Chain cleaning / lube recommendations?
#11
10-02-2011, 10:42 AM
Administrator - Retired
#12
10-02-2011, 11:07 AM
Many riders swear by DuPont's Teflon Multi-use Dry Wax Lube. I've tried the Bel-Ray white lube and PJ1. Both of them fling lube on my bike, even after I wipe off the excess and let it sit overnight to dry. You can find it in the tools section at Lowe's.
I bought a can the other day and spent an hour with Simple Green (not WD40
), cleaning off the old grease buildup under my sprocket cover and other places. I took a brush and cleaned the chain and hosed off the residue Simple Green and let it dry. I sprayed the chain with the DuPont stuff and wiped the excess off the chain.
It has been sitting for about 5 days and I'm going to see how well it works this afternoon. I've been using it all week on my bicycle chain and it seems to do a good job with no buildup.
I bought a can the other day and spent an hour with Simple Green (not WD40
), cleaning off the old grease buildup under my sprocket cover and other places. I took a brush and cleaned the chain and hosed off the residue Simple Green and let it dry. I sprayed the chain with the DuPont stuff and wiped the excess off the chain. It has been sitting for about 5 days and I'm going to see how well it works this afternoon. I've been using it all week on my bicycle chain and it seems to do a good job with no buildup.
#13
10-02-2011, 07:57 PM
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#14
10-02-2011, 09:38 PM
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#15
10-03-2011, 09:12 AM
#16
10-03-2011, 10:31 AM
WD40 to clean only. It's good at cleaning the crud and old lube off the chain but will fling right off with any speed and offer no chain protection. Some people swear it eats o-rings. But there are also plenty of studies online of o-rings doing great after soaking for months in WD40.
Dupont Teflon Wax is amazing stuff. Designed for chains but has countless other practical uses. Goes on wet and dries clear to the touch. Will not run, drip or fling off. 500 miles later and the gold chain still looks great. Dirt doesnt stick at all.
It's also about $4 a can. One of the cheapest lube options.
Dupont Teflon Wax is amazing stuff. Designed for chains but has countless other practical uses. Goes on wet and dries clear to the touch. Will not run, drip or fling off. 500 miles later and the gold chain still looks great. Dirt doesnt stick at all.
It's also about $4 a can. One of the cheapest lube options.
Last edited by Sick97SS; 10-03-2011 at 10:38 AM.
#17
10-03-2011, 03:57 PM
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#18
10-03-2011, 07:30 PM
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No, just be ready to buy a new chain when that penetrant eventually breaks down the grease behind your O-Rings.
My RK has just under 15,000 miles on it with WD40 cleanings only. It's still in great shape. So when does everything explode?
You may also want to tell all the other people who have been using nothing but WD on their o-ring and x-ring chains for years.
Originally Posted by dietdrthunder
I haven't used anything but WD-40 on my o-ring chains (street and race bikes) for at least 15 years. I get excellent chain life, and no mess, ever. My current chain has about 15,000 miles on it and I think I've adjusted it twice in that time. it's o-ring safe, works great, is cheap, and unlike any goopy stuff, it doesn't attract dirt or make a mess.
Tsubaki's recommendations don't surprise me at all. I wrote RK with similar questions and their answer was the same--use WD-40. The RK rep explained that all the lube a sealed o-ring chain will ever need is sealed inside the bushings by the o-rings. So he said to think in terms of conditioning the o-rings rather than lubing the chain. WD-40 is an excellent o-ring conditioner and it doesn't attract dirt as many other chain lube products will. It will displace moisture and prevent rust, so you can spray it on right after a wash to force water off the chain.
I've been using WD-40 for many years with great results on my o-ring chains.
I've been using WD-40 for many years with great results on my o-ring chains.
Meanwhile, not that I was doubting Steve’s integrity, but I decided to check this WD-40
thing out with a couple of friends who have raced amateur and semi-pro—both track
and dirt—Tony & Fab. And wouldn’t you know, the information was backed up once
again—specifically by Fab who was sponsored by Tsubaki. The Tsubaki team manager
advised him to use only WD-40 on the chain. Fab reported a long life span, 9,500 miles
on one top-of-the-line (Sigma possibly) o-ring used for endurance roadracing on a 98-hp
Honda F2. There you have it, straight from the horses mouth, Italian Stallion Fabrizio
D’Angelo [I’ll probably pay for that] another WD believer. Tony also reported that a
number of Marin County Motorcycle Association dirt riders use nothing but WD.
thing out with a couple of friends who have raced amateur and semi-pro—both track
and dirt—Tony & Fab. And wouldn’t you know, the information was backed up once
again—specifically by Fab who was sponsored by Tsubaki. The Tsubaki team manager
advised him to use only WD-40 on the chain. Fab reported a long life span, 9,500 miles
on one top-of-the-line (Sigma possibly) o-ring used for endurance roadracing on a 98-hp
Honda F2. There you have it, straight from the horses mouth, Italian Stallion Fabrizio
D’Angelo [I’ll probably pay for that] another WD believer. Tony also reported that a
number of Marin County Motorcycle Association dirt riders use nothing but WD.
I did 3 years of hare and scrambles with the same chain/ sprockets on my cr 250. My chain was an X-ring and I was just using wd-40 to clean it. I think I'll to the same with my drz sm.
I'm a WD40 guy myself, running tens of thousands of miles on chains (mostly on my 1000cc sportbikes).
call me kooky but I don't bother to lube my chain. I squirt WD40 on it every now and then to get the mud off sometimes but the dry desert conditions out here suck any lube I have ever used right off the chain.
I don't notice that my chains lasted any longer when I was lubing them frequently. I wouldnt try not lubing a non o-ring chain.
I don't notice that my chains lasted any longer when I was lubing them frequently. I wouldnt try not lubing a non o-ring chain.
WD-40 Works as good or even better than most chain lubricants. 
Costs less too. I'll stick to my WD-40 as I have for the last 16 years.
Costs less too. I'll stick to my WD-40 as I have for the last 16 years.
I have always used WD40 on everything from dirtbikes to streetbikes to my YSR's....no probs yet....
WD40 is an old wive's tale around my area too. everyone says "Dont use it - it will ruin your chain!".
Well i was cheap on my YZF and used WD40 all the time, basically covering the chain while slowly rotating it a few times, and then grasping a clean rag around the chain and rotating it some more to clean the excess off. It worked great!! I had 14000 miles on the stock chain and it still looked like the first day i got it....just my two cents....
Well i was cheap on my YZF and used WD40 all the time, basically covering the chain while slowly rotating it a few times, and then grasping a clean rag around the chain and rotating it some more to clean the excess off. It worked great!! I had 14000 miles on the stock chain and it still looked like the first day i got it....just my two cents....
Used to use Chain Wax, then talked to Dave at Muzzys and called Tsubaki, they use WD/40 only. So I've been using that ever since 96' , never had a single problem.
The whole purpose of an O'RING chain is to seal the lubricant inside the rings. So why the hell would you spray a lubricant on a chain that has its most crucial wear spots sealed off. ??? Keeping it clean is the most important, for the sprockets as well. I've never had trouble with collecting dirt either. Other lubes collect a **** load of dirt, which in turn gets on your spockets and just makes **** worse.
The whole purpose of an O'RING chain is to seal the lubricant inside the rings. So why the hell would you spray a lubricant on a chain that has its most crucial wear spots sealed off. ??? Keeping it clean is the most important, for the sprockets as well. I've never had trouble with collecting dirt either. Other lubes collect a **** load of dirt, which in turn gets on your spockets and just makes **** worse.
Chain lube is a waste of money on oring chains! Besides flicking everywhere and a mess to clean it takes your hard earned $$$. All you need on today's oring chains is WD40. It keeps the orings moist and dirt and rust off, and cleans it at the same time. The chain is already sealed by the oring so WD40 is all you need. I got over 30K on my stock chain and on aftermartket such as the DID x-ring I get over 40 k out of it. Keep it adjusted and clean and you are set to go!
#19
10-03-2011, 07:40 PM
Senior Member
Cleaning really depends; kerosene, WD40, the Teflon stuff ... all of it works. Grunge Brush + Rear Stand makes it a cinch, tho.
#20
10-03-2011, 08:09 PM
Administrator - Retired
Grunge Brush + Rear Stand makes it a cinch, tho.
Out in the middle of nowhere you can just pop the bike up on the center stand.... pull out your mini-can of WD40....and spray away. Zero pissing around and you're done in like 10mins.