[Kat-A-Tonic]

Keep us posted in regards to gear oil / chain lube. This could be interesting. I just always used lube because that's how I was taught to maintain my chain.

Same here as I rode mountain bikes for years. However, I spoke to a motorcycle technician a while back and he's part of some girls racing team. The racer worked at Suzuki of Newmarket and I bumped into him there. Apparently, they and other teams use gear oil for chain lubrication. Chain grease and wax is not so efficient as it cannot get into the tight clearances between the moving parts.

He said put the oil on after you ride and by the next all excess oil will have dripped away, reducing dust pick up to a minimum. The mud or sand that gets trapped between the chain and sprocket works as a fine grinding paste, totaling chains in no time and generating heat due to the increased friction.

As for the O-rings, they're leaking and I believe that the finer grit is getting into the wrong places is contributing to their wearing down and weaking the O-ring. Additionally, the chain's internal lubricant main enemy is high running temperatures, which is generally caused by friction. The chain lubricant starts to thin and can seep out past the weakened O-rings as the stress or load increases.

Anyway, I'm no expert but I don't want to drop $250 to replace a chain and sprocket set if I can avoid it.

[slayergsxf1]

I wipe my chain down with a shoprag soaked with w-d40 before I ride. After a ride or two maybe three I'll spray it with PJ1 or the like and let it sit overnight. Before I ride I'll wipe it down with wd to get the excess off then off I go. clean chain well lubed o-rings,clean back rim.I just changed my origional chain and sprocks with 29000+ miles on them.a little extra work maybe overkill but it works..

[MIBagentQ]

I hear using WD-40 is really bad for your chains, something about it working *too* well as a water displacer.

In any case, I also use SAE90 heavy gear oil to lube my chain, cleaning is done with disposable rags and kerosine.

I though that the manual recommended SAE90 oil, I could be wrong and it's just the voices at the back of my head telling me to use it

http://www.webbikeworld.com/t2/motorcycle-chain-lube/

UPDATE: WD-40 and Motorcycle Chains
wBW Visitor "R.S." sent us some interesting information on the use of WD-40 on motorcycle chains:

"Saw your article on using WD-40 for chains and you asked for evidence of potential harm that WD-40 can do, so am attaching a photo. This photo is of a bearing surface from an airplane.

WD-40 as a solventThis is a ball and races in a sealed bearing that had been subjected to regular use of WD-40 for a year or two. The grease was NOT cleaned out before taking this photo - there simply is no grease and the brownish tint is really rust.

The ball had grooves (visible) and was shaped like a potato chip. The races had not evenly worn (see sectioned edge) and were rutted in spots, although neither shows too well.

We learned that WD-40 is really good for the light uses that it was intended for and that needs to be emphasized. However, it is largely a penetrant, which will do just that!

Once it penetrates into the sealed area, it dissolves the petroleum out of the grease, leaving the clay binders. What's left in the bearing is essentially dirt that cakes up, causing the balls to skid. Without the petroleum, the bearing will also rust.

The reason that kerosene and diesel fuel are still favorites and recommended by the chain people is that while both can be penetrants, they are a thicker petroleum and just what the O-rings are trying to seal against. Of course, gasoline cleans about the same, but with thinner viscosity and better penetrating power. In all honesty, I still use gas to clean (I'm lazy), but don't beat the bike often, regularly measure for linkage stretch and sprocket wear, and re-lube on every other tank of gas."

Moral of the story is to not use WD-40 for cleaning motorcycle chains. Does anyone know of a better product that is specifically designed for cleaning a motorcycle chain without dissolving the grease behind the O-rings?

[slayergsxf1]

I hear using WD-40 is really bad for your chains, something about it working *too* well as a water displacer.

In any case, I also use SAE90 heavy gear oil to lube my chain, cleaning is done with disposable rags and kerosine.

I though that the manual recommended SAE90 oil, I could be wrong and it's just the voices at the back of my head telling me to use it

http://www.webbikeworld.com/t2/motorcycle-chain-lube/

UPDATE: WD-40 and Motorcycle Chains
wBW Visitor "R.S." sent us some interesting information on the use of WD-40 on motorcycle chains:

"Saw your article on using WD-40 for chains and you asked for evidence of potential harm that WD-40 can do, so am attaching a photo. This photo is of a bearing surface from an airplane.

WD-40 as a solventThis is a ball and races in a sealed bearing that had been subjected to regular use of WD-40 for a year or two. The grease was NOT cleaned out before taking this photo - there simply is no grease and the brownish tint is really rust.

The ball had grooves (visible) and was shaped like a potato chip. The races had not evenly worn (see sectioned edge) and were rutted in spots, although neither shows too well.

We learned that WD-40 is really good for the light uses that it was intended for and that needs to be emphasized. However, it is largely a penetrant, which will do just that!

Once it penetrates into the sealed area, it dissolves the petroleum out of the grease, leaving the clay binders. What's left in the bearing is essentially dirt that cakes up, causing the balls to skid. Without the petroleum, the bearing will also rust.

The reason that kerosene and diesel fuel are still favorites and recommended by the chain people is that while both can be penetrants, they are a thicker petroleum and just what the O-rings are trying to seal against. Of course, gasoline cleans about the same, but with thinner viscosity and better penetrating power. In all honesty, I still use gas to clean (I'm lazy), but don't beat the bike often, regularly measure for linkage stretch and sprocket wear, and re-lube on every other tank of gas."

Moral of the story is to not use WD-40 for cleaning motorcycle chains. Does anyone know of a better product that is specifically designed for cleaning a motorcycle chain without dissolving the grease behind the O-rings?

29000+ miles on the origional 1993 chain? not bad..I spray it on and wipe it off to get any foreign material off the chain,PJ1 on the o-rings over night then wipe off the excess...

[WildKat]

Lube the chain about every 300 miles or so depending on how often Ive been riding. And clean it off with a heavy dose of kerosene each time. So far so good. I use belray chain lube, stuff is pretty thick and doesnt fling much at all as long as I let it set for a bit before I ride.

[The CyberPoet]

I was planning on installing an automatic chain oiler this past weekend (didn't happen), and then this coming weekend (Jason's Funeral & taking in guests for it will probably eliminate that possibility), but I will get it in before the rally, damn it!

I think 70w90 or straight 90 weight is a good choice for manual applications in warm weather. I know I'll be running standard motor oil in the chain oiler -- the same weight as what's in the bike -- and possibly even simply using my old motor oil as a form of active recycling.

I still have one extra automated chain oiler I'm hoping to sell before the rally -- a full Lubetronic system including the add-on optional remote flow-controller dial.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[md86]

And dude said keeping the chain TIGHT ... No , loose is actually better .
And lately I've been cleaning with kerosene (as usual) and dribbling synthetic 10w-30 motor oil on it .They gave me a couple extra quarts at the oil-change place ! The chain STILL looks wet up to 400 or so miles after I lube it , which I've read is a good thing . I think I'll continue to do it this way and see what happens when I put on my next chain . Seems to be better than wax .

[StevieB]

Hey, how 'bout using your USED motor oil to lube the chain? Advantages:

Free- obviously.
Environmentally friendly- sure, you are leaving little bits of oil all over the place- but you will be doing that, anyway, and at least you aren't consuming more new oil, and leaving it, well, all over the place. The old oil has to go SOMEWHERE...

Hmmmm...

[MIBagentQ]

.... a bottle of SAE90 gear oil isnt *that* expensive ...

[StevieB]

.... a bottle of SAE90 gear oil isnt *that* expensive ...

Yeah, but you just can't any more "less expensive" than FREE!

[tzortn]

.... a bottle of SAE90 gear oil isnt *that* expensive ...

Yeah, but you just can't any more "less expensive" than FREE!

True, but you change your oil for a reason. The oil you remove has been broken down and no longer lubricates properly. Personally I would spend the money and buy fresh oil.

[md86]

That , and old oil has alot of dirt and crud in it , too .

[StevieB]

.... a bottle of SAE90 gear oil isnt *that* expensive ...

Yeah, but you just can't any more "less expensive" than FREE!

True, but you change your oil for a reason. The oil you remove has been broken down and no longer lubricates properly. Personally I would spend the money and buy fresh oil.

As I recall from my college days, the oil does not break down, the additives do- viscosity improvers, anti-foamers, anti-ash agents, etc. So the OIL, still being intact, will still lube.

Any PE's here with a definitive answer?

[Kat-A-Tonic]

.... a bottle of SAE90 gear oil isnt *that* expensive ...

Yeah, but you just can't any more "less expensive" than FREE!

True, but you change your oil for a reason. The oil you remove has been broken down and no longer lubricates properly. Personally I would spend the money and buy fresh oil.

As I recall from my college days, the oil does not break down, the additives do- viscosity improvers, anti-foamers, anti-ash agents, etc. So the OIL, still being intact, will still lube.

Any PE's here with a definitive answer?

It's my understanding that oil doesn't break down but the viscousity increasing polymers do. So, if you have 10W30 oil, eventually it will behave like 10W15 do to this breakdown of polymer chains. If that is the case, you're effectively lubing the chain with a 10W15 oil, which is too thin as far as the manufacturer's recommendation is concerned.

[meanstrk]

Been using nothing but WD-40 on the Aprilia chain since I was new. 11,200 later and I have yet to even have to adjust it once.

I use a Scottoiler on the Bandit though and auto tranny fluid works great in it!