Chain Maintenance

[Nijinsky3]

Also, I was told, and try to go by....clean and lube the thing after every ride and it should last longer. Sometimes time prevents this, but I was wondering if anyone else did it after every ride and what the difference is they noticed on chain life??

 

[thrasherfox]

I have cleaned my chain once, that was when I switched from Grease to wax.

I used engine degreaser

I wax it EVERY ride.

I usually place my can of wax in the middle of my garage when I leave for a ride.

As soon as I get back, before I strip my leathers off, rear end up on stand and apply good thick coat of wax.

I do a visual inspection of chain also at the same time I am waxing it for proper tension and for any other signs of problems.

But I always take it easy when I ride so I don’t worry about it too much

 

[vincent]

WD-40 would be bad if left on the chain and had a chance to completely saturate it. If you just using it for cleaning and then you wipe/blow excess off you are good. Also, since you are supposed to apply wax/grease when the chain is warm, after cleaning with WD-40 I always go for a 10 to 20 minute ride before waxing. No problems yet.

 

[oldguy]

wd-40 will not hurt your orings.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi....#000000

 

[Ideal Automotive]

Mobil 1 grease bleeds a bit, which is good for getting lube into tight spots. Mobil 1 75W-140 would be another product that I'd try.[/QUOTE]

i wonder if mobile 1 would work good on a chain and sprockets,,because i have always disasembled sealed bearings on other things and replaced the factory grease with moble 1 and have had great results,,just like RC car racing ,everyone could not figure out how my bearings were outlasting theres atleast by 5 races longer,,mobile 1 grease was my secret and it worked great

 

[gtrpimp76]

Surpised to see how many folks use WD40-- there's been a few tests where it's shown to be detrimental for cleaning chains.

Exactly. WD-40 DOES NOT CONTAIN KEROSENE. Many claim that it is kerosene based but even the WD-40 website clearly states that is DOES NOT CONTAIN Kerosene.

http://www.wd40.com/Brands/wd40_faqs.html

 

[DAB]

Found this on another forum (forums.cycleworld.com):

"What WD40 is:

WD stands for WATER DISPLACEMENT COMPOUND NUMBER 40, WD40.

It is made up of:
Aliphatic Petroleum Distillates (Stoddard solvent) CAS NUMBER 8052-41-3 (70 %)

Petroleum Base Oil (Mineral Oil, Heavy Paraffinic) CAS NUMBER 64742-65-0 (20%)

Non-Hazardous Ingredients (10%)

It is NOT "kerosene".

WD40 does not work well as a chain lube due to the fact that 70% of what you spray on it evaporates after time.

WD40 does not provide any thick lubrication for the side plates and the rollers of the chain or the teeth of the sprocket.

WD40 works GREAT to displace the water from your chain after you have ridden in the rain or after you have washed you bike.

An o-ring chain is SEALED and lubed internaly. Any chain lube you put on the chain only lubes and protects the outer surfaces of the chain.

Most of the chain lube that is used keeps the o-rings of the chain from drying out and protects the chain from rusting.

Using WD40 to clean your o-ring chain is a great use for WD40.

Using WD40 to displace the water from your chain is another great way to use WD40.

Using WD40 to lube your chain is a fair use for WD40.

There are much better products for lubing your chain."

 

[BLU88]

i put it up on the stands spray some honda degreaser and clean with a rag. go ride for about 15 minutes to get it warm .. throw it back on the stand and put some spectro chain wax on.
normally about every 1000 miles , i have been cleaning it more often since going to the track. normally day after the track. ( so every week lately)