lubed it!!!
It went at the split link (weakest point).  From that day on I will not use a split link in a chain, and I always use an o ring or x ring chain.  Coupled with a Scott oiler (automatic chain oiler) this has to be a great low maintenance way of running a drive chain.

I will probably be banned from this forum for owning up to taking a toothbrush with me on long trips, and dipping it into the oil tank on the F1 to oil the chain!!!!  That was 27 years ago.  As for tyre wear comparisons, I used to run the rear tyre down til I could see the canvas in the centre before changing it, so I would get more from a rear tyre than someone more sensible and richer.

[754]

I keep noticing the mention of heavier sideplates on O-ring chain.  I figure if I can dish out endless abuse on a QR and not break it. do I really need a stronger chain??

One thing I dont seem to see posted here is that O-rings are to be oiled occasionally to keep the O-rings from cracking and falling out..leaving you a heavy chain with gaps  to let dirt in..

[rhinoracer]

Don't O-Ring chains need lube on the rollers to prevent metal to metal contact against the sprocket?

Just asking...

[BobbyR]

Once your chain has worn out you can make several of these little darlings:

[DammitDan]

Hooray for shaft drive! 

[Einyodeler]

Shaft drive is for skirts!!!!!   

[eldar]

Real men use CHAINS!

Anyways, you must lube a o-ring chain. You must also clean it. The difference is that you do not have to do it as often as with a regular chain.

[DammitDan]

Chains are for sadistic bastards, you mean   

Shaft drives are quieter, cleaner, more efficient.  When I get another CB I'm sure I'll be worrying about chain maintenance, but until that day comes... 

[Terry in Australia]

I've got a BMW K1100LT with shaft drive and it's a great long distance tool, but has all the character of a modern motorcycle, which isn't very much. I've also got a 1981 Suzuki GS1000G with shaft drive in my garage, once again, it does everything right, but is a fairly uninspiring package, overall.

I like my CB750's because they literally exude character, and I enjoy doing all my own maintenance, for me, it's cheap therapy. I've got both "O" ring, "X" ring, and "Non O ring" chains on my chain drive bikes, and they all work well, and properly maintained, one will last just as long as the other.

While there are people here who will argue that a couple of microns of grease sealed behind an O ring will somehow magically give a chain twice the life of a non O ring chain that is regularly maintained with new grease or lube applied to the links and rollers, this simply isn't the case. Two chains, of similar quality, regularly maintained, should last as long as each other. It really isn't rocket science. Cheers, Terry.