• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

Chain Maintenance

Forums New posts
E

etcthorne

0
Joined
Dec 14, 2007
Messages
234
Reaction score
0
Location
Virginia Beach, Va.
Not real scientific, just an observation.

I've had many chain driven bikes over the years - Yamaha 550 Maxims (x2), Honda Shadows (x2), Katana 750, and now the Bandit.

I used to clean the chain maybe every 3K miles on these bikes and lube around every 1k miles, or to be more truthful, frequent lube of the chains was never my strong point. I now think my attitude toward chain maintenance on those bikes was probably why I found myself adjusting the chain so much. I got to where I dreaded chain drives.


With the Bandit, I've taken a new philosophy. I clean with Kerosene every 500 miles or so, and I actually quick lube with PJ1 after the last ride on every weekend, which typically means about 150 miles each weekend. I spray with PJ1 and immediately wipe off the excess.

I've noticed that this chain simply holds its adjustment very well, and I suspect frequent lubing has something to do with it. I now have 2500 miles on the bike and I only had to adjust the chain at around 900 miles. It has maintained around 1" play and lubing actually tightens it up a bit (filling those nooks and crannys I guess). The side effect is that the chain drive stays whisper quiet.

A quick spray and wipe down takes a minute. I think I'd take chain drive over shaft again if I had the choice.
 
Duopont Teflon spray at Lowe's.

I now have 20K+ miles on the Bandit and GPZ chain and sprockets. The key is to keep the o-rings lubed and conditioned. The Teflon does not allow road grime and moisture to adhere to the chain, thus protecting the o-rings. At the same time it keeps the abrasive particles from sticking to the rollers and sprockets, reducing wear.

As a side benefit, there is no "sling off" of product on the wheels and body parts.

Do a search, there are several threads about the Teflon spray.
 
i agree completely.

cleaning the chain, or having to clean the chain, is the result of having used a type of chain lubricant, that becomes built up over time, and attracts dirt (and out in the high dez of Ca, rocks, sand). so cleaning the chain, to rid the chain of excess built up goo, that rocks and dirt clings to, would be appropriate.

many of the new style chain lubes, do not build up, excess goo.
and "cleaning the chain" is not needed.

wiping off the excess, lubing a small amount often on the inside of the rollers, is far better than putting an over amount of lube everywhere, every six months.

for me, finding a chain lube that didnt make a mess, was key to lubing often.
 
Here's a duh question I'm sure... how do you apply the kerosene? With a smallish paint brush or like a grunge brush?

One other point is to always turn the wheel backwards by hand when wiping it down. NEVER with the motor running. You wouldn't want to loose any fingers in the chain and sprocket.
 
I put the Kerosene in a spray bottle that I got from the dollar store. Put it on fine mist and spray to get the chain wet. I then scrub it with a "grunge brush" I bought from the motorcycle store ($16.00). After the scrub, I hit it with another fair amount of Kerosene mist from the bottle. I then wipe it as dry as I can before moving on to the next segment. I also spin the rollers on each link to make sure they're not gummed up.


Hey, after seeing the post on the Dupont Teflon spray, I ran to Lowe's and picked up a can. Ran back home, did the whole cleaning thing again and then applied the spray. Went for a ride and came back - looks great, sounds quiet, and keeps a nice coating on the chain. You know, that PJ1 chain lube actually gums up the rollers a LOT. When I was cleaning them and moving them around, I had to put quite a few shots of Kerosene on some of them to make them move freely.

Thanks for the tip guys.
 
Rworm - you can't get to the part that's sealed by the o-ring unless you used a pressure washer to deform the ring or otherwise allowed it to deteriorate to the point it lost the lube inside. That's the way they're engineered. As long as that o-ring is in place and kept in lubricated/good shape, you're good to go. I'm more worried about the crap that collects on the sprocket and chain (and the rollers). When it gets real cruddy it acts like some pretty new sandpaper. Went for a 50 mile ride this morning - that Dupont Teflon is good stuff.
 
etcthorne said:
Rworm - you can't get to the part that's sealed by the o-ring unless you used a pressure washer to deform the ring or otherwise allowed it to deteriorate to the point it lost the lube inside. That's the way they're engineered. As long as that o-ring is in place and kept in lubricated/good shape, you're good to go. I'm more worried about the crap that collects on the sprocket and chain (and the rollers). When it gets real cruddy it acts like some pretty new sandpaper. Went for a 50 mile ride this morning - that Dupont Teflon is good stuff.
Click to expand...
So you don't think your washing away any grease behind the o-rings by washing with kerosene?
rworm
 
Rworm, I've done a lot of reading on this. Everything I've read points to Kerosene as being the preferred fluid for cleaning an O-ring chain. It doesn't have the penetrating power capable of getting past the rings themselves, yet it very quickly dissolves contaminants and the crud literally runs off the chain with a little persuasion from a brush (gently). WD-40 on the other hand, is capable of penetrating the ring and it will eventually eliminate the petroleum base in the lubricant inside the o-ring, leaving a powdery mess over time. Opinions vary WIDELY on this topic however. Kerosene is called for by the owner's manual and by every reputable motorcycle magazine I've been able to find. I don't soak the chain in Kerosene, and when I apply it it's with a fine mist from my spray bottle. Fine mist - scrub gently with the grunge brush, spray gently again and let the Kerosene do it's work. Again, I also turn each roller by hand to ensure it's moving freely.
 
One more thing, I did notice during yesterday's reading that Kerosene is a particularly troublesome carcinogen, so next time I'm wearing industrial rubber gloves while I do the cleaning.

Geez, everything's a carcinogen these days. :eek2:
 
I've used kerosene on the chain of my CR250 and it works very well for cleaning...Yes use the rubber gloves!
 
Yes, stay away from penetrating solvents. As an aside, WD40 can actually break down the o-rings ability to absorb lubricant and stay moist. You see citrus based solvents available and they're great for cleaning parts but on a chain, it does the same thing as WD40.

I haven't tried the kerosene. I just hose the bike down and use a bucket of soapy water and a grunge brush, then rinse off.
 
chain adjusment theory.

some say the marks are off, some say they are ok.

some say using the marks, the chain is way off adjustment and they can either tell by doing it another way, which shows how off it was, or how the chain rides on the sprocket or other methods.

i sincerely think the marks, the stamped marks on the swingarm are correct.

what changes things is the aluminum blocks the axle pushes thru, that 'rock', 'tilt' or otherwise do not stay square in their respective places, when the axle is tightened, making the 'marks' seem to be incorrect.

this would seem to be a simple solution, to measure the distance between the axle and the swingarm pivot. but this is not as easy as it sounds.
one side, left side is a straighforward measure. nothing in the way, one could simply use a measuring tape, and see how far the axle is from the pivot.
but on the muffler side the muffler is in the way, for a straight measure.

then, the other question is where do you measure?

el bandito was clever enough to make aluminum plugs that fit into the two axles, and has a machine ruler incorporated into its fitment.

trying to copy his idea, and come up with a foolproof replication, is puzzling me at the moment.
but i would like to hunt around for some similar items in concept, something that one could easily buy or have laying about the house, to use instead.

so give me a few days, maybe a week or so, and i will try to come up with a poor mans measuring stick, to acurately measure the rear chain adj.

the string method, is cheap enough, and explained elsewhere, and the neat thing about it is, that string is commonly found and the other items needed, us motorcyclists usually have laying about.

taking the muffler off every time to check chain adj is not needed.

this is food for thought, and i am not saying that the marks are off, i think mine are pretty close, if you take care to not allow the blocks to rock in different directions.
 
suzukijo said:
chain adjusment theory.

some say the marks are off, some say they are ok.

some say using the marks, the chain is way off adjustment and they can either tell by doing it another way, which shows how off it was, or how the chain rides on the sprocket or other methods.

i sincerely think the marks, the stamped marks on the swingarm are correct.

what changes things is the aluminum blocks the axle pushes thru, that 'rock', 'tilt' or otherwise do not stay square in their respective places, when the axle is tightened, making the 'marks' seem to be incorrect.

this would seem to be a simple solution, to measure the distance between the axle and the swingarm pivot. but this is not as easy as it sounds.
one side, left side is a straighforward measure. nothing in the way, one could simply use a measuring tape, and see how far the axle is from the pivot.
but on the muffler side the muffler is in the way, for a straight measure.

then, the other question is where do you measure?

el bandito was clever enough to make aluminum plugs that fit into the two axles, and has a machine ruler incorporated into its fitment.

trying to copy his idea, and come up with a foolproof replication, is puzzling me at the moment.
but i would like to hunt around for some similar items in concept, something that one could easily buy or have laying about the house, to use instead.

so give me a few days, maybe a week or so, and i will try to come up with a poor mans measuring stick, to acurately measure the rear chain adj.

the string method, is cheap enough, and explained elsewhere, and the neat thing about it is, that string is commonly found and the other items needed, us motorcyclists usually have laying about.

taking the muffler off every time to check chain adj is not needed.

this is food for thought, and i am not saying that the marks are off, i think mine are pretty close, if you take care to not allow the blocks to rock in different directions.
Click to expand...

PhilS said:
When I installed the wheel, I removed the chain guard, took a straight edge and placed it on top of the chain, on top of the sprocket, touching both front and rear edges of the tire, and extending forward up the chain. This gave me a view of tire to chain alignment. I made a slight adjustment, test rode it, and we're back in business. I am sure this is not an accurate way of doing things as it's too simple, but it seemed fine and all seems lined up........
Click to expand...


So Joe: I'm not trying to be an idiot, although that may an unintended result or consequence here anyway, but what about the simple eye-ball adjustment I did as mentioned above with a simple straight edge shooting down the chain cast against the tire itself to see if the track up to the front sprocket is parallel to the rear tire?
 
your eyeball method is a valid one.

many things use line of sight for alignment.
an airplane fuselage, which has no flat square lines on the outside, often uses line of sight (like a gunscope) to align the tooling for construction.

what i would like to duplicate, is a method, that eliminates any 'sighting'.

my reasoning is that the line of sight, string method, brings into the equation, the possiblity that it could be done innacurate.

i can only reference it to shooting baskets,
you take the ball, throw it into the hoop. give the ball to someone else and tell them to 'shoot' and they miss.
you take the ball, throw it into the hoop. give the ball to someone else, and ask them to shoot like you, and they miss.

if you could put them on a ladder and put them above the net, and ask them to let go, above the net, odds are it may go in more times than not.

(please notice i am not saying that anyone is incapable of adjusting their chain properly, but the measure method develped by el bandito, would seem to be foolproof)

there are other chain adj tools, but all too often they cost money.

my intention is to come up that mimics his style of measuring, but would utilize items easily found, and cheaply.

but that may not possible, just trying to focus my brain on a distraction to keep me occupied, but i'm gonna try when i get back from this weekend.
 
Simple GOOGLE came up with this tool. My straight edge on the tire is similar, but I like this better as it bolts to the sprocket. I'm quite convinced that Scott or Joe could fabricate this in 7 minutes....:trust: You guys ever used one of these?

http://store.dsrpowersports.com/chalto.html?productid=chalto&channelid=FROOG

ChainAlign1.jpg


ChainAlign2.jpg
 
I use PB Blaster Dry Teflon Lube, same as the DuPont. Goes on wet dry's to a nice white residue. I noticed after the first clean and lube the rollers actually rolled. And talk about easy to clean the next time, and no crap on the sprockets.
 

Attachments

  • TDL_LG.jpg
    TDL_LG.jpg
    10.6 KB · Views: 137
S0521 tidnaB ikuzuS 7002 , looks like the tool, that clamps to the sprocket with a straightedge, could be the simplest answer.

thanks for taking the time, and research.

now if i can figure out what your name says?
 
suzukijo said:
S0521 tidnaB ikuzuS 7002 , looks like the tool, that clamps to the sprocket with a straightedge, could be the simplest answer.

thanks for taking the time, and research.

now if i can figure out what your name says?
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean by the name :trust: , but the $20 chain tool looks like a simple eyeball answer that gets it close.

Here's a thought, what do the pro racers use to line things up?

Phil (lihP)
 
I like the tool....I've always just gone by the alignment lines on the swingarm and never had a problem...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top