Drive Chain Thread

[RXX]

I swear to Allah I am going to get a Pro-oiler for the Triumph. This 200-mile lube schedule is bullshit. 
I kind of freaked when I realized how small the chain is relative to the bird. (525 v 530) although it may just be in my head.

Going down the rabbit hole, the specs on my bike show it is using a discontinued DID chain. I see a replacement in my future. 
 

[rockmeupto125]

No worries. Oil it when you can, it's an o-ring chain, and strong enough for your needs.

[CALCXX]

No sweat Phillip.

600 mile day, lube it after you unpack it for the night.

 

Not sending 180hp thru it.

Save the burnouts and clutch wheelies a little closer to home.

[Zero Knievel]

18 hours ago, RXX said:

I swear to Allah I am going to get a Pro-oiler for the Triumph. This 200-mile lube schedule is bullshit. 

 

It does make it easier on long trips.  Even on the XX lubing at the end of the day wasn't always effective (500-800 miles).

[SwampNut]

This is once a day, do it as part of the morning pre-ride check, packing, etc.  I previously mentioned the Silkolene version in another thread, same thing.  Silkolene has a mini-bottle version to save space.  Unlike oil and wax, this doesn't make a mess.  It doesn't go anywhere.

 

 

 

 

Caveat:  I fortunately had very few rain rides

 

Funny musing:  I have never lubed the chain on my rental bikes.  I've checked them at the end and they seemed fine.  My longest rental was 1700 miles.  Makes me think that maybe we are over-thinking this?  The Pan America has the same chain, more horsepower, slightly heavier.

 

 

 

Silkolene's Chain Lube Lineup

• Silkolene Pro Chain — fully synthetic racing chain lube, O-ring safe, sold as a 50ml aerosol concentrate. In a direct head-to-head test, it beat PJ1 Black Label on every measure: it lasted about 1,000 km per application (vs. PJ1's ~500 km), survived 1–2 rain events (vs. PJ1's one), had less fling-off, and the reviewer called it "really weatherproof" and the clear winner on price-per-volume.

[RXX]

8 hours ago, SwampNut said:

This is once a day, do it as part of the morning pre-ride check, packing, etc.  I previously mentioned the Silkolene version in another thread, same thing.  Silkolene has a mini-bottle version to save space.  Unlike oil and wax, this doesn't make a mess.  It doesn't go anywhere.

 

 

 

 

Caveat:  I fortunately had very few rain rides

 

Funny musing:  I have never lubed the chain on my rental bikes.  I've checked them at the end and they seemed fine.  My longest rental was 1700 miles.  Makes me think that maybe we are over-thinking this?  The Pan America has the same chain, more horsepower, slightly heavier.

 

 

 

Silkolene's Chain Lube Lineup

• Silkolene Pro Chain — fully synthetic racing chain lube, O-ring safe, sold as a 50ml aerosol concentrate. In a direct head-to-head test, it beat PJ1 Black Label on every measure: it lasted about 1,000 km per application (vs. PJ1's ~500 km), survived 1–2 rain events (vs. PJ1's one), had less fling-off, and the reviewer called it "really weatherproof" and the clear winner on price-per-volume.

Bel Ray is what I have at home. I hit a little can of PJ1 for the trip. You know, the Bel Ray does not come with a straw and that PISSES ME OFF.

I am lubing in the evening when I am a little more limber.

[superhawk996]

On 9/7/2026 at 1:03 PM, RXX said:

I kind of freaked when I realized how small the chain is relative to the bird. (525 v 530) although it may just be in my head.

Lots of people do 530 to 525 conversions on liter bikes without issues.  All else being equal, the 530 should last longer, but I've not heard of issues with 525s even when run hard.

[Zero Knievel]

9 hours ago, RXX said:

Bel Ray is what I have at home. I hit a little can of PJ1 for the trip. You know, the Bel Ray does not come with a straw and that PISSES ME OFF.

I am lubing in the evening when I am a little more limber.

If it helps, clean and save an old jelly jar to hold a cleaning rag so you can pack it in your kit without messing up other items.  Even with the Pro-Oiler, I’d bring a rag and bottle of kerosine to occasionally clean the excess grime off the chain.

[tomek]

 525 is pretty much standard OEM chain on liter superbikes, R1, Ducati V4, Aprilia V4, Gixxer 1000, etc.

 Those bikes make 40-50 percent more power than XX, so,,,, of course 530 will last longer. 

 

 The other subject I'd argue it is better to lubricate chain at the end of the day when chain is still warm vs. cold one in the morning. 

Edited September 9 by tomek

[rockmeupto125]

Us old guys are really focused on chain oiling 

 

Bear in mind that the new chains are sealed units. When you lube them, what you are really doing is washing the road grime and abrasives off the o-rings, z-rings, whatever your favorite brand espouses. And making the outside shiny do people don't think you didn't oil your chain like a slacker.

 

Will your chain last longer if you oil it? Sure, because there are less contaminants to hasten the wear of the seals.

 

Of course, I refer to modern high performance road chains, off road and special purpose chains are often "seal-less".

[superhawk996]

It goes beyond cleaning, I can hear the difference between a freshly cleaned dry chain and an oiled one.  The links have seals and lube inside, pretty sure the rollers never do.  I was watching a bike being dynoed and on the last run the guy lubed the chain and picked up measurable power, I think it was around 5HP.  If he'd given it enough lube, or time, to get into the rollers it would have likely made even more of a difference.

[tomek]

The chain had to be really, really  fucked up to gain 5 hp by oiling.😁

 

 Back in the day, or around 2019 just B.C. (Before Covid), I and TFT were riding together from Palmer Alaska back to the states. We splitted off around Jasper Alberta. 

 It was raining on and off pretty much all the way to that point. Around 2000 miles? Maybe longer? He was on his XX, chain obviously, I on vfr1200f-shaft. 

 We would always lube chain at the end of the day, but it also desperately needed service around half way point. I remember specifically him pulling to the some food joint in Prince Rupert BC after 100 % rain till this point, and his bike sounded like T34 in desperate need for new tracks. 

 I don't miss chain maintenance, half bad if bike has center stand, really annoying without it. 

Edited September 9 by tomek

[tomek]

 Whatever unobtanium product chain makers use to lube/wax/grease lasts good couple thousand of miles.

 You never ever get as much milage from home lubing your chain does not matter what commercialy available product you use, or what chain maintenance rituals/religion you follow. 

Sad, or maybe even conspiracy. 😄

Edited September 9 by tomek

[Zero Knievel]

1 hour ago, rockmeupto125 said:

Bear in mind that the new chains are sealed units. When you lube them, what you are really doing is washing the road grime and abrasives off the o-rings, z-rings, whatever your favorite brand espouses. And making the outside shiny do people don't think you didn't oil your chain like a slacker.

 

Will your chain last longer if you oil it? Sure, because there are less contaminants to hasten the wear of the seals.

 

Seals in new chains prematurely fail because of heat drying them out.  Oiling not only cleans out abrasives but also keeps the seals moistened longer than not cleaning and oiling...which can triple the life of the chain.

[SwampNut]

13 hours ago, RXX said:

You know, the Bel Ray does not come with a straw and that PISSES ME OFF.

 

[RXX]

14 minutes ago, SwampNut said:

 

Sure, I am pretty resourceful so I stole the straw from wifey’s WD 40. The company says a straw is not needed but I need one for the chain oiler tool I use at home.

 

Thanks for the reassurance, Tomek. FWIW, by the time I get unloaded, change out of gear, get a pipe and the lube kit and get back to the bike the chain has reached equilibrium with the ambient temperature.

3 hours ago, tomek said:

 525 is pretty much standard OEM chain on liter superbikes, R1, Ducati V4, Aprilia V4, Gixxer 1000, etc.

 Those bikes make 40-50 percent more power than XX, so,,,, of course 530 will last longer. 

 

 The other subject I'd argue it is better to lubricate chain at the end of the day when chain is still warm vs. cold one in the morning.

[rockmeupto125]

1 hour ago, Zero Knievel said:

 

Seals in new chains prematurely fail because of heat drying them out.  Oiling not only cleans out abrasives but also keeps the seals moistened longer than not cleaning and oiling...which can triple the life of the chain.

You mean like your mainshaft and wheel seals?

[tomek]

3 hours ago, RXX said:

 

 

Thanks for the reassurance, Tomek. FWIW, by the time I get unloaded, change out of gear, get a pipe and the lube kit and get back to the bike the chain has reached equilibrium with the ambient temperature.

Fair point BUTT😁

 

-mornings are typically cooler vs. evenings

 

-lube sitting on the chain overnight has more time to sneak into tight places instead of flying off if you start riding shortly after lubricating the chain.

 

-excess will end up on the ground vs. rear wheel, etc. 

 

-there is a good chance your hand(s) will get dirty when lubricating the chain. Do you really want it to happen after you checked out of the motel, or be forced for extra trip back to the room to clean your hands? 

 

So, there you have it. BTW, in case you have not noticed, sometimes I just like to argue.🤪

[RXX]

42 minutes ago, tomek said:

Fair point BUTT😁

 

-mornings are typically cooler vs. evenings

 

-lube sitting on the chain overnight has more time to sneak into tight places instead of flying off if you start riding shortly after lubricating the chain.

 

-excess will end up on the ground vs. rear wheel, etc. 

 

-there is a good chance your hand(s) will get dirty when lubricating the chain. Do you really want it to happen after you checked out of the motel, or be forced for extra trip back to the room to clean your hands? 

 

So, there you have it. BTW, in case you have not noticed, sometimes I just like to argue.🤪

Great points, 

BUTT… I guess I did not explicitly state that I lube the chain after I check in, but I do.

18 hours ago, RXX said:

I am lubing in the evening when I am a little more limber.

Just to prove you are living in my head rent-free, here is a picture I took just. for. you. without the yellow helmet at Niagara Falls today. Goober told me to tell you “Hi! Rock on, dude!!”

[superhawk996]

9 hours ago, tomek said:

The chain had to be really, really  fucked up to gain 5 hp by oiling.😁

I don't recall it looking old or shitty.  The bike was making just under 200hp so 5 is a small percentage.  The guy's goal was 200 and no amount of tweaking would get it there, a squirt of oil did it.

 

It was kinda funny, I asked "do you think lubing the chain might get it there?" and before I finished the guy on the bike was smiling and said "I was thinking the same thing."  He left it idling in gear, gave it a spray, re-ran it, and got a 200hp printout for his customer.

[poida]

i installed one of these on my bike a while back and it's been working well.

would be especially handy for the bikes that dont come with a centre stand

 

 

https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_nkw=motorcycle+automatic+chain+oiler&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_odkw=motorcycle+chasin+oiler&_osacat=0&_sop=15

[tomek]

3 hours ago, superhawk996 said:

I don't recall it looking old or shitty.  The bike was making just under 200hp so 5 is a small percentage.  The guy's goal was 200 and no amount of tweaking would get it there, a squirt of oil did it.

 

It was kinda funny, I asked "do you think lubing the chain might get it there?" and before I finished the guy on the bike was smiling and said "I was thinking the same thing."  He left it idling in gear, gave it a spray, re-ran it, and got a 200hp printout for his customer.

That would be 2.5 % gain. Complete bull shit territory. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would buy 2.4 % gain but 2.5%? Never.😁

 

 

 

 

 

[tomek]

BTW, MotoGp bikes use 520 chain. 300 hp. New chain every race weekend. Or 300 miles.

 

[SwampNut]

That seems like a lot of work and money to avoid buying a spray can.