Lubricating your chain

[braindead]

you get a dedicated chain cleaner for ~300 Rs. that really works wonders. the problem with oil or grease is that it attracts dust. the chain cleaners are silicon based and keep the chain lubed for a long time.

IMPORTANT!
please be careful while cleaning the chain from the inside. i almost lost a finger (because of my stupidity). those 5 stitches on my mangled finger were the most painful in my life.

[amanlakra]

Can kerosene be used to clean the chain?

Is kerosene good for cleaning the conventional chain?Some mechanics recommend diesel or water soap solution.
Please help..

[Sunny]

Query Merged and a new Universal Thread Created for Lubricating Chains

[dibya1712]

Step 1
Assuming that you ride without your chain cover (if you do then mores the pity!) you will have noticed that after a matter of time your chain gets positively filthy! To clean it you will need some diesel fuel, a can of WD40, a toothbrush (hard bristles, read cheapest you can buy), old newspapers and some 2T oil.

After putting your bike on the centre stand, liberally douse the chain with diesel and go over every link vigorously with the toothbrush. After getting most of the dirt off, wipe the chain clean with a rag.

Step 2
After the chain is relatively clean spray the chain and the front sprocket (you have to jam your hand sideways to do this) liberally with WD40. After letting the chain sit for 10 -15 mins wipe the chain clean with a rag. You will notice by this time that the chain itself now rolls quite smoothly, as WD40 is a lubricating-cum-cleansing agent.

Step 3
After letting the chain dry for a while, carefully put 2T oil over every link while slowly rolling your rear tire. NEVER try to start your bike and put it in gear and save yourself some labour. Most of us use larger rear tires and if your tire is thick enough your bike will suddenly take off leaving you behind in a cloud of dust! Worse, the bike may suddenly get passionate and leap on you with surprising ferocity, the results are truly undesirable!

Step 4
You will notice the next day that the oil has slipped off the chain and the chain is still very clean. This is due to the effect of the WD40. However, the chain now moves more freely because your links now have oil between them. Of course, your rear rim will be filthy as hell due to the oil getting thrown off your chain!

Now, for the best part - buy yourself a half litre tin of Castrol Bearing Grease (High Melting Point). This is the grease that is black and very thick, not the yellow multipurpose grease. Now scoop out some grease with your finger (any finger!) and jam the grease into the chain, rollers and all! Make sure you grease either side of the chain and also the part that goes under the sprocket, not only over it.

Step 5
Now take your bike out for a spin and feel the difference


[u][u]
The downside</u>
Your chain gets dirty faster.

[u]The upside</u>
A smoother ride.
A much better top end!

can this be used for cleaning naked chains like the 1 in fz's??

[madhav krishna]

Well, chain being one of the most Vital Component that affects your bike's overall performance needs a bit of extra Care too.
I have removed My Bike's Chain Cover and still manage to keep the chain fit and fine.
a very simple way..... cost effective too.

Step no. 1: Use a Garden Spray to liberally douse/spray Diesel on the chain.
make sure, you allow the diesel to penetrate every link possible.

thoda sa tyre ghumaoo!! thoda Aurr!! haan, bass ab thoda Aurr!! to make sure diesel gets on the entire chain.

now let the bike rest for some time.

Step no. 2: Now use Gear Oil 90 No. wala and use your Finger to apply the Gear oil Not very liberally over the chain, on the surface that meets the sprocket.


my Idea of using Diesel over petrol: Diesel is a wonderful cleaning agent, plus it is a bit less Rough as compared to Petrol or Thinner, so, it somehow provides a better cleaning whereby ensuring that a very thin layer of lubrication gets on the chain.

my Idea of using Gear Oil 90 No.over Grease/Chain Spray etc: Grease is wonderful to lubricate but would get thrown off at higher speeds(if using a yellow multi purpose), plus, it attracts more dirt. Chain Spray on the other hand are good but for a poor guy like me...No good! Other oils: well, they just wont stick to the chain at higher speeds, resulting in soiling of clothes and all.
Gear Oil 90 No. on the other hand is Just sooooo cheap.... aprox 50 per liter( am talking about a Desi Gear oil, not a branded one), is as viscous as Grease in winters. Has better lubricating effect as compared to grease, doesnot get thrown off easily, wont get washed away while spray cleaning the Bike, does get less viscous when your chain is going at higher speeds, but it still manages to be there, doing its job wonderfully.

Best results are obtained when you spray clean the chain with diesel at night time and apply Gear Oil 90 the next Morning.


P.S: the above contents are from Yours Truly, not supported by any technical data.

Well thats the simplest way i have ever heard. No fuss at all. Can kerosene be used instead of diesel & can the same method be used for an O-ring chain.


I know that am very late(est) in posting this message. But since i have noticed this thread now posting my queries now.

[kaynmantis]

Chain cleaning. Something I don't normally enjoy. Though rewarding when all is done. Normally, I simply spray the entire chain with WD40, brush, then wipe it. Next, use left over engine oil and oil each link joints carefully. Sounds laborious? Well, this is the easy method .

My other method, compare it to the original poster's method, I find my method much easier and less messy by a good margin (matter of perspective). Here's what I do.

I remove the entire chain. All I have to do is
1. Remove the front sprocket cover (Not required for removal of chain, but a must for putting the chain back).
2. Remove the master link and the entire chain comes out. Clean both front and rear sprockets.
3. Soak the chain in petrol in a small flat bucket (warning: not recommended for o/x ring) and clean them thoroughly with brush and wipe it.
4. Throw the petrol. Clean the bucket and filled it with some 90 weight gear oil and soak the chain thoroughly for some time. Not forgetting, stir them. Then I normally let it soak and do other stuffs. This way, the oil gets into every space ESPECIALLY inside the rollers. This is one place that is toughest to reach and I don't know how grease can reach it unless one melts the grease and soak the chain in it.
5. Hang them out to drip overnight.
6. Put them back next day (Not necessarily next day. Depends on how much time you have. On a holiday, its back on the same day).

Good thing is, it does not leave a mess either on the bike or around and best of all, lubrication gets into every spaces.

I've used chain spray. Nice stuff. Expensive for long term.

Lastly. It is believed that cleaning interval should not be left too long, as lubricants whether its oil, spray or grease tends to attract dirt/dust that can acts as fine sand paper, hence I prefer to clean/oil my chain as frequently as possible using my first method. And Once in a while the second method.

[addyrulz01]

Well thats the simplest way i have ever heard. No fuss at all. Can kerosene be used instead of diesel & can the same method be used for an O-ring chain.


I know that am very late(est) in posting this message. But since i have noticed this thread now posting my queries now.

yes it can be. I use kerosene for cleaning my O ring chain. I clean it with a toothbrush thoroughly and then i apply TVS chain lube.

[dggopal]

cleaned my fz-s chain today

so went out a few days ago and bought motul chain clean and yamalube chain lube.... due to sheer laziness only got around to cleaning the chain today... i guess it had been cleaned in 2nd service... but its been about 1500 km since then.... the chain was realllly dirty... and i finished almost 2/3rds of the bottle of chain clean on it because i didnt realise i should brush while spraying too... anyways, the chain is realllly clean now... can finally see silver instead of allll black... but I'm wondering if this is how its gonna be always, using almost one full bottle every time.... or if my technique was just bad... is chain clean better for the bike/chain than kerosene or is it alll just the same....

[prajwalkashyap]

You have used too much of the spray. 1 bottle should last for about 3-4 sessions. Anyway, now that your chain is all silvery, go and get yourself a packet of waxpol bearing grease (black coloured), and apply it to the chain. Each packet of grease should last for about 7-10 sessions of greasing and costs about Rs.40.

Prajwal

[Ganeshan]

Cleaning o-ring chains with WD40 is a controversial subject. Personally I'm of the opinion that WD40 is not a good lubricant for chains. It is more of a solvent, not really a chain lubricant...

The function of the o-rings is to keep the grease in place to lubricate the roller pins, and many people claim (rightly IMO) that WD40 gets past the o-rings and dissolves the grease that's in there. WD40 displaces water (hence WD) and I believe it will find its way past the o-rings and dry them from the inside out (wash out the lube that is sealed inside).

Personally I use it to clean non o-ring chains only. I wouldn't use that stuff on any rubbers or plastics in general.

[n_aditya]

Check this out - Chain Lube... What Do You Use and Why?? - ninjette.org

Have spoken to the guys at DuPont and will try and source the product here.

Approx. cost is 900 per can (as confirmed by the DuPont rep) but trying to get a better deal since i am assuming a lot of us would like to use this instead of the Motul which is widely used.

More info when i hear from DuPont.

Product info - DuPont? Teflon? Lubricants

[BikerKid]

My pulsar 135 ls manual says not to clean the chain with petrol diesel or kerosine....i just use castrol sae 90 oil to lubricate it. how do we know if it has reached that point when it really needs to be cleaned?

[safebiker]

Friends, for best results go for MOTUL Chain clean & lube.

My pulsar 135 ls manual says not to clean the chain with petrol diesel or kerosine....i just use castrol sae 90 oil to lubricate it. how do we know if it has reached that point when it really needs to be cleaned?

[Mithoz]

Just got a can of TVS Chain Lubricant. Will try out soon.

[my1000cc]

I dint know that

Hey,

what abt bullets, their chains are open & the chains get oiled automatically as the bikes are being ridden..........

I DINT KNOW THAT, so please if possible shed some light on this bullet technology