hi birds,

my chain gets a thick coat of grime n dirt on it. was told tat must be cleaned off to better its life. how do u all clean ur chain? hav been told by my bikers frens to use kerosene. manual said use some sort of a solvent. mechanic said dun ever use anythin other than a piece of unwanted rag as using either would damage e o-rings. so once more, wat do u all say?

pai

i don't clean mine at all. i just oil it. last chain on this same bike lasted about 30k miles. :grin:

Yea, but how can you stand to look at it? :bigpuke:

When your're riding, only the guy behind you has to look at it.

You mean that you don't sit and just look at your Bird? :grin:

Get yourself a can of cheap chain lube, clean with this.
Once clean you can get the good stuff out.
Clean & lube every 200 to 300 miles.
23,000 miles on the original and it is still going strong.

Leave it alone. Cleaning can only do harm, not improve life.

You guys are bad. The poor guy asks a legit question and you give him nonsense. Seriously speaking, I use Dove soap. It's mild on the chain. And when the chain's got dandruff, I use Head & Shoulders shampoo.

Huh? He got answers, we reserve the right the add in humor and bullshit too.

You can use various degreesers, as long as they are not harmfull to rubber. Tsubaki even recommends the WD40......
Use an old toothbrush, works good for me.
If you only lube the chain, the mess is just building up. And look for the best ballance in the chain lube, between to easy to fly off and to sticky !

http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0208_geek/


Cheers,

hey that looks like roadrash in the picture in the link above!

Nah, I gotta agree with Swampy on this one...if you clean the chain the way they say to (with a bruch, a rag, and some sort of solvent), yer gonna fuck it up. When you wash the bike, spritz the chain to get most of the crud off, lube it, and LEAVE IT ALONE! No, seriously. I've seen two chains trashed by cleaning them (one my own); I o-rings/x-rings don't hold up well to that kind of treatment, it seems.

Bryan...makes a chain squeaky-stiff, it does...

Here is what Sport Rider Magazine has to say about it.
http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0208_geek/

Yup, that's how I did it-the chain dried out, stiffened right up, and got pretty close to useless. I'll never clean another chain.

Bryan...just my 2 cents...

it's really good to give your chain a hard scrubbing with a fine toothed toothbrush ...

....and some good lube to really PUSH that grime and abrasive dirt and dust into the inner workings of the o-rings..... or x-rings..

:shock:


.... sorry, just kidding

Those guys are fucking morons. A "stiff bristled brush" is the dumbest thing to use on your chain. Even DID says so on their site. A toothbrush is marginally better. ANY brush will end up getting into the rings, the worst possible thing for your chain.

SwampNut, I was just joking around, being facetious, and adding a little humor myself. That's why I added the ridiculous statement: "I use Dove soap. It's mild on the chain. And when the chain's got dandruff, I use Head & Shoulders shampoo." Lynx60 :lol:

I personally clean my chain twice a season, in July and then before I store the bike sometime in October.
I use diesel on a rag to clean the chain. I don't let it sit in diesel though! and I don't use a brush...
I clean the sprokets at the same time.

Once the chain is clean, I remove most of the diesel, go for a quick ride then lube the chain while it's still warm!

That's it!!! :cool:

I wasn't talking about anyone here, I was talking about the Sport Rider Magazine idiots. I wouldn't call anyone here a "moron."

We get excellent results on our atv and mc chains by cleaning with WD-40, wiping the chain dry, and then spraying each end of the rollers with Chain-Wax (brand name). Once the carrier evaporates, the chain is left with a dry, non-sticky film that lubricates the O-rings and does not attract dirt. Frequency of cleaning depends on usage. Spraying the outside surfaces of the chain links is unnecessary. duh.

I have always used a high flashpoint solvent, my preference is kerosene. You know kerosene is just a refined diesel, and a great parts cleaner that will not harm your chains o-rings. I wipe off the chain with the kerosene and a rag, then dry with another rag. Ride for 10 miles or so at highway speed, then lube it with chain wax (parafin based), which is recommended for o and x-ring chains. Let it dry. No splash, no mess. I used it strictly on my 900RR race bike, and in 5 seasons never replaced the chain.

You decide. :wink:

moose chain scrubber, I got one for my XR400 and went ahead and got one for the XX too

works great, when I commuted on the XX I lubed and adjusted every week ( 700 + miles a week ) then cleaned once a month.