Chain Lubes... What's Hot and What's Not

[daneilah]

Apply in this fashion while the bike is in gear.  Fingers come nowhere near the chain or sprocket and the overspray doesn't go onto unwanted areas of the bike.  Can lube my chain start to finish in under 60 seconds.  :mrgreen:

[Mountaineer]

Thirty years + of chain lube, currently use Suzuki chain lube which goes on thin, thickens up and gets messy if you use too much. As it says on the can, "Use sparingly".

Lately I've found a way to place a folded newspaper behind the chain, against the chain guard, which catches most of the overspray. I turn the rear wheel backwards by hand and let the little red extender tube rest on the chain rollers (just in front of the big sprocket) as it turns.

Before all that, I use kerosene, an old aluminium baking pan on the ground to catch drippings, and an old paint brush to paint the chain while I turn the wheel. I would never do this with the engine running for fear of getting something caught in the chain, like fingers, brush, etc.

[Mountaineer]

In other words, just like in the picture above.

[Kerry]

I use a similar method to daneilah's, but without involving the left hand.  I spray the chain just aft of the footpeg, so any overspray ends up on the ground in front of the rear tire.

The cardboard is a nice touch but when I do this on the side of the road (on a long trip) I usually don't have anything like that in my luggage....  :mrgreen:

Sometimes this method is frustrating because the chain keeps jumping up and down in the middle of the lower run.  That just tells me that it's time to adjust the slack. :x

Let me just confirm that using a rag (or touching the chain with anything) while the bike is running is a big NO NO.

[daneilah]

... Let me just confirm that using a rag (or touching the chain with anything) while the bike is running is a big NO NO.

'zactly!