Chain cleaning question?

[Casimir]

Make sure you keep your fingers away from the chain if you do it this way.  

A friend in college lost a finger when it got pulled through the sprocket.  

[Lars]

I also never clean the chain anymore. When I was using chain wax, I HAD to clean it, because of all the dirt that stuck to it. I've changed from chain wax to a mixture of bearing grease and 70W90 gear oil.  . Bearing grease is to thick to get into the chain, and 70W90 oil flies off for the most part, so I made a mixture. It sticks to the chain and doesn't  attract a lot of dirt like chainsprays do. (And it's much cheaper for me)
I never clean the chain because the big dirt particles fly off (imagine the G forces the particles experience when the chain changes direction at the small sprocket and you're driving 100 mph).
The really really small particles will be flushed into the chain when you clean it, only making things worse.

I think if you don't "disturb" the chain, it's the best way to keep the grease in the chain that's added from the factory. Anything that gets past the O-rings will "pollute" this grease and shorten the life of the chain.

[surferbikerdude]

The mechanics where I bought my bike reckon petrol (gas) is the way to go. Didn't know that the manual recommends kerosene??? Cool. I think I will go & read that part again. =)

I just get a tooth brush (my irritating sisters is usually the one 1 use) and brush the chain down. Pity the tooth brush smells like petrol after I use it, otherwise she'd never know..

Petrol works OK, it gets most of the muck off. If you do it regularly, the dirt doesn't build up and then cleaning it isn't such a mission.

In any event the manual also says you <u>should</u> clean your chain every 1000km (600 miles) to make it last as long as possible. (I'm sure no one wants to waste money).

I've been cleaning it every 1000km like the good manual says, and the chain still looks like new..  :lol:

L8r.
Will

[Mike Harman]

After searching these messages for chain info, I'm kind of shocked to see that no one has mentioned Suzuki chain lube. I have been using it for years, and it seems really good. It goes on thin, penetrates and then quickly thickens. It's a bit messy but for my old 1978 GS400X, not a problem. I also usually removed the chain and cleaned it in varsol, which disolves grease and oil faster than anything. I use an old metal rectangular cake pan to soak and brush the chain several times.

Now that I have a new (2001) GS500, I'm looking to give the O-ring chain my best shot. It looks to me like cleaning with kerosene and following with the Suzuki chain lube is it. Any other ideas?

[JohNLA]

Ideally, WD40 to clean and lube it if I do it every three days is my prefered method but I use PJ1 and Maxim when I don't have time to stay on top of the WD40.
I am up to 16K miles on the stock chain and sprockets with little sighn of wear.

[oldsport]

I've put 250k miles on motorcycle chains without ever cleaning one.  I get about 20k miles average on DID O-ring chains on the GS.  

Similar experiences to gsJack's. You can lube it ever once in a while and they last 20k miles Or you can clean it with kerosene and lube it and they last 20.0001k miles.

I've seen kerosene in the camping section of some of the big sporting goods stores.  

OS

[alerbaugh]

Just ran into the garage but couldn't find the stuff I use exactly but it's a chevron product for transmissions I think.  Really runny.  I use the centerstand techniqueand when I'm done give it lots of gas to get as much of the initial flyoff as possible.  Then just wipe off the rear tire.  I do this probly every 300 mile and no problems thusfar.

[Dave Fowler]

A good friend of mine with a CBR600 used to clean his chain by putting it on its centre stand, putting it in first and holding a rag up to it. He did this many times until he took his right hand index finger clean off last summer! The finger stalled the engine (no low end torque on those things :lol: !) and his girlfriend had to retrieve said digit by turning the rear wheel till it dropped out. Needless to say, it was far too mangled to be reattached.
Just be bloody careful if you do it like that!

I don't think there's really a viable shortcut other than doing it the old fashioned way i.e. scrubbing with a brush and parrafin (kerosene).
My biggest mistake was leaving a new chain with little lubricant in the garage for a couple of cold winter weeks after a good soaking in the rain. It was covered in rust when I next saw it and has looked completely buggered since, even though its fine mechanically. Ill always spray it with something before putting it away when its wet now.

Watch those fingers!

[Casimir]

He did this many times until he took his right hand index finger clean off last summer!

A friend in college did the same thing!   I certainly learned from his mistake!

That's right up there with "Hot exhaust pipes look identical to cold exhaust pipes." I learned that one from personal experience at age 7.

[christiaan]

Will the additives in coleman camping fuel harm o-rings?
I read it is Naptha based, not sure what that means.
I also hear that some airport fueling stations will see 100% kerosene.
All other sources of kerosene in the USA will have additives.
These either make the kerosene smell nice or sticky.

[TheGoodGuy]

OMG this thread starts about a year back..

[The Buddha]

O ring chain = no gasoline... kerosene I dunno...
Now I clean everything with dish washing liquid... Then just lube it back. I use a grunge brush... that weird 3 sided brush that has really hard bristles and wide adjustable jaws ... dip it in dish washing liquid... and spray water on the chain... Then run the brush up and down the chain... 1 foot at a time topside and bottom side... repeat till whole chain is foamy. Then water it all off, then wd40 it and then ride for a few mins at good speed and get it all dry, then lube it... The bike should preferably be warm to hot before you start this... cos you want to start it and ride fast ASAP... to get the water off using the G forces. WD 40 disperses water very well and then lube it with your favorite lube... PJ1 for me.
Cool.
Srinath.

[alerbaugh]

i use a chevron product that is a gear lubricant.  Its very light and i too use the centerstand method.  I use it and then roll thru the gears in the grass to get all the excess off.  Then i wipe off the rear tire and ride off.

[aslam]

I was gonna mention that whole 1st gear thing is not a good idea to GSJack.  I have seen photos of people that have lost fingers by holding a rag to the chain while it's in gear.  Though he was saying he just sprays it.  May just wanna play it on the safe side.  

Anyways, I have heard that kerosine will not weaken o-ring chains, though WD-40 will.  In the end though, I think the chain will rust itself out and meet end of life before the WD-40 weakens the o-rings enough to be a problem.

So, yeah, I use WD-40 too.

ASLAM.