newbie guide: best method to oil lube your chain...?

[wisc]

That is the whole idea of lubing a chain, to keep the orings in good clean lubed condition,

so you lube the two outside bits of the chain then instead of down the middle?

[Aussie Ninja]

WD40 is the go, degreasers can remove the grease packed into the O rings.

I spray silkolene chain lube onto a rag & run the chain through a loop of the rag (just close hand around rag around chain). Do that several times hey presto. Remember you want the o rings lubricated more then anything else. (Keys in your pocket of course dont want the motor runnning for this one)

I know a guy who thought It'd be easier to do this in first. He's missing the top of his middle and ring finger.

[Gosling1]

...so you lube the two outside bits of the chain then instead of down the middle?

Yes - that is the only place to aim the chain lube. You basically have to do 2 complete lubes, one for the LH side of the chain, and one for the RH side of the chain.

[Strika]

...so you lube the two outside bits of the chain then instead of down the middle?

Yes - that is the only place to aim the chain lube. You basically have to do 2 complete lubes, one for the LH side of the chain, and one for the RH side of the chain.

Gos, that would be true if it came out of the can in a fine mist about .5mm wide! In reality, if you watch as it comes out, it spreads about 20mm or more, so as long as you have it spraying one the inside (theory being that centrifical force will spread it to the outside) it should lube both in one go!

And WIsc, my chains last about 30k. thats not through lack of lube let me tell ya. O-ring chains are basically fucked once the o-rings go. WHich is about 30K no matter what ya do. After that, you are really running around on a dodgy chain. Pull one off that's done 15K and feel how much lateral slack is in them. My race chains were always cleaned with kero, boiled in lube, the excess stripped and then stored in plastic till ready for use. they would still be stuffed in half a season. So I'm not a big believer in getting too fussy with them! But he, they tell me flux capicitors double chain life when added to gold valves!

[Gosling1]

I use Motorex White chain lube, when you use the spray-stick thingy that comes with the can, the width of the spray is only about 2mm wide ....you do have to hold the end of the applicator *just* above the chain to get it to work properly...... but its worth the effort, for less overspray...

I just hate spraying big wide sprays along the chain, it gets real messy real quick, and you end up with lube sprayed all over the side of the tyre as well..........

Next chain on the 12 (probably another 2 years at current rate of wear) I am going to try out a non o-ring competition variety.......see how many extra hp it gets me.....

[Strika]

Cause ya need more on the 12

[hoffy]

I do mine every 500k's or so.

Spray it down with degreaser, run it through a rag a few times to pull the chunky bits off it. Then I spray it from the inside with BELRAY, its the olny shit that doesn't fling !!

I always do it when I get home from a ride or when I wash it,

I have noticed if you do it too much, when it gets hot it drips into your fairing.

[zzzak]

You could always call CRC and ask them where you can get a can of Lanoshield and follow this procedure;

Preferably get the wheel off the ground first then spray chain with Lanoshield,expect a large amount of oil/lube to get driven out by the lanolin,there's quite a lot of stuff comes out so do it where it doesn't matter or put down paper or something.

Lightly spray chain when it looks like it needs it a couple more times then forget it forever,I went over 6000k's without any need to adjust but I don't know if that's good or not.

Lanolin is sheep grease which penetrates and migrates as well as bonds with metal so it gets its way through the whole chain eliminating contaminants and also seals it off and once that's done that's it.

You can use the rest of it to soften and waterproof leathers and if you have things like rusted pliers you just spray and leave overnight,then repeat as necessary,mine took two days to free up after about 20 years of stuck.

It'll cost you about $12,oh,and you can spray it on your hands to seal them when you're working on the bike so they wash up easier.

It has more uses than that,get some.

PS.It doesn't throw off either.

[wisc]

Lanolin is sheep grease

are you from NZ?

I dont like the sound of it sealing it up etc... ohh well let us know how long your chain lasts, you might have found the next big thing.

[zzzak]

Lanolin is sheep grease

I dont like the sound of it sealing it up etc... ohh well let us know how long your chain lasts, you might have found the next big thing.

Sealing it is good as it means that no crap can get in there,the reason I know aqout this was a program that was on the ABC a few years ago showing lanolin in action.

Apart from being an excellent anti foul for barges on Lake Macquarie it also improved the barges fuel consumption by a third was one instance but the one that intrigued me was when they used it on a ganged lifting chain on a forklift,the owner of the forklift was amazed and said that from replacing the chain every six months they now inspected it every eighteen (if I recall correctly) and that was why I got some for the bike.

I haven't used it on the 9 yet but on my KTM motard I adjusted the chain once in three years.

Go and spend the $'s while you can still get it as they withdrew it from the market.

Clicky.

[ross79]

Lanolin is sheep grease

I dont like the sound of it sealing it up etc... ohh well let us know how long your chain lasts, you might have found the next big thing.

Sealing it is good as it means that no crap can get in there,the reason I know aqout this was a program that was on the ABC a few years ago showing lanolin in action.

Apart from being an excellent anti foul for barges on Lake Macquarie it also improved the barges fuel consumption by a third was one instance but the one that intrigued me was when they used it on a ganged lifting chain on a forklift,the owner of the forklift was amazed and said that from replacing the chain every six months they now inspected it every eighteen (if I recall correctly) and that was why I got some for the bike.

I haven't used it on the 9 yet but on my KTM motard I adjusted the chain once in three years.

Go and spend the $'s while you can still get it as they withdrew it from the market.

Clicky.

Where do you buy it from?? Definately will to give it try!

[zzzak]

Best to call CRC on 1800 224 227 and ask where the closest stockist is.

[Tenoq]

I didnt think that was correct as you want to get it inside the orings so they spin right?

That is the whole idea of lubing a chain, to keep the orings in good clean lubed condition, the rest of the chain will last way longer than the orings. Use kero, wd40 gets past the oring and destroys the encased grease inside the roller. Any chain manufacturer says that on their websites.

The whole idea of o-ring chains is that they're sealed and don't NEED to be lubed. Therefore the only bit that really needs some help with lubrication is the contact points between sprocket & chain. The lube/wax also assists with preventing rust - but it's not being used to 'top-up' the lube inside the o-rings.

[Rossi]

Your chain doesn't need much cleaning if you just ride on normal streets. WD-40 and a rag is about all you need and even then not very often.
If you use gear oil, oil the warm chain after your last ride of the day using a brush (not an oil can). Put something under the chain to catch the drips and wipe off excess with a rag. Let sit overnight.
If you use WD-40, spray on warm chain any time. Give it a couple of minutes to drip off or wipe off excess with rag. Ride anytime. Fly-off is moderate.
If you use spray-on lubes, be sure to spray onto a warm chain. Do not over saturate. Spray it on the inside of the chain. That way on your next ride it will be slung outwards, through the chain.
For O-ring chains, lube the chain hot. Spray PJ1 Blue Label chain lube directly at the center of the rollers at the rear of the rear sprocket. Move the rear wheel slowly and continue to apply. Let it dry.
Clean-up: Oil and WD-40 are the easiest to clean up but also can create the biggest fly-off mess. PJ lubes or Chain Wax leaves the least amount of fly-off, but can build up on the chain itself.

Tips:
Quick Tip: Warm the chain, lube every 500 miles, don't get any on the tires, don't ride bike right after to work it in wait 20 mins for the solvents in the propellant to disperse, and remove excess after your first ride.

[Johnnie5]

i used a sprey bottle filledwith kero, an old tooth brush and Chain wax. I used it use Motul oil and yes it goes very sticky, but i find little rocks and crap get stuck to it, so i tend to stick with the wax as its not sticky.

if ever i have a free moment in the evening, i usually go out inspect the chain and just give it a light wax over, that way i keep the wax upto it all over,
then usually every saturday ifi have been riding lots otherwise ever second weekend, sprey it all down with the kero clean all the rocks and crap out do all parts of the chain, clean the teeth on the sprocket and the guide rails then get a light sprey of water clean all the kero off, then using a rag wipe the chain down, this also helps pull any extra oil and dirt off the chain.

Once thats done, i usually put a light film just a quick sprey to lubei t up a little, take the bike for a raz around the block, pull in, back up on the stand go crazy on teh lube, sit there spin the wheel and go both sides of the chain.

works a treat i usually go thru a can of chain wax which is $20 in about 3-4 weeks. Big 4L bottle of kerp is roughly $10 and thats about it!!!!

if you are doing a $20 can every 3 weeks there is something wrong

kero can often be found in old servos sold by the litre from the pump a whole lot cheaper