Chain Lube / cleaning .

[hindle8907]

had my bike for 4-5 weeks now but i havent lubed my chain yet. done 1000 miles so i think it might be time to do it .

do i need to clean the chain before i lube it up if so what is used to clean and does anyone recomend a certian lube .

i will be riding in rain and around 400 miles a week . so a good one is needed .

i cant afford a scotoiler just yet .

cheers

yep, 1000 miles is a bit overdue (for future reference, add some lube every 200 miles max)

Its a good idea to clean the chain; WD40 does work, but its a little bit nasty for the rubber o-ring seals (although tsubaki recommend the use of a water dispersant to clean the chain). I personally havn't heard of any problems and if my chain isnt too dirty, I'll clean it beforehand with WD40.

If your chain is really messy, get out the liquid parraffin and the brushes and clean everything off. Let it dry (use rags then leave it to air-dry for a bit...have a cup of tea or something) then apply a good lubricant - I use silkolene something-or-another, its not a dry lube and therefore dosn't need re-application as often, and stands up well in wet weather...but it is a tad messy. A good dry lube which isnt messy is the Wurth high-performance dry lube, but I always found this came off easily in the wet weather.

Apply the lube to the inside of the chain on both sides of the rear sprocket, and add a little on the front sprocket aswell. Best to apply from the inside, since the rotational forces will natrully cause the lube to spread to the outside.

Check all the rollers roll while your cleaning, if some dont then just give them a bit more attention. Check for any stiff / kinked links and pay them attention aswell

Happy cleaning With the miles you do, you'd be wise to apply some extra lube mid-week, and then have a proper chain clean once a week and re-apply fresh lube

Matt

Yep,as above....parrafin to clean,wurth dry chain lube afterwards(my personal preference)

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by hindle8907

i cant afford a scotoiler just yet .

cheers

Get a second hand one off Ebay. (or the second hand one in the for sale section on here). 400 miles a week, the scotty will soon pay for itself.

another vote here for the wurth dry stuff and wd40 on a rag for cleaning.

I use castrol chain cleaner and castrol chain wax, but only apply it to the chain under the swinging arm (if you know what i mean) on both sides of the chain, reduces fling off a lot.

[johnnyrod]

I use Castrol chain wax spray too, it's the best I've found. You should be lubing it and checking the adjustment approx. every 300 miles in the dry or 150 in the wet which is about 1-2 tanksful. Don't waste your time cleaning it!

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by Alpinestarhero

yep, 1000 miles is a bit overdue (for future reference, add some lube every 200 miles max)

Its a good idea to clean the chain; WD40 does work, but its a little bit nasty for the rubber o-ring seals (although tsubaki recommend the use of a water dispersant to clean the chain).

WD40's made of paraffin.
What makes you think it is bad for the O-rings if one of the best chain manufacturers around recommends it?

[johnnyrod]

It's got some other solvents in there to reduce the surface tension so it penetrates better. Not tried it myself but plenty of peple say it can screw up some types of rubber. Tat said, doesn't mean they're right.

Originally Posted by Luckypants

Get a second hand one off Ebay. (or the second hand one in the for sale section on here). 400 miles a week, the scotty will soon pay for itself.

Yup agreed. You say you can't afford one. But the money you save in extended chain life and not having to buy chain cleaning and lubricating products will overtake how much you paid for the scottoiler very quickly indeed.