Topic: How often do you lube your chain?

[Quail "Owner of the comfortable k8"]

When you answer the poll tell us what you use to clean the chain and the type of lube, and how long your chains last you.

[nobrakes]

My chain or my ball and chain...?   

[jbailey]

I clean the chain (rarely) with Electrowash.  This is a degreaser and really cleans nice.  Let the chain dry really good before oiling, usually overnight.  Don't get this on plastic or it will no longer be plastic, but a gob of goo.

Lube every 100-200 miles with Poulan Bar and Chain oil.  Nice and sticky and red.

The best sprays are PJ1 and Kawachem (non O-ring types).

[blackhog02]

I clean it with wal-mart purple power and lube it with Honda HP Chain Lube.  They say to lube it after every ride when the chain is hot and it penetrates better.

[Quail "Owner of the comfortable k8"]

I have tried chain saw oil and teflon super lube, 10-40, grease with PB blaster mixed in for good measure.  It all ends up on my wheel and leg in a short time.  I started this thread to find the best and chain life is the proof.  I lube 100- 200 miles

[Harry]

I use a Scottoiler, which mean I never have to think of cleaning or oiling my chain. Slack adjustment intervals are extended, as well as sprocket/chain replacement. Find a used one on *.bay, you will not regret it.


This endorsement is partially funded by Scotto........ah, drat, wheres that delete functio

[GeoffT]

Can't remember what stuff I use. Its yellow and Sticky and like most other people find it sticks mostly to the back wheel.
Looked at the scotoiler system and it does look good but not sure if it is worth the money for the miles I do (probably not even 2000 in the year).

[Quail "Owner of the comfortable k8"]

I use a Scottoiler, which mean I never have to think of cleaning or oiling my chain. Slack adjustment intervals are extended, as well as sprocket/chain replacement. Find a used one on *.bay, you will not regret it.


This endorsement is partially funded by Scotto........ah, drat, wheres that delete functio

And what is a Scottoile?

[Bob Wessner]

http://www.calamander.co.uk/scottoiler/scotthiw.htm

Along the prenciples of the original honda 750 oiler.. only with clean oil rather than contaminated engine/gearbox oil. 

[jbailey]

Speaking of oilers, has anyone tried the loobman? www.loobman.com

[Gordon]

Speaking of oilers, has anyone tried the loobman? www.loobman.com

I wish they had some better pictures of the device on their website.  That one picture just ain't doing it.

[mcpuffett]

i usually spray mine after a ride and the night before my next ride, i use castrol chain wax about £5.00 a tin    mick.

[Egil]

After   every drive, mostly when the chain is hot (have O-ring chain)

Egil.

[ofreen]

Way back in the old days, I used gear oil on the 750's chain. I used Diamond motorcycle chains which lasted 5000-6000 miles.   I went to o-ring chains and used spray-on chain lubes in the mid 80s, such as PJ-1 and the Honda lube.  They all had molybdenum disulfide in them, I believe.  I had the same complaint as everyone else about the lube flying off and making a mess.  It would also pack up in the countersprocket recess.  It accumulated so much in there one time that it twice caused a master link clip to pop off.  After that, I became a little more diligent about cleaning that area out once in a while. 

I heard about Maxima Chain Wax sometime in the late 90s and started using that.  It stays on the chain lot better than the moly lubes and didn't clog up the countersprocket area. I got over 20,000 miles from the first three o-ring chains I had on the bike using either the moly lubes or the chain wax.  They were RK brand.  I would occasionally clean the chains with WD-40 and a rag.  The only negative I found with Chain Wax was that it didn't seem to protect the chain from rust as well as the moly lubes.  I found no difference between the moly lubes and the chain wax in how long they'd stay on a chain during rides in the rain. They'd both go away pretty quickly.

I read in several places awhile back that the chain manufacturers recommend using only something like WD-40 to lube chains.  I resisted the idea because I always thought as a lubricant WD-40 makes a pretty good solvent.  But I kept hearing about it, and I read where people says that it works for them.  So I decided to experiment.  I put new Sunstar sprockets and a RK o-ring chain on my 750 last fall.  I adjusted the chain after a couple of hundred miles.  Since then I have not had to adjust the chain after just under 7000 miles.  I apply the WD-40 after a ride when the chain is warm and whenever I see the rollers are looking shiny.  So far so good.  I have noticed the chain stays cleaner since there is no gooey chain lube for it to stick to.  I live at the end of a gravel road.

Greg
'75 CB750F

[Quail "Owner of the comfortable k8"]

It accumulated so much in there one time that it twice caused a master link clip to pop off.  After that, I became a little more diligent about cleaning that area out once in a while. 

Greg
'75 CB750F

The master link should always be installed so that the open end of the clip it toward the rear of the link traveling to the sprocket.  Was it installed that way when it got knocked off?  And thanks for the info it sounds like you have something there.  WD40 is not a good lube, but i allways wonder about the crud everything else picks up and glues to the chain.  I wonder if this is one of those things you can over maintain and end up causing more wear. I have a temp gun and I am going to take some temp readings some day.  My thought friction equals heat and I can measure heat.

[ofreen]

The master link should always be installed so that the open end of the clip it toward the rear of the link traveling to the sprocket.  Was it installed that way when it got knocked off?  And thanks for the info it sounds like you have something there.  WD40 is not a good lube, but i allways wonder about the crud everything else picks up and glues to the chain.  I wonder if this is one of those things you can over maintain and end up causing more wear. I have a temp gun and I am going to take some temp readings some day.  My thought friction equals heat and I can measure heat.

Yup, the clips were installed correctly.  That goo was really jammed in there.  I noticed the first clip was gone when lubing the chain.  I put my spare one on.  It was the first time I'd ever had a clip come off a chain, and that's after quite a few bikes and a lot of miles.  I looked the next day and saw the second one was gone, so investigated further and discovered the goo in the countersprocket recess.

I had the same thought as you about dirt sticking to the chain lube and causing wear.  The dirt sticking to the lube could be acting along the same principle as a lap.

Greg
'75 CB750F

[Egil]

After every drive, mostly when the chain is hot (have O-ring chain) its the best time that the lubricant to cripe inside the chain ,have be`n  told by that exspert`s

And l clean it with  diesel (for tractor`s or trucks)
l use a product from Motorex high perfomans lubricant with teflon: motoline Chainlube,Racing world chapion perforance w/ teflon thise product are water proof and reduse wear and frictions on the chain.

A link:http://www.motorex.ch/index.cfm/fuseaction/show/path/1-3-144.htm

Egil.

[ofreen]

I just picked up a new Tsubaki Sigma o-ring chain for one of my other bikes. 

Here is what is says about lubrication on the back of the box it came in -"Tsubaki o-ring chains are prelubricated at the factory with a specially formulated high viscosity grease that is vacuum-injected internally and sealed in by the super seal o-rings.  The chain's critical internal parts are prelubricated at the factory, but it is necessary to keep the external parts lubricated with a moisture displacement lubricant.  This will help keep the chain clean and corrosion free and the o-rings pliable."

This is what is says about cleaning - "To clean your Tsubaki o-ring chain,......rotate the rear wheel.......spray a stream of moisture displacement lubricant using the aerosol only on one side of the chain.  After completing 2 or 3 full rotations, switch sides and repeat.  In this manner you have floated the dirt off the chain and now you need to wipe off the chain with a clean cloth to remove excess lubricant and dirt."

The box also says maintenance should be performed every 300 miles or sooner dependent on usage and conditions.

Greg
'75 CB750F

[Hop on a Honda]

Ahh another oily subject!
Grab a ZIP  top plastic lunch bag put your cleaned chain in it wether it be a new or slightly used chain and then flood it with engine oil.
Naturally, leave the tagged and bagged captured chain in a ice cream container and then rotate the bag every day for a few days. This will eventually get the oil well and trully into the rollers.
Any thing heavier than say 20wt willl not get into the chains innards.
Unless>>>
If you can boil the chain in oil  on mums stove, you will get good results.
So will mum!!
Basically yu will have a good spare chain.
Dave,  Australia.

[SteveD CB500F]

When I was a student in the 70's (see avatar), we used chainlube from Duckhams that came in a flat container about the same size as a cooker ring. You coiled the chain and placed on top of the "solid" gunge in the tin and heated until the stuff liquified and the chain sank.

Our flatmates were not (generally) impressed.

[Egil]

Whwe used chain-lube from Duck-hams that came in a flat container about the same size as a cooker ring. You coiled the chain and placed on top of the "solid" gunge in the tin and heated until the stuff liquefied and the chain sank.

My working friends at the Window-Fabric (Cross bikers )  ) tell me the same  as you  they heat in chain-lube but not on full heat on the Owen ,

Egil.   

[Hop on a Honda]

 ::)The Chain lube million dollar question.

Well it's not a question but a story of how to either have a great lubed chain or get to hospital via the ambulance. I had the latter.
I went to a progressive dinner one night I was the only guy! Yummy.
But all the food and all the good plonk was too much for me to handle the deserts.
Lemon Merangue pie Like Lime Pie!!

Being a single man at the time I had better ideas rather than getting too over filled with Post Perineal Fatigue. I declined The one with the beter figure and smile insisted that her pie was and has to be tasted.
Me, being a mere male said OK to impress here as I was being seduced by a very shaply service and smile. and I said 'just a small slice Like 1" please.'

I ate it and with in one hour I was being pumped out at the local hospital and was in a terrible state of affairs. The Police weree called in as a matter of course.
The Final story was the the georgeos female with the best smile happened to have a 17YO boy who like me at the time had Chook Chasers (Dirt Bikes) and had boiled his chain in a pie dish Yes you guessed it the one the mother cooked the pie in!!
Duckhams Chain stuff can.

He just wiped it out and threw it back into the cupboard.
Mum grabbed it and cooked a pie in it.
I ate the small portion of pie. 
I  Nearly died.
Dave Australia.

[Bob Wessner]

Ugh  So, do you still like pie or does it bring back nightmares 

[SteveD CB500F]

Bloody Hell Dave!  (that's English for "Gosh old man")

Any chemists out there?  What's in chainlube that's poisonous?

[Hop on a Honda]

Reply.
The Good stuff was not there at all.
Zinc suppose to have been one part and there was another nasty which would have killed rats cats and other demons.
Man I was actually #$%*ting Chain lube for days! I often wondered how thekid was after mum and the police had hold of him.
He never fronted this Vet!
It was probably a secret Gloria Marshall thing.!!
Dave