My first bike

[Lurch]

I just keep slack in my chain. I don't measure it. I haven't adjusted chain tension in 15 years. The last bike I had, a 2007 United Motors V2S 250R didn't need it in the 2 years I owned it.

This bike doesn't need it either, and the way I ride doesn't stress the chain much at all. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a year or two before I even have to adjust it.

 

[CaspianM]

Yes lubricate your chain to avoid getting hot during heavy use. A hot chain would elongate and slack changes creating bad throttle response. Not to mention a dry chain would wear the spoke prematurely.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: Lurch
I just keep slack in my chain. I don't measure it. I haven't adjusted chain tension in 15 years. The last bike I had, a 2007 United Motors V2S 250R didn't need it in the 2 years I owned it.

This bike doesn't need it either, and the way I ride doesn't stress the chain much at all. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a year or two before I even have to adjust it.



Not to be rude but your posts are a bit confusing. In one post you express the need to properly maintain motorcycle components including the chain yet in a subsequent post, you claim that you seldom adjust the chain????

With an O-ring chain, adjustment is more critical than lubrication. The chain is already lubricated. To me, adjusting the chain is more important than unnecessary lubrication. Cleaning the chain occasionally with WD-40 or similar cleaning fluid will help prolong the O-ring life which in turn will help preserve the seal that keeps the grease in.

In order of importance: A) Adjust chain, B) Clean chain, C) Lube chain.

No one is saying we can't talk about it. However, when we go into infinite details about the wonders of different chain lubrication that really isn't a necessity with modern O-ring or X-ring chains, I feel that we digress from the most important aspect of chain maintenance. Adjustment!

 

[CaspianM]

I agree. A chain needs to be properly tensioned/slacked but lubing is as important. They are mutually exclusive imo.
Besides lubing is more frequent than adjutment. A new chain needs to be adjusted a few times during its first 1k miles but then it is almost all lubrication every few hundred miles.

 

[Lurch]

To OP :

That's a nice bike and you might really like it a lot. Don't necessarily swap it up for a bigger bike if you really like it and it's comfortable. You might like the MPGs it gets, and that will go down with a bigger bike. Don't trade it just to keep up with the Jones' or your friend that has a 600 or a 900 or whatever. Just let you be the judge of the bike. I've had bikes that size before that I really liked to ride and I didn't compare them to other bikes.

When you're out on the road with it, it's just you and the machine. No one else. Enjoy it for what it's worth.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: CaspianM
I agree. A chain needs to be properly tensioned/slacked but lubing is as important. They are mutually exclusive imo.
Besides lubing is more frequent than adjutment. A new chain needs to be adjusted a few times during its first 1k miles but then it is almost all lubrication every few hundred miles.


My chain(s) get adjusted whenever the rear wheel comes off. So far that's been four or five times. Mostly to change tires or repair a flat. As I posted earlier, I give the chain a shot of WD-40 ever three hundred miles if I'm riding on dirt roads or every 500 miles if riding only on pavement. The O-rings seem to like the cleaning. The KLR chain has close to 20,000 on it and looks like lots of life left in it yet. Can't be too bad or a routine.

 

[Lurch]

Originally Posted By: boraticus

Not to be rude but your posts are a bit confusing. In one post you express the need to properly maintain motorcycle components including the chain yet in a subsequent post, you claim that you seldom adjust the chain????



You just aren't satisfied unless you're in some type of argument with someone, are you?

You may know it all about bikes, but I'm not going to take advice from an "expert" that's trying to cram it down my throat.

I've ridden for over 40 years and I take very good care of my bike these days. My bike will probably be just fine whether I read your replies or not.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: Lurch
Originally Posted By: boraticus

Not to be rude but your posts are a bit confusing. In one post you express the need to properly maintain motorcycle components including the chain yet in a subsequent post, you claim that you seldom adjust the chain????



You just aren't satisfied unless you're in some type of argument with someone, are you?

You may know it all about bikes, but I'm not going to take advice from an "expert" that's trying to cram it down my throat.

I've ridden for over 40 years and I take very good care of my bike these days. My bike will probably be just fine whether I read your replies or not.


Now that was a little rude!

Do as you wish. Makes no difference to me.

I post primarily for the benefit of those who need common sense solutions for motorcycle maintenance. Putting lots of emphasis on lubrication yet not adjusting the chain just seems a bit unbalanced from a maintenance perspective.

Adjust your chain first kids! You can experiment with lubrication all you want afterward. I've found very little advantage using anything over WD-40. I've got a shelf full of chain lubes collecting dust.

 

[Vesparado]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
...I post primarily for the benefit of those who need common sense solutions for motorcycle maintenance...


LOL! They say one good belly laugh a day is good for you....so, thanks.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: Vesparado
Originally Posted By: boraticus
...I post primarily for the benefit of those who need common sense solutions for motorcycle maintenance...


LOL! They say one good belly laugh a day is good for you....so, thanks.


Try a mirror. You'll be set for life.

 

[CaspianM]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
Originally Posted By: CaspianM
I agree. A chain needs to be properly tensioned/slacked but lubing is as important. They are mutually exclusive imo.
Besides lubing is more frequent than adjutment. A new chain needs to be adjusted a few times during its first 1k miles but then it is almost all lubrication every few hundred miles.


My chain(s) get adjusted whenever the rear wheel comes off. So far that's been four or five times. Mostly to change tires or repair a flat. As I posted earlier, I give the chain a shot of WD-40 ever three hundred miles if I'm riding on dirt roads or every 500 miles if riding only on pavement. The O-rings seem to like the cleaning. The KLR chain has close to 20,000 on it and looks like lots of life left in it yet. Can't be too bad or a routine.


The The WD-40 solution is fine if it works for you.
I just don't see the benefit of this over say Honda chain spray solution that I have and use it time to time.
The only reason I don't use it more often is bacause it sprays my wheels and tires. I kind of prefer it to drip rather than shoot. Just kidding. It is all fun to take care of our rides no matter how.

 

[boraticus]

The nice thing about WD-40 is that it cleans well and leaves only enough lubricant behind to do the O-rings some good. If some does drip or spin onto the wheel, it's easy to clean off.

I've participated in KLR650 forums that have had extensive discussions concerning chain care and lubrication. Many participants use the same method as I at similar intervals with excellent results.

I, myself have used spray on lithium grease, Castrol and Belray chain lube, engine, gear and transmission oils, and a couple industrial application outside gear and cable lubricants. I saw no conclusive evidence that any of them worked any better than WD-40 but all were much messier to work with. So, if there is nothing to be gained in exchange for the mess, why bother?

 

[CaspianM]

All chains are spec'ed to use gear oil 75W-90. I used to use it but once dry it is hard to clean. Hence I opted for synthetic motor oil such as 15W-50 M1 MC oil and use it by brush followed by ragging it a bit. WD-40.. I have no idea what it is so I don't use it.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: CaspianM
WD-40.. I have no idea what it is so I don't use it.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

Interesting thing is that it is supposedly 50% kerosene.

 

[Craig750]

I am going through the chain lube evaluation at the moment as mentioned in an earlier post.

I might give the WD40 a try. I like to here that nicely damped roller noise from a lubed chain. If the rollers are bouncing around making all that metal noise it makes me cringe. There may be nothing to it as I have read that most of the wear is at the pins and not the rollers.

The most important thing I seem to keep reading is to keep the o-rings conditioned with lube to help keep their life and job of sealing all the good grease inside the chain.

I had one of those LoobMan oilers and it only last a couple of weeks before I threw it in the garbage bin.

Sometimes the slack can be interpreted wrong because someone may push on the chain harder than what the slack was spec'd for. I did that in my younger days and was continually chasing a stretchng chain and scratching my head. I new from motorcross they needed more slack because of the geometry. So I pulled the shock lever and checked it and that's when I realised that it was too tight. Slack was in spec if you pulled on it hard.

 

[Lurch]

Originally Posted By: CaspianM
All chains are spec'ed to use gear oil 75W-90. I used to use it but once dry it is hard to clean. Hence I opted for synthetic motor oil such as 15W-50 M1 MC oil and use it by brush followed by ragging it a bit. WD-40.. I have no idea what it is so I don't use it.


I'm going to try using synthetic or even Dino motor oil to see how it works. I have all kinds of leftover oils so I might as well.

I have some WD-40 too but I don't plan to put any on my chain. WD-40 is a very controversial thing to apply to a bike chain. Some swear by it, and some think it should not be used on bike chains because of possible damage to O rings. I use it on some things, but not on a bike chain. It's very smelly, and I'm not fond of smelly petrochemicals.

I'd probably like WD-40 better than an aerosol chain lube but I haven't gotten to use it on a bike chain yet and I don't know if I ever will. I don't doubt that it works good but I only need one chain lube so I can't use them all.

Some people take the chain off and put it in a pan of hot grease, then let it drip dry, then put it back on. That sounds like more work than I'd want to get into. Great way to lube the chain though.

Some use kerosene to clean a chain, which is also very smelly.

I do think gear or motor oil works very well. My chain is not noisy with these oils, and I apply them regularly.

 

[CaspianM]

Quattro Pete, thanks for the link.
Lurch, WD-40 is 50% mineral spirit (paint remover) and 15% light oil.
It is more of cleaner than a lube. It bearly coats the chain with a thin oil. I would be reluctant to spray mineral spirit (paint remover) on my chain!
When I bought my Honda 919 the chain was actually coated with light lithium grease from the factory. I think lithium is extremly temp durable and provides excellent protection as wear resistence due to its moly and mineral content. I did some experiment with lithium grease diluted with motor oil for better penetration applied by brush. It worked well. I might go back to it for another try.

 

[boraticus]

Lubricants applied to the external components of the chain will provide rust protection and hopefully help condition the O-rings. There will be very little if any lubrication qualities on external parts within a few miles after being applied.

The essential lubrication that keeps the chain efficient is the grease packed into the pins within the rollers which are sealed with the O-rings. Keeping the external components of the chain clean is more beneficial than applying a lubricant that serves little or no otherwise purpose. WD-40 will clean the chain and O-rings and leave a thin coating to inhibit rust. Of course, any lubricant applied to the exterior will be subject to being washed off if exposed to sufficient amounts of water. After riding in wet conditions, it wouldn't hurt to give the chain a blast of something to keep it from rusting.

From my experience, external lubricant applications are more for cosmetic appearance of modern O-ring/X-ring chains unless the application has cleaning capabilities.

Chains are coated at the factory primarily to keep rust from developing on the chain during transit. Same goes for new chains packaged in boxes.

 

[CaspianM]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
Lubricants applied to the external components of the chain will provide rust protection and hopefully help condition the O-rings. There will be very little if any lubrication qualities on external parts within a few miles after being applied.

The essential lubrication that keeps the chain efficient is the grease packed into the pins within the rollers which are sealed with the O-rings. Keeping the external components of the chain clean is more beneficial than applying a lubricant that serves little or no otherwise purpose. WD-40 will clean the chain and O-rings and leave a thin coating to inhibit rust. Of course, any lubricant applied to the exterior will be subject to being washed off if exposed to sufficient amounts of water. After riding in wet conditions, it wouldn't hurt to give the chain a blast of something to keep it from rusting.

From my experience, external lubricant applications are more for cosmetic appearance of modern O-ring/X-ring chains unless the application has cleaning capabilities.

Chains are coated at the factory primarily to keep rust from developing on the chain during transit. Same goes for new chains packaged in boxes.

Good post.
I agree that surface lube is short lived and that is why I always reg it down after application. However, I leave it on for winter storage and lithium works great as an anti-rust agent.

 

[RonH]

I don't know about all this talk but can only relay my own experience which is 300,000 miles+ on chain drive motorcycles. No lube will last in dust or rain conditions so WD40 probably works fine in these conditions as a chain lube. In dry conditions there can be no doubt a dedicated lube provides more lubrication than WD40 and yes lube is important. Adjusting chain is important too, and if you don't lube you will be adjusting every 500 miles.
Two "tests" if you will, I've done over the years, as I said I get 50-60K out of a chain. One time I lost my chain lube during a trip and went to a motorcycle shop and all they had was PJ1. I'd never tried it but thought it should be OK, so I spray it on, ride 500 miles down the road and find my chain has stretched majorly. I adjust, next day, same thing,ect. That lube did not work-period-.
The other test is take your dry chain out for a 50 mile interstate run, feel how hot it is. You'll be shocked. Do the same ride after lubing and note the difference and tell me lube is not needed.