Drive Chains, care and cleaning of.
- Thread starter Wag
- Start date
Holy smokes.... My thoughts. Although the rollers are "sealed" via O or X ring, there are side plates as mentioned. Some form of lube is needed, be it WD-40, wax, oil, kerosene I don't care really. If you've never done it, clean your chain with Kerosene or a chain cleaner like 611. Then go over the entire chain with ATF, yeah trans fluid. It has an a very good dry film cleaning agent and fricition modifiers. Don't lube it, just go back over the chain to clean any residue up. Finally dry it thoroughly, go for a 15 min ride or so. Now, ride around a few days, and when it rains make sure you ride in it, if no rain, soak your chain with tap water from a garden hose, then ride and repeat a few times. It will only take a few days and you should see rust on the rollers, and side plates. Rust is never good. If your WD-40 prevents rust then trust in it and be happy.
Me personally, I use 611 cleaner and a grunge brush and old t-shirt to clean the chain. I clean it when the gold side plates are no longer gold, but more of grunge, black, etc... After cleaning, ride to heat the chain, put it on the stand and wax, let sit til cool to prevent flinging. I don't saturate the wax on the chain either, just enough to cover the plates and roller faces. I do wipe off the excess wax that gets on the cush drive hub also, to prevent attraction of gunk. BTW, I have over 17,000miles on the current chain and everytime I clean, I inspect the rollers, plates, sprocket etc. for wear and have no issues.
Question, all this talk about lubing and I have seen no mention about dry film lubricants for friction reduction and temp reduction, why not? Guess since it's about time for to replace my chain, for prevention of wiping out the casing etc., then I might as well grab some dry film lube and have it, report my findings etc and hope all goes well.
Charlie
Me personally, I use 611 cleaner and a grunge brush and old t-shirt to clean the chain. I clean it when the gold side plates are no longer gold, but more of grunge, black, etc... After cleaning, ride to heat the chain, put it on the stand and wax, let sit til cool to prevent flinging. I don't saturate the wax on the chain either, just enough to cover the plates and roller faces. I do wipe off the excess wax that gets on the cush drive hub also, to prevent attraction of gunk. BTW, I have over 17,000miles on the current chain and everytime I clean, I inspect the rollers, plates, sprocket etc. for wear and have no issues.
Question, all this talk about lubing and I have seen no mention about dry film lubricants for friction reduction and temp reduction, why not? Guess since it's about time for to replace my chain, for prevention of wiping out the casing etc., then I might as well grab some dry film lube and have it, report my findings etc and hope all goes well.
Charlie
And to that, I will end up taking my old chain and baking it at 300*, and ramp it up to 400* to check the o-x ring tolerance to high temp heat. I've seen some rubber applications on our bikes that seem to tolerate much higher temps while baking the powder coating process. So, if the chain sealing rings tolerate the heat, I will purchase some thermally bonded dry film, maybe Slickote or Neely Industries for use in high tension sheer and friction application to test... whats your thoughts?
I have a gun smithing buddy who told me that there are two formulas of WD-40. Both were used for machine gun lubes and cooling, however, the older formula evaporated within a month leaving nothing. I know machine guns and drive chains are two different animals but...metal to metal and heat?? Maybe someone should go on to AR15.com and find out what those guys outside of Kalifornia use as a lube on their machine guns? Just a thought.
While deployed, I use ATF to clean the weapons system, and dry graphite to lube. Of course if you mix the graphite with any oil it makes a nasty gummy mess. The Army uses a product called CLP, Clean, Lubricate and Protect. It smells nasty, and the MSDS has made me really question its widespread use in the manner in which the Army employs it. Too thin to use on a chain, and really attracts dust and dirt, but works great in its intended use, lubing weapons sliding parts.(ranch41 @ Jan. 09 2007,20:30) I have a gun smithing buddy who told me that there are two formulas of WD-40. Both were used for machine gun lubes and cooling, however, the older formula evaporated within a month leaving nothing. I know machine guns and drive chains are two different animals but...metal to metal and heat?? Maybe someone should go on to AR15.com and find out what those guys outside of Kalifornia use as a lube on their machine guns? Just a thought.
The most notable observation I have to make is that my first chain was cleaned regularly and lubed with PJ Blue, possibly a couple of other lubes. It lasted 15,000 miles.
The second chain was also cleaned regularly and lubed exclusively with Maxima Wax after every ride, religiously. It also got 15,000 miles. Really, it was kind of stretched out a little because it seemed like I may have pushed it a little longer than I should have. However, 15K, just to be fair.
Point, of course, is that the Maxima wax was NO benefit over the PJ Blue for me.
I'm going to switch to some sort of silicone spray for this next chain which I'm installing tomorrow if all goes well.
--Wag--
The second chain was also cleaned regularly and lubed exclusively with Maxima Wax after every ride, religiously. It also got 15,000 miles. Really, it was kind of stretched out a little because it seemed like I may have pushed it a little longer than I should have. However, 15K, just to be fair.
Point, of course, is that the Maxima wax was NO benefit over the PJ Blue for me.
I'm going to switch to some sort of silicone spray for this next chain which I'm installing tomorrow if all goes well.
--Wag--
Using a degreaser for cleaning and WD-40 to lube. Local dealer did me a favor when they replaced my rear tire and that crap is all over me and the bike.
I clean and lube the chain every 300miles.
My original stock chain lasted over 30,000miles. First I used PJ1 Blue but switched to PJ1 Black because it foams on instead of spraying past the chain.
I've put another 20,000 miles on my 2nd chain, DID x-ring, and no sign of stretching yet. I expect to get 40,000miles since x-rings are more durable than o-rings
The dirt and grime attracted by lube doesn't bother me because I CLEAN it every 300miles.
My original stock chain lasted over 30,000miles. First I used PJ1 Blue but switched to PJ1 Black because it foams on instead of spraying past the chain.
I've put another 20,000 miles on my 2nd chain, DID x-ring, and no sign of stretching yet. I expect to get 40,000miles since x-rings are more durable than o-rings
The dirt and grime attracted by lube doesn't bother me because I CLEAN it every 300miles.
Nah...
once in a while is no biggie.
I can't believe I've almost put 20k miles on my "new" chain
(BA BUSA @ Jan. 09 2007,22:46) @165 his chain should last 50K
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh(BA BUSA @ Jan. 09 2007,22:49)165
how much do you weigh numnuts
yeah, I weigh 165
All muscle baby
Sorry, my briefs were on too tight last night. That was Breakfree not WD-40. Disregard my earlier post.(CAT3 @ Jan. 09 2007,20:59)While deployed, I use ATF to clean the weapons system, and dry graphite to lube. Of course if you mix the graphite with any oil it makes a nasty gummy mess. The Army uses a product called CLP, Clean, Lubricate and Protect. It smells nasty, and the MSDS has made me really question its widespread use in the manner in which the Army employs it. Too thin to use on a chain, and really attracts dust and dirt, but works great in its intended use, lubing weapons sliding parts.(ranch41 @ Jan. 09 2007,20:30) I have a gun smithing buddy who told me that there are two formulas of WD-40. Both were used for machine gun lubes and cooling, however, the older formula evaporated within a month leaving nothing. I know machine guns and drive chains are two different animals but...metal to metal and heat?? Maybe someone should go on to AR15.com and find out what those guys outside of Kalifornia use as a lube on their machine guns? Just a thought.
I go by the Suzuki owners manual, I figure Suzuki may know a little about the bike since the designed and built it. The manual says 1. Wash the chain with kerosene. Kerosene will lubricate and clean the chain. 2. Allow the chain to dry, then lubricate the links with Suzuki chain lube or equivalent. The maintenance chart recommends that you clean and lubricate every 600 miles. The manual also recommends that you inspect and adjust the drive chain BEFORE each use. I think this, the inspection and adjustment BEFORE use, is the key to extending the life of your chain and sprockets. I have followed this guidline since my bike was new, useing kerosene to clean and chain wax to lubricate, and my stock chain has 27,000 miles on it with no sign of excessive wear on the chain or sprockets. I have seen many posts on the subject of chain maitenance and I always wonder why some feel the need to reinvent the wheel and come up with alternative methods to service their chain.
as a desert racer this is a very important subject to me, and I have done everything to try and make a chain last. And the best method so far has been to put on a new chain and keep it adjusted properly and dont put anything on it.
I know my raptor aint a busa, but I guarntee my chain takes more abuse than anything on the street. It is covered in dirt most of the time and take a ton of stress every time I ride. Here are some pics of the last hub and sprocket I took off that I am gonna junk. The chain was still good and had no kinks in it, I still replaced it just because I did all the sprockets at the same time.
this is the inboard side
the outboard side, notice the worn teeth and the 3 broken studs in the hub? That is the reason it's junk, I dont feel like messing with the studs. Have you ever broke the mounting bolts on your sprocket??
close up of the broken stud, it just sheared off.
So I am gonna go with no lube for now, if a chain can live through that with out lube and still be considered good then it ok with me. Oh the chain had been on there for about 5 months of riding, which included 4 races. Usually with a chainwax chain I would get 3 months before it would start kinking.
I know my raptor aint a busa, but I guarntee my chain takes more abuse than anything on the street. It is covered in dirt most of the time and take a ton of stress every time I ride. Here are some pics of the last hub and sprocket I took off that I am gonna junk. The chain was still good and had no kinks in it, I still replaced it just because I did all the sprockets at the same time.
this is the inboard side
the outboard side, notice the worn teeth and the 3 broken studs in the hub? That is the reason it's junk, I dont feel like messing with the studs. Have you ever broke the mounting bolts on your sprocket??
close up of the broken stud, it just sheared off.
So I am gonna go with no lube for now, if a chain can live through that with out lube and still be considered good then it ok with me. Oh the chain had been on there for about 5 months of riding, which included 4 races. Usually with a chainwax chain I would get 3 months before it would start kinking.
I'm still thinking this through. As for reinventing the wheel is concerned, you can ALWAYS make something better. Look at the LONG list of mods available for everything from apearance to performance to safety! Everything can be made better in some way, even maintenance.
--Wag--
--Wag--
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