my chain is rusty!

[Gsxxx600]

grrr.

over winter, there must have been some water on my chain, the plates are rusty...can i still use the clean after a good cleaning?

thanks

[brett]

Once something metal becomes rusted it is much weaker and alot of the time somewhat brittle. I'm not a bike expert or anything but common knowledge to me would say replace the chain.... Chain and sprocket set ~$100 on ebay. Doctor bills because your chain broke, caused your rear tire to lock up and you went sliding down the highway at 65+MPH Who knows? Not to mention replacing helmet and leathers.... Spend the $100 and play it safe....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Suzuki-GSX-600-750-Katana-Chain-and-Sprocket-Set_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35600QQitemZ4608086407QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[bamarama]

Once something metal becomes rusted it is much weaker and alot of the time somewhat brittle. I'm not a bike expert or anything but common knowledge to me would say replace the chain.... Chain and sprocket set ~$100 on ebay. Doctor bills because your chain broke, caused your rear tire to lock up and you went sliding down the highway at 65+MPH Who knows? Not to mention replacing helmet and leathers.... Spend the $100 and play it safe....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Suzuk...spagenameZWDVW

There's a difference between being rusted through and having surface rust. Surface rust will not cause the piece to be much weaker (if at all), but it will if you let it continue to eat through the chain. It's kinda like the 5 second rule with food on the floor. Something hits the floor, no harm no foul. But if it's down there longer than 5 seconds, it just keeps getting nastier and nastier. I think if you clean it up good and lube it, it will be fine.

[brett]

There's a difference between being rusted through and having surface rust. Surface rust will not cause the piece to be much weaker (if at all),

Is there a way to make sure this is just surface rust? Even if it is just surface rust, It's still taking a small layer of metal off but you're right it shouldn't hurt it...but can you really be 100% certain? IMO It wouldn't hurt to get the new chain/sprocket set.

[mx916]

I have had surface rust in the past. I clean the plates with a plastic scotchbrite pad and WD-40.
Try not to rub into O-rings. After scrubbing, wipe dry with clean rag, then use your favorite lubricant.
I use Maxima Chain Wax. Good Luck.

[Knucklehead]

Yeah if it's just from sitting a couple of months, a cleaning and lube should do fine.

[steves]

Re: my chain is rusty!

grrr.

over winter, there must have been some water on my chain, the plates are rusty...can i still use the clean after a good cleaning?

thanks

Actually, it didn't have to be water on the chain. Humidity will cause some metal to rust too. Take a look at the rotors on your cars breaks after it's been sitting for a few days rain or no rain.

I think I would just clean it, and continue to use it unless some larger problem presents.

[freight dog]

http://www.motorcycleanchor.com/motorcycle/how_to/mc_chains.html

As usual, the CP has the answers. The rust shouldn't be an issue as long as the chain is not worn beyond the limits. However, a neglected chain will not last as long as a well cared for one.

Next time you let it sit that long, coat that sucker in automotive grease and you won't have this problem again.

[Gsxxx600]

hey everyone, thanks for your concerns with getting a new chain, but it does look like surface rust...sometimes my chain would get like that after washing the bike and not riding it for a day.

So I'll def clean her up good, it was cleaned before i stored it, i like to use pj lube.

thanks

[The CyberPoet]

hey everyone, thanks for your concerns with getting a new chain, but it does look like surface rust...sometimes my chain would get like that after washing the bike and not riding it for a day

Surface rust is a no-biggie as long as you get it off and it hasn't pitted the roller surfaces. If the roller surfaces are pitted, replace the chain. I'd suggest using a soft nylon brush (finger brush, dish brush) and some motor oil or kerosene, and trying to keep the brush away from the rubber seals (just in case it's too stiff a bristle). Afterwards, check the links for free movement -- if they are kinking (not smoothly going around the sprockets), the chain is also toast. I use a Moose Chain Scrubber, which the chain passes through (and the chain's movement through it turns brushes) which will clean a chain to sparkling clean in about 90 seconds.

My opinion on WD40 is pretty well known when it comes to chains, but if you haven't heard it before: I believe the 45 - 50 % stoddard solution (dry cleaning chemical) in WD40 is bad for the O-rings, drying them out prematurely by stripping away the VOC's in the rubber on O-ring/X-ring/W-ring chains. For older bikes that use non-sealed-ring chains, I don't have the same reservations.

Finally, Suzuki-brand SP-1A "S-Moly" chain lube (Suzuki PN 99950-05032), does a number on freeing stuck, kinked links, better than any other brand I've ever tried. No sure why, but it seems to bring back chains from the dead, freeing links that I was sure were shot (Malloc's bike comes to mind -- we were on a road trip last year and he hadn't lubed in a few thousand miles, chain in crap condition -- it did the trick). What you don't want to do is accidentally mix it with other lubes (I mixed it with Motorex Motoline 622 full-synth chain lube and immediately got a hyper-grippy gummy crud).

For more info on various people's takes and opinions, you might also want to read this thread:
KR - Cleaning Chain & Lubing

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[SweetLou]

I think chains can stand up pretty good, even when not taken the best care of.

There was a guy I used to work with (yes, this guy was a idiot), had a old 74 Honda bike. This guy had never cleaned, oiled, or done anything with the chain. Coming around a corner one day (from a stop, so he wasn't going to fast) chain came off the rear sprocket, and locked up. That was the rustiest, un-lubed chain I ever seen. He thought it may have still been the original. This was just a few years ago.

I ended up cutting it off for him, but damn, that was a neglected chain!!!

[The CyberPoet]

...a guy I used to work with (yes, this guy was a idiot), had a old 74 Honda bike.

That would have been a solid-roller chain (no seals), and maintenance for it should have included removing it every 600 to 1000 miles and soaking it in a container of oil... Those old chains held up to everything, just eating themselves up, but put serious drag on the bike's output.

I remember having to do that shite for my first bike... what a PIA.


Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Mojoe]

this is just me talking here, and not all riders think the same way, but after 20+ years of riding, sometimes you tend to get a bit lazy with some things as opposed to being "all into it" when it is a fairly new hobby.
so let's just say that i have abused my chains with the best of them....or worst of them, depending how you look at it.
I ride in the rain ALOT....and my chains have gotten pretty rusty/stiff at times. Never to the point of jumping off a sprocket....but enough that i can tell you not to worry about a little surface rust on the sideplates. just give it a good cleaning and lube and you will be fine.
if your chain doesn't have any tight spots that makes it possible to hear it "clunking" as it goes around, or too much "sideways" slack, then it is good to go.

[slayergsxf1]

I wouldnt worry about a little surface rest,spray some wd40 on a shop rag and while the bike is on a stand,press the rag on the chain with the palm of your hand and rotate the rear wheel.reapply with wd40 when necessary.Once you have it cleaned off lubricate each link with PJ1 or something equivelent.
Dont forget to adjust properly.Later...