Chain cleaning and lube

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
16
Location
western colorado
Just bought a new to me ride 2002 Suzuki Bandit showing 13,500 miles. What is the best cleaning methods and lube for drive chains in 2018?
 
You don't want to ride it after 2018?
laugh.gif


Just sayin', there is no new miracle this year. The same chain cleaning & lube advice that is everywhere still applies. Look the chain over good in case it needs replaced.
 
Clean with kerosene and a rag or brush. Let dry, then lube with one of a dozen good chain lubes in a spray can. I like Maxima Chain Wax, been using if for many years with good results.
 
It depends on your usage and goals.

Things that seem to help chain life include:
1. Keeping the chain scrupulously clean. May not be an option depending on how you use your bike (e.g. rainy day commuter, vs fair weather recreational toy).
2. Keeping the front and rear sprockets well aligned. I use a laser alignment tool.
3. Buying good chain models (not just a particular brand, but a higher end chain from that brand).
4. Lube matters if it keeps the chain from getting rusty. E.g., for a bike that sits outside all day in the rain.
5. Applying something to the chain that keeps the orings from drying out is good.

The best chain life I get is from a mostly fair weather bike where I regularly clean the chain with WD40, but don't apply lube.

If the bike will see much bad weather I probably will lube, at least for the bad weather period. If the bike is my bad weather commuter, I'll run a chain oiler, and might do no other chain maintenance except slack adjustments. With an oiler I seemed to get better results (certainly not worse) than I've gotten with the 4-500 mile clean and lube intervals some recommend, and with far less effort. Chain gets "clean" by slinging off dirty oil. Bike can become an oily mess. Make sure the rear tire doesn't.
 
Originally Posted By: dadinfo
Just bought a new to me ride 2002 Suzuki Bandit showing 13,500 miles. What is the best cleaning methods and lube for drive chains in 2018?


Congrats, is this Bandit 1200 or baby one, 600?

^ All advice is spot on
smile.gif
 
Thank you for the information nothing new I've been riding shaft drive for awhile. Now a Bandit 1200S for my retirement years🇯🇵
 
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Clean with kerosene and a rag or brush. Let dry, then lube with one of a dozen good chain lubes in a spray can. I like Maxima Chain Wax, been using if for many years with good results.
Kerosene is often recommended by chain manufacturers, and is what I use. I currently use Klotz KLR, but used Maxima Chain Wax as well. Maxima takes better care of the chain, but Klotz keeps my rim clean.
 
All I ever did on my Ducati chains was hit them with blue can Dupont Multi Use Lubricant (o-ring safe) after a ride when chain still hot/warm, about every 300 miles interval. Up on ctr stand, spray and rotate wheel, spray, etc. Let it migrate under the rollers for a bit, turn an old cotton athletic sock inside out (terry side out), slide onto hand, rub that chain down. Good as new. Chains went 21K-23,000 miles that way before chain and sprocket change out. Bike was 160hp and 92 lb-ft tq so chain lived a working life.

The stilt has a CARC reactive shaft drive and I'll never go back to chain again.
 
Originally Posted By: Gillsy
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Clean with kerosene and a rag or brush. Let dry, then lube with one of a dozen good chain lubes in a spray can. I like Maxima Chain Wax, been using if for many years with good results.
Kerosene is often recommended by chain manufacturers, and is what I use. I currently use Klotz KLR, but used Maxima Chain Wax as well. Maxima takes better care of the chain, but Klotz keeps my rim clean.
. X3
 
I ran out of chain cleaner spray so using a thin film spray lubricant to clean the chain (wd-40 or generic equivalent), scrub with brush, wipe with rags, allow to seep out, rewipe with rags (removes excess lube & more crud), allow to dry while I do oil/filter change, wipe once more with clean rag; spray chain with maxima chain wax, let bike sit for lube set up (a few hours to a day or so); I usually lightly relube again for corrosion resistance (excess will sling off and take loose crud with it...rear wheel and tire appearance will suffer); sometime I get lazy and will only relube every 300-400 miles without thorough cleaning...
 
Some may find this odd, but for cleaning I discovered an excellent cleaner is actually the chain lube itself. With most lubes the carrier is actually and excellent solvent before it evaporates. I spray some on a rag and wipe the chain down, that gets it pretty darn clean, and maybe use a brush to get in the crevices. Then hold the rag under the chain and spray through the chain, the rag will catch the excess running out of the links along with alot of the crud. Then wipe it down a few more times afterwards. Pretty easy and effective.

Over the years I've used alot of lubes. I ended up using that Dupont Multi Use stuff, and it works great dirt or street, and is clean. I've used Chain Wax too, works good too but it will get crusty on the side plates and sprocket. What really doesn't work in my experience is WD40. When I was road racing I used that for a season upon advice from someone "in the know" because allegedly some MotoGP used it. No good, I've never had those aluminum sprockets wear so fast as they did with WD40. Never saw that with any other "lube".

My advice is to use the above method and do it fairly frequently, it doesn't take much effort and it's the not having a bunch of grit stuck in gooey lube that'll get you the most hassle free miles.
 
The yellow cap Dupont Chain Saver seemed to cause my chains to collect a little bit more grime than when I used the blue cap Dupont Multi-Use. Yellow cap boasts moly in add'n to ptfe so maybe that was it, don't know. Both are great products. It was always the new formula blue cap which I used... but the old formula was supposedly even better.
 
A good chain cleaning tool brush is something worth having and only costs a few bucks. One should give the chain on a used bike a real serious cleaning and checking out the chain and sprockets. A thorough cleaning and a good lube of the chain is always a good thing.

https://www.revzilla.com/search?_utf8=✓&query=chain+brush
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top