Spray

[Four5]

Hello everyone! I wanted to ask you how do you take care of your's bike chain? What spray do you use? I want something that will both keep my motor clean and fulfil its assignments. Can you recommend something?

[Raffles]

[Teflon-Mike]

What bike? What kind of chain?

The Comp-Trials Cota and most of the 125's run 'plain', non O-Ring chains.

The Cota, should get dunked in mud, cow-shite and brine every other Sunday, and the grit from abandoned quarrys is pretty harsh; It's chain doesn't get oiled; it gets taken off at the end of every event, the bike pressure washed, the chain dunked in a coffee jar of diesel; then when I get around to it; pulled out, scrubbed with a nail-brush and some petrol; then when clean put through a hot dip of axle grease in an old sauce-pan on a camping stove in the garden... twice; first time cleaning grease, hot grease and heat boils oiut the old cruddy grease in the links; second dip in fresh hot grease replaces the old, soaking into the links, and setting; chains allowed to drip dry over the pan to let excess escape, then cool; then wiped with a rag before fitting back on the bike before next event... does maybe eight hours, perhaps twenty miles between clean/grease/adjustments..... chains last well though.... only bought one for the thing in twenty odd years... DO need a new-one.... but that's 'cos I lost the coffee jar with chain in it!

This is very 'Old'Skool' chain care, learned from old-boys in the trials world from the 1950's, still active in the sport until a few years ago, when make-do-and-mend was a way of life, and sprockets not a service replaceable part like an oil-filter as now, but sporckets cast into the iron of the rear-wheel hub... works though, but possibly a tad labour intensive.....

The road bikes?

Well, the 125's have like the comper a plain roller chain, no O-Rings. The bikes dont make an awful lot of power to stress chains much, and a plain chain doesn't suffer the frictional losses an O-Ring does, so they are more appropriate to a lightweight, and can last many years and many miles without much 'special' treatment. All that's really required is a weekly wipe when cleaning the bike, and a squib of generic aerosol gunky-stuff.... think that the current can is WD40 brand cos it was on offer some-where when Snowie went to buy some oil... not that she uses much these days having got a shaft drive Guzzi...

The Seven-Fifty has an 'O'-Ring chain.... last one was replaced 'cos the rings all fell off 'cos they were old and perished before the chain wore out of its own accord.....

In theory an O-Ring chain, has grease 'sealed' in the rollers of each link bu the O-ring, and should NOT need any particular lubing; IF lube got to where it was useful, inside the rollers, behind the seals... then seals be bludgered and chain shot anyway...

O-Ring chains ONLY need the lightest of lube on the rollers for when the chain is taken up onto the sprockets.

Actually lubing them, can do more harm than good. Rubber 'O'-Rings seal the grease in the chain's rollers; any spray lube that contains solvents that thin the grease to make it thin enough to spray than are as likely to attack and wreck those seals and let lubrication escape as actually put much lubrication where its any use.

Meanwhile, the 'wear' on the chain and sprockets should only really occur when the rollers are taken up onto the sprocket teeth, and there is metal to metal rubbing.

Put grease there, and grit and crud will stick to the grease, that will then stay on the lands of the sprocket and act like a grinding past to actually HELP the chain and sprockets wear out, as much as lube them during take up....

Hence CLEANING is far more important, on an O-Ring chain than lubing. Get rid of the grinding past that wears them out.

After that; thin oil will 'fling', which isn't much use to lubricate anything if oil you put on the chain and sprockets dont stay there, whilst also making a mess dirt will stick to. Thick oil or grease will more likely stay put... but as warned, will pick up grit and grime and turn to grinding past to accelerate wear....

So, its hobson's choice really.... A-N-D since the chain-lube REALLY isn't going do do much real lubing on an O-Ring chain..... the cheapest crud will do fine... pay attention to cleaning, and do little and often.

Which pretty much applies to a plain chain too.....

If you're running a light-weight on the road, they should last well enough anyway; and a plain chain has advantage for both cost and performance; they are usually cheaper and sap less power; they wear out 'cos you don't clean them, or they are cheap low grade chains to start with, or a bit of both... so keep them clean and pay attention to proper adjustment, and IF you want to go to town, like the comper, you might like to treat the chain to a hot dip at the beginning and end of winter.

Fancy chain-lubes are probably not particularly appropriate; they cost more, and better to save that towards replacement possibly better grade chain next time; while dilemah between thick or thin remains, and theres no substitute for elbow grease cleaning and tensioning 'properly'... remember an over tight chain is as bad or worse than an over-loose one.

On a bigger-bike, with O-Ring chain... possibly more cause for fancy chain lube, but a LOT of the price is marketing, real lube is sealed in the links remember... and more lube dont mean more protection or less wear... dilemah between thin oil and thick, remains with curiocity over solvents in the grease that might attack seals.

SO.. best chain grease to my mind is elbow grease... cleaning and tensioning frequency and discipline, not in the brew in the bottle.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[A100man]

.. A Teff classic.

'That's my boy!'
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Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750, SL1000

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600, Skorpion

[Nobby the Bastard]

[stinkwheel]

I'm currently using muk-off chain spray. Relatively thin and penetrates well. It does fling a bit but not as much as some.

Main thing is it smells like strawberry sweeties.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Ste]

If the chain isn't an antique and is kept lubed then that will negate the need to follow a 12 step program from the 1950's about chain cleaning.

Agree with what Teff says about fancy expensive chain lubes.

For maximum chain lubing for minimal effort you want to get a Scottoiler. There's no need to use their fancy expensive branded oil in it, chain saw oil or even old engine old will do the job quite happily.

[Nobby the Bastard]

[DrSnoosnoo]

I put a Tutoro auto chain oiler on my bike. No more chain oiling for this ginger boy
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I'm Sam; Northern, Ginger, Lover
Did have: '95 ZZR600 '83 CG125 '97 ZZR1100 '15 Hypermotard 821 SP Do Have: '10 ZX10R

[Ste]

[Freddyfruitba...]

Shaft drive. A revelation to me
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KC100->CB100N->CB250RS--------->DL650AL2->R1200RS->R1250RS

[bobbertandsam...]

XCP chain lube is good, doesnt fling much if at all and lasts well.
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Its never easy

[kgm]

I like the wurth dry stuff and the heavy duty one that muc off do. Most of the time I use an auto oiler which is superior for my needs and does a better job of keeping the chain both clean and lubed. A good option if you ride every day but does gunk things up a little. The wurth stuff is good for a bike the only gets used occasionally.

[MCN]

I use a sentence for every link in the chains on all the bikes I've owned.



I was using Profi Dri Lube on almost every tankful.

Now have a Scotoiler with the 'Lub-tube' never lube the chain much.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Courier265]