Chain cleaning

[Busa05_KY]

I finally spent more than half a day cleaning and detailing my LE after my 4000 mile trip and used Simple Green to clean the wheels and chain.  Worked very well.  I did use WD40 on the rear hub near the sprocket to clean the overspray of the Maxima chain wax I use and it worked better (quicker) than the green.  BTW, non ammonia Windex worked better than Plexus for removing the massive amount of dead bugs from the bodywork.  An old toothbrush helped around the seams and blinker pods too.  Its a good thing Suzy put a heavy screen over the lower part of the radiator as it was nearly clogged with little rocks and such.  Oh yeah, after the initial oil change at 700 miles or so, I changed to Amsoil before my trip at around 3200 and now at 7000 its not used a drop of oil.  

 

Sounds like a nice trip. Only half a day cleaning. It seems like I do that before every 100 or so mile ride. LOL

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

CBX you have the best pics, hahah I'm jealous!!!

Thanks! Its a Canon 35mm. Not a digital but when I have the film developed I also have the pics put on a disc for loading into the PC.

 

[jwcfbd]

I would only use it to soak a rag and then wipe down the chain with that. It will wash all the grease out of the chain and it's hard to get it back.. I hosed my chain down with WD 40 until it ran clean and had to replace it after the weekend of riding.

It didn't matter what I put on it. It would run quite for a little while but then it would dry up and bind. I think I killed the o rings so no lube would stay in it. I had to keep adjusting my chain the whole weekend long. One reason I was glad to have the center stand installed on my bike. I had to adjust my chain while sitting on the side of the road while riding at the Gap

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

"One reason I was glad to have the center stand installed on my bike. I had to adjust my chain while sitting on the side of the road while riding at the Gap"

Not that you need it now but have you seen this? Great product for traveling w/o a center stand. Makes lubing and adjusting the chain a breeze.

http://www.motorcycleradar.com/quick_stand.htm

 

[rc51ny]

I've always cleaned my chains with wd-40. I didn't know it would hurt anything. I spray the chain in sections and scrub it clean. Then I wipe the entire chair and spray with lub. Now I'm hearing this might not be good?

 

[Busa05_KY]

"One reason I was glad to have the center stand installed on my bike.  I had to adjust my chain while sitting on the side of the road while riding at the Gap"

Not that you need it now but have you seen this?  Great product for traveling w/o a center stand. Makes lubing and adjusting the chain a breeze.

http://www.motorcycleradar.com/quick_stand.htm

Not to get off topic but i am anyway. You say you had to keep adjusting your chain everywhere. "glad you had center stand". The first couple of time i adjusted my chain i did it with the rear wheel on the ground. I even showed a neighbor with a busa how to adjust chain this way. I would just kick the tire from the rear while adjusting to make sure everthing seated. I now have a set of race stands for at home. Only way to go!

<!--EDIT|Busa05_KY
Reason for Edit: "Sorry quoted wrong member, one up."|1152879055 -->

 

[Wag]

. . . used Simple Green to clean the wheels and chain. Worked very well . . . .

BTW, non ammonia Windex worked better than Plexus for removing the massive amount of dead bugs from the bodywork.

That foaming Simple Green works great on chains, especially if you're using wax. That's all I use now for chain cleaning.

Same with the Windex. There's a green version which has vinegar in it and no ammonia. Great stuff for an all-over body cleaning.

--Wag--

 

[bigoltool]

I'd really like to hear more facts about WD40 ruining chain O-rings. I actually soaked one of the O-rings from an RK 630 chain in WD40 a few years ago and it never swelled, deteriorated, or showed any signs of degradation whatsoever after over a month immersed in the stuff.

 

[BusaWizard]

All I used was WD40 on my chain never had a problem. Applied Maxima chain wax after cleaning.

 

[redkat05]

is the WD-40 damaging to STOCK chains or aftermarket? I use PJ1 for lube

 

[jch364]

I use wd and kerosene and simple green. or any combo of that... wd works just as good as kerosene to me if not better i think. I was looking at another post about this sort of thing and some one posted about taking that front sprocket cover off. I did that today and cleaned a huge amount of junk behind it. I was wanting to do that for a while now. wow am i glad i did. I had been using suzuki's chain wax for about 1600 miles now and i hate it. gets everywere and sticks to everything. gets clumpy and drips when it gets hot... I hated that stuff. Went to belray today and after i cleaned the holy crap out of the whole thing front to back i put the belray on it.... I love how it went on. I think im in love... gonna throw that suzuki stuff in the trash...

 

[HeloMech74]

I have been using WD40 to clean my chains on everything from my dirt bikes and ATV's to my Busa. I have never once in my 20+ years of riding experienced a failure or issue with my chains because of the use of WD40. I cleaned my chain the other day with WD40, soaked it down real good, used a grunge brush to scrub the crap off it, used an air nozzle to dry the chain and make sure all the excess is off of it, then coated the thing down with Amsoil Chain Wax. The key to WD40 is making sure all the excess is out of the chain so the wax and other lubes will stick and do their job.

 

[dadofthree]

I believe WD40 has to be close to kerosene from the smell of it, anyway, just used wd40 a few weeks ago. Then I followed it up with a chain wax and the chain wax actually removed a lot of junk from the oring area that apparently the wd40 didn't. I'll be using the chain wax in the future. Chain running very quite these days too.