Bike O-Ring Chain - Cleaning & Lubrication

[amardeep2006]

eye opener thread

Guys please go through this thread on T-BHP forum where someone met an unfortunate accident . Please be careful while cleaning the chains. It seems that such accidents are very common .

DO NOT clean motorcycle chain with bike running in 1st gear and on the main stand! - Team-BHP

[vibbs]

I find it strange that someone would be testing O rings by their tensile strength, when O rings are used to seal by even pressure around them, Not by pulling them appart.
I find these tests irrelevant and a waste of the guys time.

I agree and would like to add my two cents on this. I too am in a profession that sees the use of WD40, diesel, kerosene, rustolene etc. One thing we need to understand is that the purpose here is to clean and not lubricate. WD40 is sprayed to clean the chain off grime and dirt. Yes chemicals may make the O rings go brittle which may in turn reduce there tensile strength but it is not a great idea to test the effects by keeping them immersed in the said solvents for days together. You dont have the same effects on o rings if you use WD 40 for cleaning purposes. The exposure is no where similar.
Yes one problem can occur, that is if WD 40 manages to penetrate inside the O ring and dilute the grease and, WD 40 is a penetrant. But that can be easily avoided by using it judicially.

[easy_rider]

Firstly thanks to Omega Man as also others for all the info.

I'm looking forward to servicing my drive chain myself shortly. Just wanted to confirm one thing.

Does an O-Ring chain need no grease between the links? As of now my chain does have grease on it! Or is it that the sprockets are supposed to be greased? Sorry for the noob queries, but any info is appreciated.

[WarpSpeed]

All cool here but never do it with engine running. Many do i agree but dangerous if goes wrong. Seen some graphic images so can never take the risk...Its pretty much one hand usage and tyre can be spun by other hand. You dont really need engine running to do it but yes to warm it up.

Put a cardboard between your chain and tyres (not only the disc) and you save all the WD40 and lube going on your tyres.
I use belray...works well with no fling at all....

Is that really that dangerous ? I mean i see many guys putting up chain covers to enhance chain life and i too was looking forward to it.

Chain guard solves the problem... depends on swingarm design as well though.
Agreeing with Old Fox, I am yet to see a SBK with full chain cover but will be surprised some day i am sure...

[Mad Mik]

Yesterday, while i was a little away, the service guy lubed my bike's new O-Ring chain with the conventional, used up engine oil. Will it cause any deterioration to the o ring chain ?

What steps can i do to prevent the damage, if any.

First off I'd be looking for a new bike mechanic.
Used engine oil....What do you think are the reasons for changing engine oils...
Would u put used engine oil back into a engine?
Think about it, then would u want to put a dirty metal suspended "oil" that has lost its viscosity and sheer properties back into a lubricating and friction reducing environment? You may as well use water as lube (I wouldn't recommend water but you get my point)

I'd be washing your chain first, then use a decent branded chain lube or 80w+ gear oil (new, clean, not used) and lightly run some on the inside, so the centrifugal force will push it outwards through the chain first, rather than lube the outside and have it fly off the chain.

Keep the remainder of the gear oil (if you decide to use it for next time you wash your bike) so u can lube the chain again.

[sarav.sandhu]

PS: Chain covers do help increase chain-sprocket life by restricting exposure to dust etc but the dangers of the chain breaking and fouling inside the cover with its resultant wheel lock is a rather steep price for good chain life.

Is that really that dangerous ? I mean i see many guys putting up chain covers to enhance chain life and i too was looking forward to it.

Before it attracts dust and crushes the O-Rings between the links, clean it well with a cloth, etc.
Then, apply a good chain lube/ spray on it. There should be no problems.

I'll definitely clean it today only.

But again the burning hot question - Which chain lube is good for O-Rings?

P.S. : The chain is just 2 weeks old, do i really need to relubricate it.

[Samarth 619]

Yesterday, while i was a little away, the service guy lubed my bike's new O-Ring chain with the conventional, used up engine oil. Will it cause any deterioration to the o ring chain ?

What steps can i do to prevent the damage, if any.

Before it attracts dust and crushes the O-Rings between the links, clean it well with a cloth, etc.
Then, apply a good chain lube/ spray on it. There should be no problems.

[sarav.sandhu]

Yesterday, while i was a little away, the service guy lubed my bike's new O-Ring chain with the conventional, used up engine oil. Will it cause any deterioration to the o ring chain ?

What steps can i do to prevent the damage, if any.

[The Mountain]

Do these happen due to my enthusiasm for experiments or just me? I landed up buying Motul C2 chain lube road (Black below) & which is genuine one. Any idea how this is different from the old one (Silver+Red)?



Spec & content wise I couldn't find any difference. Any help?

If the pic is really the one you bought, it's "off-road" lube, not road lube. The difference, presumably, is that off-road lube is quite thin, and flows very easily. It would be quite similar to WD-40 in most ways. Off-road bikes do not use sealed chains. The conditions they run in make whatever-ring chains pointless. Plus, sealed chains have slightly higher friction. It doesn't make a difference on the street, but in a race it can. Additionally, most race chains are used once or twice, and then changed, where your street chain needs to last a long time. Because they don't need to last long, and therefore do not have seals, lube for off-road chains is thin to flow easily into the inner bearings of the chain, flushing out any contaminants and helping prevent rust. When it eventually wears off, you just spray more lube on and keep going.

Road "lube" really acts more as a protective coating for the chain. It's sticky so it won't be flung off the chain at high speed, and is mainly intended to lubricate the seals so they don't rub themselves to bits on the chain sideplates. The downside is, since its sticky, it tends to hold any dust that comes into contact with it, and you have to clean it off before you can put new lube on.

[Mad Mik]

here is a interesting link i had bookmarked on O rings and wd 40 use on them PART II WD-40 O-ring exposure effect results - ADVrider

First I'd like to say that the above is a great experiment. Good to see people getting out there and experimenting and learning on their own. However I have to mention this.

I find it strange that someone would be testing O rings by their tensile strength, when O rings are used to seal by even pressure around them, Not by pulling them appart.
I find these tests irrelevant and a waste of the guys time.

I use O rings (rubber, nitrile, teflon backup rings behind the O rings) on a daily basis at work for holding pressures (Up to 15k psi) on my pumps, connections and caps. These have been cleaned using diesel, WD40, Brake cleaner, electrical cleaner, industrial grade cleaners, Acids, alkali's etc, Installed into the grooves using oil, grease, nickle never sieze/copperkote, (drill) pipe dope etc.
The drilling fluids, hydrocarbons, water, chemicals and cement slurry's that flow through the connections don't make them fail. Its the nicking, pinching and stretching (by numerous reusing of the O ring, where infact they are designed to be of single time use only, then disposed of) of them that affects them
I've yet to have one fail by stretching them apart........since they are inside a fitting with nothing pulling on them......

A more suitable test would have been to test them using a experiment that would have involved them being used in the manner they were designed.
Use them to seal a connection, apply pressure and see what the baseline pressure rating was, and compare to the others that had been exposed to the various mediums.

Its like using a clay housebrick as a hammer
Sure you can find out what one is able to stand up to impacts but a housebrick is used to support the structure, insulate from heat/cold/wind/rain etc not to drive nails into wood.

Just my 2cents.

[Ri$hi]

Today when I visited the Motul dealer came to know about a product which can be used for cleaning as well as a chain lube. Don't know how effective it is. I am looking forward for everyone's valuable input

[jude.manutd]

Can anyone tell me for an apache rtr 180 non abs which screws do i need to open so that the whole chain is visible ie,the front sprocket and the rear one.

[aargee]

Do these happen due to my enthusiasm for experiments or just me? I landed up buying Motul C2 chain lube road (Black below) & which is genuine one. Any idea how this is different from the old one (Silver+Red)?



Spec & content wise I couldn't find any difference. Any help?

[Omega Man]

here is a interesting link i had bookmarked on O rings and wd 40 use on them PART II WD-40 O-ring exposure effect results - ADVrider

Thanks Puneet, thats an excellent piece of information. I missed your post hence the delayed response.

Just wanted to clear my doubt, what happens if i use the bikes used engine oil to lubricate the chain, as i have seen many mechanics drain the engine oils from splendor, passion and other bikes and use the oil to lubricate chains of RTR, karizma, pulsar 150, 180 and 220 and i see those chain dont need lubrication for atleast 500 kms.

Has anyone tried this for R15 or pulsar or karizma and did they found an difference?

The decision made by a semi-skilled, professionally untrained/uneducated, 3rd party mechanic and an informed decision made by an xBhpian is the difference (No offence to any mechanics)

* Using discarded engine oil on your O-Ring drive chain shows poor disregard for an important component of your bike.

Used engine oil, firstly, has lost most of its original properties; lubrication being one of them, and secondly, it is loaded with tiny metal fragments and debirs from the engine. Using used engine oil would be as good as maybe applying some grinding paste to your chain. . . . . . Ok i exaggerated.

This used engine oil is basicaly abrasive. You are trying to remove the abrasive, dust laden oil present in the chain. Its not too bright to replace one contaminated oil with another.

+1 Ayson

[Ayson]

Used engine oil, firstly, has lost most of its original properties; lubrication being one of them, and secondly, it is loaded with tiny metal fragments and debirs from the engine. Using used engine oil would be as good as maybe applying some griding paste to your chain. . . . . . Ok i exaggerated.

This used engine oil is basicaly abrasive. You are trying to remove the abrasive, dust laden oil present in the chain. Its not too bright to replace one contaminated oil with another.