I wanna know how do you guys do it?.... i dont know if im lubing the chain wrong or something.... but i was going through pics.... you all have VERY CLEAN swing arms and rear sprockets..

mine are all black and greesy.... and towards the front of the swing arm... near the front sprocket cover.... i have a big blotch of greese... and the kickstand... all greesy..

the other side of the swing arm.... isnt as greesy... but its very dull in color.

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i dont think im over lubing it... all i do is a line of lube on both side of the chain *the o-ring*

 

Most people, myself included, use a good degreaser, like kerosene, to clean the chain and rear sprocket regularly. After wiping it down, let it dry, then apply the lube/wax.

 

hmm...i use wd40... but umm... when you guys clean the chain... how clean is it?... to a point that there is no greese on your rag or papertowel?.... for me there will always be greese.... i can go through a whole roll ... and it will still be there...

 

you want a clean chain... but its more important to have it well lubed. greese/lube will get on other surrounding parts... and some are more tacky than others. you can use brake clean on the sproket itself (and other metal parts). but be careful. it can take off paint/enamel/anodize etc. it will also ruin o-rings. so its not a good idea to use it (or other solvents)on the chain itself. If you do wipe your chain down with a solvent, put it on the rag and dont spray directly on the chain itself. be sure to re-apply lube. Check with your bike store. There are chain lubricants that are thinner and less tacky than others. You just have to apply the lube more often when its thinner.

 

I use Simple Green, it cuts grease very well. I have two bikes on Suzuki Katana 600 and '99 CBR 600, and use Simple Green on both bikes. Its biodegradable and doesn't leave any residue on the wheels or swing arm. I also purchased a small brush that you use for dishes and spray on the Simple Green and the scrub a little with the brush. All the grease and dirt should come right off.

 

Actually, in repsonse to frankmackie, I would say that keeping the chain clean is as equal to if not more important that keeping the chain well lubed. All chains need lube, but the drive chain especially needs to be cleaned very well. All the dirt and grime from the road that gets built up on a chain will simply destroy the o-rings. Lubing a dirty chain will simply allow the grit and grime to work its way deeper into the chain and inside the o-rings.
Also, you want to use the proper lube. Most chain lube thats being sold in shops today like Bel-Ray's tacky white lube is ok, but its not the best lubrication. Granted, it won't fling off and cause a mess, but thinner lubricants actually work better by moving more easily into the cracks and small spots that the tacky stuff just won't move into. And if it flings off, what i usually do is spray wd40 on the swingarm and scrub with a piece of paper towel. I usually do that regardless just to keep the aluminum clean. Same goes for the sprocket and cush drive but I make sure I only lightly scrub the sprocket surface that doesn't contact the chain and try not to touch the chain because wd40 just shouldn't be used on something like this.
The chain, I just scrub with some chain lube on a paper towel and using a dry paper towel I clean the excess off and only dry off outer plates that can be seen but do not contact anything (thats simply for asthetics) That helps out alot especially if you have a gold chain.
Also, to add to what dufferman10 said Simple Green is an EXCELLENT way to clean a motorcycle. The way I use it is in a weed sprayer that attaches to your hose. I fill the reservoir up with simple green. Using a weed sprayer makes a perfect mix of SG and water to clean the bike. And using a shammy I just dry the bike and in doing so this removes any spots or dirt. Its great for all the paint work and makes the entire bike shine like perfection.

I know this is long but I know alot of times people don't explain enough. So here's my system which I use and I think it works very well.

 

yeah. simple green works great! i agree that the thinner stuff is a bit more trouble free. wd40 isnt great because it has a gritty substance in it that can wear it down prematurely.

 

I just clean my bike. Scrub my bike, clean and wax it.

 

Of course, first get it clean, bike and chain. I use Gunk, mostly out of habit from using it for 40yrs. I am sure there are other products as good or better. After the wash I take a very short ride, low powered ride,to rid the chain of any water. Afterthe ride, I lube the chain with a chain wax. It is available at the dealers or any off the parts houses. Let the wax on the chain until you are ready to ride again. Then while the bike is still on the stand, take a paper towel and wipe off the chain. Any lube that goes to the paper towel will do no good to the chain anyhow, it will just get flung off when you ride.

 

I didnt read all of the posts so I dont know if anybody else said this but...


DO NOT USE WD-40 ON YOUR CHAIN!