Topic: cb350f chain question

[billjetpilot]

Hello:

I just picked up a 1974 CB350f with 2200 original miles. The bike has very little rust and is in very nice shape. My question is: Would you replace the chain? The chain is original, but has almost no stretch and the sprokets look like new.

Thanks for you help

[dave500]

if its not obviously rusty and not seized up at all ,itll be fine,you might like to take it of and make sure its still flexible

[socalenduro]

and well done picking out the coolest bike ever made

[flybox1]

and well done picking out the coolest bike ever made

+1   

check/replace your masterlink.
i would suggest wipping your chain clean with a rag loaded with simple green to get any crud off.  (dont do this with the bike running as sprockets and chains eat finger and hands.  there are nasty pictures of this )
get a good can of chain lube and apply it a few times.  it should last you a while.

[HondanutRider]

These chains with a master link are much easier to remove than modern "linkless" varieties.  With the chain off the sprockets you can soak it in a kerosene and scrub it down with a brush, all in the messy solution of kerosene.  Then you can dip a rag in the solution and wipe down the sprockets to clean them.  Remove the chain from the kerosene dip/wash and dry it off with a rag or really get messy by blowing it dry with an air hose.  Then you can coil it up and spray it all over with a good chain lub, preferably the wax-based ones that tend to cling better.  Lubing it off the sprockets is much easier and thorough than on.  Re-install on the sprockets, adjust tension, and you're set to go.  Make sure the master link clip is seated and in the correct direction before you are finished.

Another old-school technique before the days of spray cans of chain lub, was to heat the chain up in the oven in a pan or on the stove in a pot with good axle grease on it.  (My mom balled me out for doing that one time.)

It's a dirty, messy job - however you do it...but its gotta be done.

[333]

Heating up the chain is an important part of lubing.  When the chain is on the bike, lubing should be done directly after a ride.  A ride long enough to produce some friction heat.  The idea is that as the chain cools off, the lube gets sucked inside the rollers, where it is needed the most.  If you apply a chain wax to a cold chain, it'll never soak in.