Topic: Chain cleaning???

[Freddy kruger]

what is the best solution to use for cleaning my chain. And methods. I was just going to hold the bucket underneath and wipe it with a rag...without removeing it all together. is using gas a bad idea??? 

[dagersh]

Freddy,

I think that Kerosene is what you are supposed to use, and follow with a good quality chain lube.

HTH

Gersh

[BobbyR]

Yes by all means use Kero. Gas it too aggressive. Kero also leaves a bit of a film behind which can help prevent rusting.

[FargoFour]

If you're going to take it off (the chain that is) I've soaked it in ATF for about a day.  Then hung it over a saw horse to drain.  Sprayed it with WD40to get most of the ATF off. Then soaked it in oil for about three or four hours. Drip dried it again overnight and then put it back on and applied chain lube.

This process is messy and kind of a pain but it really freed up the old chain that was on my K1.

Bud.

[joecool14u2]

try kellogs black oil, sprays on thin, never comes off, so the claim is, stuff new chains come with i think just google it, gets results, cost $8 a can last for a while, order two if you lube like me, every ride, and a rag soaked in kero does a nice job and if you do remove to clean the by all means soak it in kero, hang it to drip dry, get a used yard sale crock pot and fill it with solid axle grease or chain grease heart it till it melts, drop in your chain let it soak a while, then hang it up again to drip dry and kool, then install and spray on some black oil from kellogs and that baby is good to go, just remem ;Dber to turn off crock pot ok

[Steve F]

My father-in-law used to clean and lube his bicycle chains by using paint thinner, then drying it and then dipping it in this really thick oil that he had heated up in a jar placed in boiling water to thin it out.  After it cooled, he would wipe the excess off.  He said the hot oil got into all the voids better than any spray-on stuff.  I'm thinking he was using some kind of gear oil, like 500W or something

[super pasty white guy]

Are we talking about o rings or no o rings?

spwg

[joecool14u2]

if your run orings chain iut must be oiled also, but you must make sure the oil applied is oring happy, just another headache, buy special oil for special high chain, why bother you still have to oil it and lube it why not run the standard chain and use any oil you can on it all the time i use my engine oil when i drain it out i save it and squirt it on my chain everyday, and yes it slings off and i put it on again the next day, and i spend a hour cleaning the rear of bike each week but my chain and sprocket last a long while, i ride everyday and a lot with stuff and passenger, if i did not oil my chain like this it would where out in 5000 miles or so, i look to getting 20000 out of it instead

[333]

Joecool- your success with the chain isn't what you do, it's the fact that you care enough to do something.  The chain is an area that is often ignored.  If you were to use a true chain lube, check/lube it every 3-400 miles, it will last 20k miles.  And lube it AFTER a decent ride, when the chain is hot.  As it cools, it will suck the lube inside the rollers.  Take a WD40 soaked rag to clean the excess off the next morning.  You will spend NO TIME cleaning the rear rim, and the dirt that the oil took out of your engine will also stay off your bike.

[Terry in Australia]

The moron who owned the Yoshimura Suzuki GS1000 that I just bought used some kinda chain lube crud in such quantities that it was hard to make out the individual links, but at the same time he didn't bother to adjust the chain so even though the sprockets were reasonably new, they've been whipped by the slack chain while the PO practised his wheelies and burnouts etc, and the teeth are all shaved and bent.

Being a 630 chain it's still in reasonable condition and doesn't look too stretched though, so I'm going to temporarily re-use it with a pair of used sprockets I have that are in pretty good condition. Not ideal I know, and I've got a nice new 530 X ring chain to do a conversion later, but for now this mechanically immoral compromise will do to get the bike on the road to assess the engine/transmission's condition before I spend too much money on it.

To clean all the shiite off the chain, and inside the sprocket cover, swingarm, hub and rim etc I used a 50/50 mix of diesel fuel and gasoline which literally ripped the crud off it, and also worked well as a penetrant, easing up the couple of tight links caused by the chain sitting in the same position for 5 years while the bike lived under a tarpaulin in the PO's ex-wife's back yard.

I used the same couple of gallons of this stuff to clean just about everything else on the bike including every last nut and bolt, (I swapped out the damaged frame and forks with another straight frame and forks I had laying around) and apart from swelling the tank mounting rubbers I accidentally dumped in it with all the other bits, I'm stoked at how well it works! The rubber O rings in the chain appear to be unharmed too which is handy. I'll coat the chain with some chain oil when I get to that stage. Cheers, Terry.    

[dpen]

What Terry did is ok when when you've got that much crap to clean off
  For normal chain cleaning use straight diesel - it cleans well, penetrates & lubricates (why it's called diesel OIL)
Go for a ride or two, clean the excess off the rear tyre & in a day or two the diesel will have penetrated the links, & dissipated leaving a nice clean chain ready to oil (& make a mess again)

[Gordon]

if your run orings chain iut must be oiled also, but you must make sure the oil applied is oring happy, just another headache, buy special oil for special high chain

Never had to buy any special oil for my o-ring chain.  90w gear oil works great.  I use it on all of my bikes regardless of the type of chain. 

[Terry in Australia]

I use "Chain and bar" chainsaw oil, it's "sticky" like Moreys oil additive, and clings really well to my bike chains, and (just like me) is cheap.................. 

[joecool14u2]

i the guy that posted up above said you could go 3000 miles between lubing your chain? i dont go 300 miles without lubing my chain, and i do it when the chain is cold and when its hot before and efter riding, mayby i go to far extreme with it but hey those things are impoortant on my bike, its my only ride

[333]

i the guy that posted up above said you could go 3000 miles between lubing your chain? i dont go 300 miles without lubing my chain, and i do it when the chain is cold and when its hot before and efter riding, mayby i go to far extreme with it but hey those things are impoortant on my bike, its my only ride

[Terry in Australia]

C'mon 333, admit it, you're a chain abuser!

[333]

Yeah.  I'll go 400 miles and use proper grammar.

[joecool14u2]

Well, proper grammar would not be the biker way, would it? I will take note on the point of using bar and chain oil though. At five dollars a gallon, I could squeeze about 5000 enjoyable miles out of it.  And to also note, I dropped out of school so many years ago I can't count them because they're more than fingers on both hands. I regret it now, with no education, I can only afford a bike, not a car. I have too  many responsibilities to go back to school, and lost my personal business to the economy. I have struggled through, made it here, and it don't get easier, just sadder. But I ride with pride, not wealth and ignorance, I ride what I maintain and payed for with hard work. I treat my bike just like a cowboy does his horse, its my best friend, I dont abuse it.

[333]

Yes, but proper grammar and careful reading would stop angry exchanges like this.  If you go back and read my first note to you, you would see that I was applauding you for caring about your bike.  And nowhere did I ever say to go 3000 miles between checking/lubing your chain.  I've been riding for almost 35 years, and I worked in the motorcycle industry for over 12 years.  The tips I suggested for lubing are sound advice for getting the most out of your chain with the minimum amount of time spent on doing it.

Now, your last post shows that you're not so poorly educated that you can't communicate.  I'm a dropout as well.  But I learned long ago the the printed word is particularly picky about getting your thoughts across.  And you'll have to admit that if you go back and read your first post after mine, it doesn't make much sense.  You will have the advantage of knowing what you were trying to say in the first place.  I read it a couple of times, and I don't have a clue whether you lube a hot or cold chain, or both.  My guess is that you took what I said wrong, and then were so angry, your keyboard skills went out the window.

[joecool14u2]

well, how right you are. my hand is temporarily out of wack today, so once again my typing is one off. and yes, i meant i oil it hot and cold, i prefer hot but if i skip it when i get home then i do it in morning when its cold. what is you opinion on riding positions, less fatigue with a cafe or stock bike?

[Terry in Australia]

I've been riding for almost 35 years

No wonder you're grumpy mate, you must be really tired!

[333]

You kill me, Terry.  But then, 35 years in the saddle does that to a guy.

Stock old style bike.  I can't stand riding bent over like a dog $h1tting a razor blade.  These bikes that this forum is here for.  They used to refer to these bikes as a "UJM".  Universal Japanese Motorcycle.  Typically an in-line 4.  Feet directly below your butt.  Sitting upright.  Good for my bad back.

[joecool14u2]

thanks, no modifying my bike then, bone stock and staying that way, the simplicity is excellent since i am forced to due my own maintainer, one of the shops here don't take bikes over ten years old, hahahaha, sorry, thats just funny uh, purchased bar and chain oil, when i oiled with it i heard it hit the sprocket and chain, it makes a slurping sound, must be thick sticky stuff, can't wait to clean that wheel!!  

[Terry in Australia]

thanks, no modifying my bike then, bone stock and staying that way, the simplicity is excellent since i am forced to due my own maintainer, one of the shops here don't take bikes over ten years old, hahahaha, sorry, thats just funny uh, purchased bar and chain oil, when i oiled with it i heard it hit the sprocket and chain, it makes a slurping sound, must be thick sticky stuff, can't wait to clean that wheel!!  

Yeah mate, what I do is use a 1 inch paint brush to apply it, I just pour a bit into the cap and brush it onto the chain while slowly rotating the back wheel, you don't need to drown the chain in it, just apply a light coat to the rollers and sideplates every few hundred miles (or whenever it looks like it needs it) and my 1 liter bottle is still half full 5 years down the track. Cheers, Terry.

[BobbyR]

i the guy that posted up above said you could go 3000 miles between lubing your chain? i dont go 300 miles without lubing my chain, and i do it when the chain is cold and when its hot before and efter riding, mayby i go to far extreme with it but hey those things are impoortant on my bike, its my only ride

You just need to use spell check and you will be fine. What you wrote above was perfectly understandable. What do you use to lube the chain? I read your last post and always ride with pride! Never let anyone make you feel small.