When should chain be cleaned/oiled?

[fngonnc700]

I have about 750 miles on my bike, the manual states every 500 miles for cleaning and oiling. Since I'm new to this motorcycle thing, just passed my Washington State skills test today, I plan to be a fair weather rider till I get more experience. So the chain won't see any wet roads any time soon, washing away the oil. The chain looks as it did when I got with 0 miles, no noise, tension where it should be. I do have a stand, cleaner, brush and oil, is it a good idea just to service it now for practice, if not for anything else? How often do you guys service yours? Thanks.

 

[MZ5]

Tons of threads here on chain maintenance. Any answer you would like to hear has already been posted, probably more than once.

 

[jayceegee]

Do what the manual says.

 

[fngonnc700]

Ok. Really can't go wrong with factory manuals, hopping there was some extended oil/method that could be used. Kinda like using synthetic oil in my truck engine to extended drain intervals. Not so much for bike chains. I gotta lot to learn here, but it's fun learning! Thanks!

 

[670cc]

My opinion is that the owner's manual grossly overstates the need to clean and oil the chain. I think chains are ruined by excess cleaning, and that the need for excess cleaning is brought on by excess lubing, which collects excess dirt. I think every 2-2.5 thousand miles is more than adequate for chain maintenance and adjustment, especially in the riding conditions described by the OP. Riding on dirt and gravel roads will require more frequent chain maintenance. Frankly, if it was required to mess with the chain every 500 miles, I'd sell the bike.

My advice is to get rid of the cleaning brush, as aggressive use of it can damage the o-rings. A clean chain is not necessarily a healthy chain. Also, a loose chain will last longer than a tight chain.

But, follow the owner's manual until your own experience and data points direct you otherwise. And please, research the prior threads on chain maintenance as it has been discussed ad nauseam.

 

[Deleted member 5383]

The Grunge Brush is good as long as you go easy, using primarily the two side brushes and avoiding any pressure on the center brush which has too much chance of contacting o/x-rings. I too think people get carried away on lubing especially with products that make a mess or build up wax, which as 670cc notes just entices one to clean more often than is probably good.

On a side note, the factory chain is kinda crappy IMO. I'm surprised I've gotten probably 14,000 miles out of it so far.

 

[Bert]

I never cleaned by chain particularly. Just sprayed the bike total with a low pressure water hose occasionally. And then applied some off-road oil to the chain. I have the scott-oiler and my chain lasted 25000km. So i never really oiled my chain except when done with getting the grub off.

 

[showkey]

To go along with 670cc post on over maintenance..............chain tension could be added to the list. It very rarely needs adjustment if you follow post 5 on cleaning and lube. Chain Too tight is bad !!!!!

 

[potter0o]

Concur, with exception I probably average something like 800-1000 miles +/-. I have never used a brush on a chain; aggressive cleaning for me is a good scrubbing with a rag after oiling it (for cleaning); I use chain lube otherwise. I got 24,000 miles out of the original 2012 chain before I got a tight spot that would not relax with lubrication.

I do the same a Krampus for the most part. I lube ever 800-1000 km ish which is usually every 3-4 weeks with the commuting. I don't sweat it too much if it goes over just fit it in usually after a ride. For cleaning I would use the trusty used toothbrush and kerosene but would only do it when it looked yucky. Maybe once a year. Seems like the people who use the auto oilers seem to get the most miles out of the chain. Mine is close to the wear bars at 20k miles. Lubing takes the kinks out currently.

Not sure if you ride in the rain, but I do so a bit of lube helps keep the rust away. There is another thread if you search for it where some owners are replacing regular lube intervals with WD-40.

Like 670 said, follow the manual, read and make your move

 

[Deleted member 1183]

I never clean mine and lube it with good quality gear oil every day immediately after a ride when it is still warm, and before putting it away for the night.

 

[misterk]

I added a tutoro oiler a few months ago, every now and then I might wipe the chain down with wd40 and a paper towel.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ste7ios]

From an engineering point of view, the optimal lubrication should be penetrating & continuous. That will minimize the friction between the chain, the sprockets, rollers, and it will protect the O/X-rings, giving us most of the roller chain's lifetime.

For that reason, most of industrial applications use a simple oil bath, or more complex lubrication solutions like oil injection, brushes, etc.

The roller chain oil can be a mineral oil with EP (Extreme Pressure) additives like MoS2 (Moly) for applications like motorcycle's power transmission...


What we read in a motorcycle's owner manual about chain lubrication is just a compromise between practicality & acceptable usage cost / lifetime... The same applies to most of those spray lubricants. They're not the best for a chain, but a necessary realistic compromise to have it done by most of us... (Nobody would relubricate the chain after every ride!).

If you want something better the best solution is a chain oiler like Tutoro, Scottoiler, PDOiler, etc... and a specialty chain oil, or just gearbox oil for manual transmissions (it's very close to chain oil because of the EP additives. Be careful with the viscosity).


Cleaning is also important but doing it the wrong way (hard brush, or a cleaner that attacks the O-Ring rubber) can be harmful for the O/X-Rings.

But by using a chain oiler, there is almost no need of cleaning because oil is not sticky and rinses the dirt.


Using an oiler, I still have the OEM chain after about 18,600 mi. I may clean the chain once a year with a Kettenmax and S100 cleaner...


D.I.D. has a nice video about chain maintenance: D.I.D Motorcycle Chains and DirtStar(R) Rims


To get an idea...
http://www.did-coltd.com/english/technical_support/images/pdf/tec005.pdf
Getting more life from roller chain

 

[ST13Fred]

I've come to the conclusion as stated earlier these chains require minimal lube or none.
Liquid WD-40 periodically and keeping the chain on the loose side equals longevity.

WD-40 As Chain Lube

 

[eric steele]

I clean my chain every time I wash the bike. Honda chain cleaner, grunge brush, hose rinse. Dry the bike, go for a short ride, lube the chain when it's warm. Bel-Ray or Silkolene. Bet it lasts at least 20,000 miles.

 

[rmezei]

I do what st13fred said

Wd40 only

It cleans and lubricates and displaces moisture

Perfect !

 

[DeeJay]

I built myself a switch operated chain oiler with odd bits and pieces lying around. The switch activates a solenoid valve to allow oil flow. My chain gets oiled once a week on Fridays, on my way to work. Oil flow is quite fast, and the oiler only gets activated during the first two or threehundred meters while I'm riding at slow speed. When I arrive at work, the slight oil splash at the rim and chain guard gets wiped off. On Saturdays the bike gets washed properly, and everything usually stays clean during the next week. Works like a dream. I use ATF, and the chain gets cleaned with kreosine once a month.

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

I built myself a switch operated chain oiler with odd bits and pieces lying around. The switch activates a solenoid valve to allow oil flow. My chain gets oiled once a week on Fridays, on my way to work. Oil flow is quite fast, and the oiler only gets activated during the first two or threehundred meters while I'm riding at slow speed. When I arrive at work, the slight oil splash at the rim and chain guard gets wiped off. On Saturdays the bike gets washed properly, and everything usually stays clean during the next week. Works like a dream. I use ATF, and the chain gets cleaned with kreosine once a month.

I like it. Thanks for sharing!