Chain lube question

[Lawnerd]

Until recently I only rode Bikes with belt drive or shaft drive. Life was relatively carefree maintenance wise.

Now I have two bikes with chains. I did some research and do the following maintenance.

I regularly (about once a month) clean the chains with kerosene and lube with bel-ray lube.

Question is, how important is the lube? The chains have o-rings sealing in factory lube, right? Any applied lube can’t get past the o-rings as far as I can tell.

Is the bel-ray less lube and more protectant? Because the Bel-ray seems like sticky latex paint after I apply it.

Also, what do you use on your chains and why? I use bel-ray because it got good reviews online. But for all I know all those Amazon five star reviews could be faked.

 

[kuksul08]

I've tried just about everything and finally settled on a routine that works. Every 300 miles, spray on some lube and wipe off the excess with a rag. If you plan to be riding in the rain, don't wipe off the excess. You don't need to go crazy with cleaning or anything - most dirt just flies out anyway. With frequent lubing and wiping it will stay looking great and last a very long time.

The goal of the lube is to get it underneath the rollers (which is not sealed) and around the o-rings, as well as prevent rust.

This is my favorite lube. https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/771/35715/Pro-Honda-Chain-Lube-With-White-Graphite

I used to advocate the Bel Ray until I tried this. It's great.

 

[norcalkid]

I just lube it if looks like it needs it(usually 3-400 miles). I don't clean it with brush unless looking nasty. Not a fun job without a center stand.

 

[Aware]

If you don't lube it and it gets wet, the chain will rust overnight. Lube also helps the surfaces work efficiently ... rollers as they touch the sprockets and the inside surfaces of the chain link plates as they do the same.

Cleaning the chain removes the dust, sand and other grime that collects, thus reducing wear and also helping chain and sprocket life.


That said, for most of my 35+ riding years I got by with lubing and never cleaning. I still got 15k or so miles from OEM chain and sprockets.

 

[Pushrod]

I, too, went from shaft to chain drive.

I found Teflon spray lube at Lowes. A little pricy but does a good job, and is 'o' ring friendly. The best part is that road grit and dirt and water won't stick. Used on a rag it works as a cleaner until the carrier solvent dissapates.

25,000 miles on a chain and still going. But then I don't have monster hp nor do I race and/or stunt.

 

[ScottRNelson]

I found Teflon spray lube at Lowes. A little pricey but does a good job, and is 'o' ring friendly. The best part is that road grit and dirt and water won't stick. Used on a rag it works as a cleaner until the carrier solvent dissipates.

25,000 miles on a chain and still going. But then I don't have monster hp nor do I race and/or stunt.

I've used Dupont Teflon exclusively for many years. It's not as messy as the various chain wax products that I've used before that and it seems to protect the chain as well as anything else. My 990 Adventure chain was still good at 24,000 miles, although showing signs of some links getting tight.

Since I've been riding a lot more dirt lately - on both bikes - I have to clean a bit more often. If I wipe the outer part of the chain off after lubrication it doesn't attract dirt so much.

 

[ST Guy]

I've always thought that if I ever had a chain drive bike, I'd treat the sprockets and the chain with a thick moly paste before lubing. Smear it on so that all wear surfaces have the paste on it. Then run it for a bit to burnish the moly into all the wear surfaces. And finally, wipe the excess off and lube normally, probably something with moly in it. Don't know, but it might extend sprocket and chain life.

I'd also be very motivated to try a tungsten disulphide dry spray coating on everything first before installing. It's even better than moly and like moly, works it's way into the pores of the metal.

 

[ScottRNelson]

I've always thought that if I ever had a chain drive bike, I'd treat the sprockets and the chain with a thick moly paste before lubing. Smear it on so that all wear surfaces have the paste on it. Then run it for a bit to burnish the moly into all the wear surfaces. And finally, wipe the excess off and lube normally, probably something with moly in it. Don't know, but it might extend sprocket and chain life.

It might help the sprockets, but I don't see how it would help the chain last longer. It would mainly be touching the rollers and it's extremely rare for one of those to fail before some other part of the chain.

 

[stangmx13]

I wonder if race teams use moly or something like it on chain/sprockets to eek out that extra little bit, hmm.

 

[Blankpage]

With my recent bike that I bought new and now have 6000 miles on, I adjusted the chain twice and lubed it each of those two times.
I expect to get over 20K miles from it whether I clean it or not just like other bikes I've owned. Screw that hassle of cleaning a chain every few hundred miles.

 

[dravnx]

With my recent bike that I bought new and now have 6000 miles on, I adjusted the chain twice and lubed it each of those two times.
I expect to get over 20K miles from it whether I clean it or not just like other bikes I've owned. Screw that hassle of cleaning a chain every few hundred miles.

You've lubed it twice in 6000 miles and expect to get 20,000 miles? Good luck.

 

[auntiebling]

Question is, how important is the lube? The chains have o-rings sealing in factory lube, right? Any applied lube can’t get past the o-rings as far as I can tell.

the lube isn't for the chain rollers, it's for the sprocket/roller interface. the rollers as you found are factory lubed and there ai'nt much helping that but as you found also, it's important to find something that is Oring friendly because you can HURT the factory lube job if the orings fail and dirt gets in.

I wonder if race teams use moly or something like it on chain/sprockets to eek out that extra little bit, hmm.

i kninda wonder if they use plain chains so there aren't any friction causing orings? seems like they're tearing them down and maintaining/rebuilding them so often there'd not be much need for a permanently lubed chain that only needs to last for a few hours? elskipador would know

 

[ScottRNelson]

the lube isn't for the chain rollers, it's for the sprocket/roller interface. the rollers as you found are factory lubed and there ain't much helping that but as you found also, it's important to find something that is Oring friendly because you can HURT the factory lube job if the orings fail and dirt gets in.

I think you might have misunderstood which part is the roller. The roller is the part that touches the sprocket and is NOT factory lubed. And yes, it needs a little bit of lubrication to work optimally. I've had a roller fail before, and it will mess everything up pretty quick if you don't replace the chain when it happens.

 

[auntiebling]

Pins are factory lubed. Yep, brain fart

 

[ST Guy]

I think you might have misunderstood which part is the roller. The roller is the part that touches the sprocket and is NOT factory lubed. And yes, it needs a little bit of lubrication to work optimally. I've had a roller fail before, and it will mess everything up pretty quick if you don't replace the chain when it happens.

That's why I was thinking to treat a new chain and both sprockets with either tungsten disulphide or molybdenum disulphide. Get it burnished real well into the metal surface before using the regular lube. 'Might make a difference.

 

[ScottRNelson]

That's why I was thinking to treat a new chain and both sprockets with either tungsten disulphide or molybdenum disulphide. Get it burnished real well into the metal surface before using the regular lube. 'Might make a difference.

Okay, I can see how it would help the rollers now.

 

[dmfdmf]

With the advent of o-ring chains, chain maintenance is pretty simple. I wipe down my chain every other tank full with a rag soaked with whatever oil I have on hand, usually 10-40 motor oil. Once a year, usually in the Spring, I clean the chain with kerosene, relube and ride. My chains last a long time.

 

[Toast]

If you over-clean it, you'll kill it. Skip heavy degreasers and brushes, get a can of wd-40 and a decent chain lube. Spray the chain down with WD-40, wipe it off with a rag and then use some chain lube on it.

 

[Aware]

If you over-clean it, you'll kill it. Skip heavy degreasers and brushes, get a can of wd-40 and a decent chain lube. Spray the chain down with WD-40, wipe it off with a rag and then use some chain lube on it.

u-oh - he said WD-40

 

[Toast]

don't use it for lube, just for getting grime off. It's basically just pressurized kerosene, it doesn't hurt the o-rings and you don't need water just a rag.