How often should I lube my chain? I though it was after every ride, but my chain is now white in places from the wax, and I've got a little on the wheel, turning it blue. I've never noticed it before until my fiance pointed it out, and now it's really embarrassing. How do i fix that, and how often do i oil the chain to avoid doing this every day?

General rule of thumb that I've heard is about every 500 miles, or a little more frequently if you've been riding through the rain.

Look at the rims of your tires, if the lube is flying off onto them all the time, you're putting on too much or too often.

...and you'd normally clean the chain, such as with WD-40, before you lube it with wax, so that the wax doesn't build-up.

I would never use WD-40 on my chain. That crap will be all over every thing. Lube every ride or about 300 miles. It does not require a lot on the chain.

yeah wd40 is not the best thing to use on oring chains.  I've always been told not to clean it with penetrating oils.  Heard the same thing about rubber gaskets as well.

dunno know if it's the absolute truth, but i've always tried to follow it.

Jake

um...this might be stupid too...
how do you lube the chain?...
where do i spray?

I'm gonna guess you spray umm....THE CHAIN :nana:

dont' you use the tube that attaches to the 'spray'???
if so...it sprays straight...so should i spray both side of the chain (left and right) and both side (top and bottom) of the chain?

WD40 should be fine for the chain.  It is a little messy but cleans easily.  When you spray, aim directly into the middle so that the spray hits both orings.  That is the only place you need to lube.  WD40 is great for Orings because it will get any crap out, but it is still a lubricant.  Does absolutely no damage to the orings.  We tested orings submerged in wd40 for months with no change to flexibility or strength.  Did that in a lab back at Texas A&M.  I got an A.  So there ya go.

Madman

Quote from: madmanWD40 should be fine for the chain.  It is a little messy but cleans easily.  When you spray, aim directly into the middle so that the spray hits both orings.  That is the only place you need to lube.  WD40 is great for Orings because it will get any crap out, but it is still a lubricant.  Does absolutely no damage to the orings.  We tested orings submerged in wd40 for months with no change to flexibility or strength.  Did that in a lab back at Texas A&M.  I got an A.  So there ya go.

Madman

hmm. that's  weird experiment and unusually specific to the topic, but I'll tak hard data over years of overheard ramblings any day.

jake

ya wd-40 is o-ring safe...it's the cans of carb. cleaner that will melt those o-rings right up......I learned the hard way and I don't suggest it.

the best way I have found is to put the bike up on the center stand and pop it into neutral. DONT let it run cause that could be dangerous....Just spray and keep spinning the rear wheel untill you circle around. [this is after you clean it really good] then just take a rag and spin the tire again getting all the excess gooop up [this is what flies on to your wheel]

while your down there on the ground now is also a good time to clean the brake rotors also...Auto-Zone sells some cleaners for brake rotors btw....


-Jace-

I've always heard that in the long run WD-40 is not very good for the o-rings on the chain.  I still use it on mine to clean before applying the chain lube, though.  I guess I'll take your scientific reasoning over anything else I've heard though  

ASLAM.

I don't lubemy chains anymore.  It just makes a mess.  I  cleanthe chain with WD40 occasionally.  

Conventional wisdom also frowns on tacky chain lubes because they cause the chain to throw O-rings.

Quote from: GisserI don't lubemy chains anymore.  It just makes a mess.  I  cleanthe chain with WD40 occasionally.  

Conventional wisdom also frowns on tacky chain lubes because they cause the chain to throw O-rings.

Can we have some proof on how lube doesn't do anything to help your chain?

where's that texas A&M lab when you need it?

I could be wrong, but I think Gisser is saying that he is using WD-40 to clean and lube his chain. He's not applying anything specifically called motorcycle chain lube after the WD-40.

FWIW, I've been doing the same for the last 5 years. I apply liberally to clean the chain and then wipe off as much as I possible can. Although there is more spray than a lube when I start riding, it wipes off much easier.

When I was riding about 20 years ago, PJ1 Blue Label was suppose to be the lube to use as it claimed to be "No Fly Off". It wasn't and I hated the mess it made of my rims and the crap that collected on my chain.

That said, I was planning to try a chain wax for the first time as I heard some good things about them. Supposedly it doesn't fly off and doesn't attract much dirt. We'll see about that.

There's so much religion in chain-lube land that I'm not going to even try to answer that.  Or maybe I should just say "use k-y jelly" and let you wonder.  But on practical matters, I have a piece of cardboard next to where I park every night; I push the cardboard, and curve it up behind the chain.  I put my foot on the cardboard on the floor to hold it in place, then spray the chain (with my chosen lube!), and all the extra spray ends on the cardboard.  The cardboard has turned completely blue from all the overspray!

3IN1 OIL WORKS WELL FOR CHAINS :dunno:

Extra virgin olive oil works well, but only on Ducatis.

Quote from: joefromsf

That said, I was planning to try a chain wax for the first time as I heard some good things about them. Supposedly it doesn't fly off and doesn't attract much dirt. We'll see about that.

I use a wax and it seems to be staying on pretty well...or alteast 10x better than the old blue/grease/ stuff I was using for awhile. I'ts not 100% fling-off proof but it does stick and stay pretty well