How do i clean the sprocket? same way as the chain with soap and water? mine looks pretty gross and i wanna get everything cleaned throughly before spring.

 

WD-40
clean the part that the chain isn't around

 

I use WD40 as well...

 

kerosene or diesel

 

soap and water like the chain? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO...
like they said up top...or use chain cleaner.

 

well ive always been told that WD-40 isnt very good for cleaning,

 

some say it's not very good from the o-rings, including kerosene...
but i really couldn't tell...

 

I heard Hondabright is really good and doesn't harm 0-rings, etc.

 

Here is the thought behind it all. An X or XW ring chain (any newer quality chain) is designed to be less maintenance. The rings are designed to keep grease in and dirt out. So the main thought is to clean the chain. The thought behind kerosene or diesel is that compared to WD-40 or gasoline, the gas or the WD are both better cleaners, they are also better penetrants. The kerosene or diesel are based on a thinker petroleum that doesn't penetrate the rings. They are based on the same think petroleum that the rings are designed to keep inside. The WD, which is an awesome penetrant, is much less viscous and supposedly can sometimes penetrate the rings, break down the petroleum in the grease, and now the chain seizes up. It is all a matter of if you want to risk the damage to the chain. Weather or not it really penetrate in the real world is a question up for grabs. Here is more info.. click I personally use a Honda lube designed for quality X and Xw ring chains!

 

MAN!!!! YOU CLEAN YOUR CHAIN WITH SOAP AND WATER???? ARE YOU NUTS???

Even cleaning the chain with kerosene isn´t good. It will get rusty quite quickly. Even if you make sure to dry it as much as you can, kerosene has a small % of water. I´d like to take a look inside the rollers. I bet you´ve got rust in it and it doesn´t matter how much you clean and dry it, it´s already there and impossible to make it dissapear.

Clean the chain and sprokets with DIESEL. It doesn´t rust and it lubricates. Make sure you dry it almost completely. If you can lift the rear wheel and retract the side stand, gear in 1st and accelerate a minute so any diesel remain gets out due to spinning force. This will also warm up the chain so once you apply the chain lube, it will penetrate into the rollers and attach better to the chain´s surface and o-rings.

WD-40 is too caustic and will damage the o-rings.

Remember: lube every 500Kms and clean every 1000Kms.

Good rides
Motodollar