Cleaning your Chain With chain Cleaner

[Whammy]

Chains, Lubes, dirty, not dirty, you all make this too hard especially with the green planet stuff.

 

[HadesOmega]

A rag and a drip pan of some kind. Wipe up the excess and when the rag gets too dirty in the garbage it goes.

 

[canyonrat]

No grunge brush. Also use RK Chains. DID will not even return your call...and this info is from 15 years of experience with RK. http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=271522&postcount=14

DID suck beans, they would not even talk to me

 

[Blankpage]

I do very little with my chain other than lube whenever its time for adjustment. I tried the cleaning and lubing and treating it like a princess but that didn't seem to matter much for extending its life so I concluded there's other things I'd rather be doing.

 

[ScottRNelson]

I do very little with my chain other than lube whenever its time for adjustment.

I adjust every time I put a new rear tire on there.

 

[Aware]

I do very little with my chain other than lube whenever its time for adjustment. I tried the cleaning and lubing and treating it like a princess but that didn't seem to matter much for extending its life so I concluded there's other things I'd rather be doing.

I'm new to the idea of chain polishing. I thought a grungy chain was simply ordinary. Chain life of 15-20k also being ordinary.

But recently I have been cleaning my chains. They do look nice. Maybe I'll keep doing it every 5 or 6 months.

 

[afm199]

Please don't wash it into the city drains. In many cities they will go to a creek or body of water, not to a treatment plant. Anything you pour in a drain ends up in local bodies of water or the ocean. You can use newspaper and put it in the trash. Most trash "dumps" are encapsulated and even if not, they localize the slime to one place.

PS: I use WD40 and a rag, and either keep the rag for next time or chuck it into the trash.

I clean and lube the chain at the Moto Guild. Cleaner product, lube product, scrub brushes, dirty rags, newspaper. The rags go in the dirty rags bins that get washed by a third-party vendor. The dirty newspaper go in the black dust bins.

This is a good resolution.

 

[TheRobSJ]

Not that I really care about chain maintenance anymore since I have a belt, but allow me to go off on a tangent for a bit here. This is what kills me about being a professional mechanic.

So this list...

1) Cardboard to soak it up and then put it in in trash/recycling
2) Old Towel on the ground, then wash the towel , reside ends in the gray water
3) Not give a shit , clean on side walk and wash sidewalk residue with a hose into the city drains.

I know the majority of people servicing their chain at home probably do one on this list. If I do any one of those and get caught, my shop is looking at a massive fine. Not parking ticket kinda fine either. Well into five figures. Plus we may be charged for cleanup/containment costs if the city drains are involved.

You wash your car at home? Or even worse, degrease the engine? That shit can go right to the storm drain in most situations. If it's done in any kind of professional situation, all kinds of traps and reclamation systems need to be in place. And if we get caught without it, massive fines that could shutter the business.

I could go on and on about how the little guy gets away with murder (don't get me started on A/C), but I'm sure most of you couldn't give a shit about the costs of doing business and would rather just whine about how much shops charge. Just know that everything on that list is not ok for me at a shop for a reason. It shouldn't be ok for you all at home either, no matter how insignificant you think your impact to the environment is. If the government thought they had even the slightest chance of being able to enforce and collect massive fines from individuals as well as high waste producing businesses, they absolutely would.

[/rant]

 

[rsrider]

^^^That makes me wonder if environmental concerns aren't one of the major reasons that cities pass "No Shade Tree Mechanic" laws.

 

[TheRobSJ]

^^^That makes me wonder if environmental concerns aren't one of the major reasons that cities pass "No Shade Tree Mechanic" laws.

It certainly has to have something to do with many HOAs forbidding car washing and auto repairs I bet.

 

[stever]

After a long ride and around 500-600 mile frequency, I put the bike on the stand and lube generously with Triflow. The chain is hot at this point so there is good penetration between the links and to the O-rings. I just put a few sheets of newspaper down. When I have made several passes directly on the links and rollers I bunch up the newspaper at the rear sprocket basically cupping the chain side plates and turn by hand to eliminate the excess lube. Been doing this for 30 years with all my bikes. No cleaning ever. The Triflow doesn't attract dust to any degree and chain stays pretty clean and is washed the next time I lube it. CBR900RR chain lasted 30K miles.

 

[goflynn]

Thanks for the input all. I have also been using cardboard and disposing to landfill trash. Just wasn't certain if that was optimal. Must try WD40 as cleaner when I finish my current batch of products.

 

[jwb]

After a long ride and around 500-600 mile frequency, I put the bike on the stand and lube generously with Triflow. The chain is hot at this point so there is good penetration between the links and to the O-rings. I just put a few sheets of newspaper down. When I have made several passes directly on the links and rollers I bunch up the newspaper at the rear sprocket basically cupping the chain side plates and turn by hand to eliminate the excess lube. Been doing this for 30 years with all my bikes. No cleaning ever. The Triflow doesn't attract dust to any degree and chain stays pretty clean and is washed the next time I lube it. CBR900RR chain lasted 30K miles.

That's ... not how a sealed chain works. You're not supposed to try to get anything past the seals. The rollers are permanently lubricated and the seals are there to keep your filthy Triflow out.

 

[Blankpage]

That's ... not how a sealed chain works. You're not supposed to try to get anything past the seals. The rollers are permanently lubricated and the seals are there to keep your filthy Triflow out.

Yeah no point spending tons on a sealed o-ring chain and treating it like standard chain.

 

[corndog67]

It certainly has to have something to do with many HOAs forbidding car washing and auto repairs I bet.

Nah, they just have some serious control issues (I live in an HOA and I'm on the board, there are some serious assholes living in here, keeping track of whose garbage cans are left out past 5pm, how many visitors certain houses had, they counted them and wrote down license numbers, whose cars had expired registration stickers on them, etc.). They need to get a hobby.

Good question there flynn.
Sadly, I'm betting most go with your option 3.

For last several years I've not had to clean my chain nearly as much and very little solvent needed to get it looking LIKE NEW. So no spilled solvent
in my case.

For chain lube I use Dupont "chain saver", a Teflon based lube that does not pick up as much grit as sticky chain lube or oil. It also cleans up really easy with a rag dampened with a bit of WD40 or Kerosene ... then chain simply wiped down well. Almost no built up GRUNGE over time with the Dupont product ... so, a very "clean"
chain lube, as far as they go.

Be sure to wipe WD40 or Kero OFF after cleaning or the Dupont product will not adhere well to your clean chain.

The Dupont product is not great in RAIN. In that case I like 90 Wt. gear oil or conventional non sticky chain lube. But for RAIN ONLY. Off road? Like the PROS, no chain lube used at all off road.

When cleaning I would use a MINIMUM of solvent and put either cardboard or towels under work area. I throw away towels rather than washing them.

I use no water when cleaning chain and use a minimum of solvent. I am a chain cleaning NUT. On tour I clean and lube my chain everyday.
SO MUCH easier with the Dupont Teflon product. My last chain on my DR650 lasted 24,000 miles.

I don't know, every Pro or expert class racer I've ever gone riding with, lubed their chains religiously.

No grunge brush. Also use RK Chains. DID will not even return your call...and this info is from 15 years of experience with RK. http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=271522&postcount=14

DID suck beans, they would not even talk to me

I had just the opposite experience. I had an RK-Pro gold chain, and new steel sprockets, CBR1000F, a heavy, fairly powerful bike. In 1000 miles, I had to adjust the chain 3 times. Shortly after, it started losing rollers. At the time, this was the heaviest duty, most expensive chain they sold (I admit, it was more than a minute ago). They DID answer the phone though, send it back. They sent me a letter shortly after, "There was battery acid damage of the chain, so Fuck off...", was the gist of it. Hmmm, I look at the bike, the drain is on the opposite side, the battery is still full, I look at the frame, swingarm, shock, everywhere, and I can find no sign a of acid damage or leakage anywhere (because if there was, I'd accept that and remedy it), but I think it was a standard answer they gave people. I put a DID ZVX on the same sprockets, and got 35,000+ miles on it until I sold it. I won't use anything else. And NEVER had to adjust it, no break in adjustment, no periodic adjustment, no nothing.

Oh, maintenance. I don't let them get dirty. I used to WD-40 them, but since I have 4 cans that are 3/4s or more full, and have no propellant left, Fuck that stuff. I use chain lube about every 3 days, spray the crap out of it, wipe the excess off with a paper towel, and call it good. Again, DID ZVM-X, maybe 5 rear tires, never had to adjust it

 

[Rumbo Sur]

I don't know, every Pro or expert class racer I've ever gone riding with, lubed their chains religiously.

What sort of "racing" are you talking about? I'm talking about OFF ROAD.
I competed in AMA Enduro for 8 years (B rider). (we don't call it "racing", BTW). Also raced a bit of Hare Scrambles.

NONE of the AA riders lubed chains much. They would clean them and WD40 them AFTER the event, but never lube mid race or slather on lube PRE RACE.
I pitted next to them and observed several National champs and their prep.

Off road, sticky chain lube just picks up grit ... and is forced off the chain by sand and dirt in 10 minutes riding anyway, so no point doing it.

I had just the opposite experience. I had an RK-Pro gold chain, and new steel sprockets, CBR1000F, a heavy, fairly powerful bike. In 1000 miles, I had to adjust the chain 3 times. Shortly after, it started losing rollers. At the time, this was the heaviest duty, most expensive chain they sold (I admit, it was more than a minute ago).

I used RK for a while in the 80's during my race career. They were terrible, lasted barely a season or less. Mud ate them up. Same result on street bikes,
very low miles. But that was ages ago ... I hear better things about RK now, ... but I'm a DID guy for life. Over 250,000 miles using DID on several bikes.

Oh, maintenance. I don't let them get dirty. I used to WD-40 them, but since I have 4 cans that are 3/4s or more full, and have no propellant left, Fuck that stuff. I use chain lube about every 3 days, spray the crap out of it, wipe the excess off with a paper towel, and call it good. Again, DID ZVM-X, maybe 5 rear tires, never had to adjust it

I currently have been running DID ZVM-X ring chains as well ... and ran the fantastic DID VM-2 X ring chains 15 years before that. I always get over 20K on my chains, even with Thumpers, which are hard on chains.

I also NEVER had to adjust the VM2 or ZVM X rings. Best chains ever.
Most guys go with the cheaper DID X ring ... not me. The top of the line ZVM is the X ring you want!

 

[Rumbo Sur]

Brief point about cleaning and lubing.
One place where sticky type lubes really make a mess is that place where WAY TOO FEW riders ever look! And NO ONE wants to clean there!

I speak of the dreaded counter shaft cover area. Most bikes have some sort of cover over the front sprocket. If you've been using sticky lube for a while ... or even 90 wt gear oil ... well, you are in for a real treat when you pull off that cover and try to clean out the massive nightmare of GRUNGE behind that plate. NASTY.

This is yet another huge advantage of using the Dupont Chain Saver lube. If you put it on correctly, it's not a bad lube ... and leaves almost NO Grunge residue behind the counter shaft cover.

Lots of guys say, "Why clean back there at all?" Fair point I guess ... but eventually the grunge build up picks up lots of grit and sand ... which is deposited onto your chain to make the perfect grinding paste.

As I said, I'm a chain nut ... so probably spend too much time screwing around with my chain and sprockets. I see far too many guys out riding on bikes with very questionable chains ... and they have NO IDEA.

And when you see this on guys riding 10,000 miles from home ... it's kinda like ... Uh Oh!

Also, many don't know how to spot worn sprockets or never look! Your front sprocket is always your "Canary In The Coal Mine". It shows wear first.

Once that sprocket shows shoulder wear and teeth begin to "sharpen" or "hook" it is done ... and could be your rear sprocket is done too ... and your chain! Everyone knows how to evaluate rear and chain, right?

If you replace the front sprocket early ... you can extend chain life quite a bit. On my DR650 (a bike hard on chains) I replace front sprocket every
8K miles or so. They are cheap and easy to change on that bike.
24,000 hard miles on last DID VM-2 chain.

But most here don't tour, don't do ADVENTURE riding out of the country, so chain maintenance not a priority.

Once out of USA you can't get good chains or sprockets for your bike. So, this is partly why I've become a Chain Insane. So sue me!

 

[mlm]

I need to try the WD40 thing. Still have the rags to dispose. I don't like fling off though so the Scottoiler is out of the question.

I was reluctant because of this claim but have ScottOilers on both my bikes now and at the low setting (and high temp oil) it isn't a problem.

As for the OP. Whenever I degrease anything I'll use a piece of cardboard underneath. My wife provides an endless supply from Amazon

 

[bpw]

Best not to think about where all that tire rubber goes either....

 

[Chicago_FJR]

I say we start a class-action lawsuit and take these product-pusher clowns to the cleaners. Fucking sons of bitches ruining our chains. Next time I see a DuPont sales motherfucker, I'm going to show him this thread and give him a piece of my mind. We're going to get our day in court! Yes we can. Thanks Obama.

Thank you, hysterical!