Chain Maintenance - and go!

[bigpoppa]

Thanks all, very helpful, now I have to put it into practice.

I did a quick google search and found a post with @V-Tom advise in it, similar to what @Jayell mentions.

Chain Maintenance

www.stromtrooper.com

from his post:
" When people give you the above (or any) recommendations ask them how long their chains last. You will probably find that most chains doing any of the above last in the 20,000 to 30,000 mile range. My first two chains on my 2006 DL650 lasted 21,000 and 23,500 miles following what the manufacturer recommends.

My third chain was replaced at 46,500 miles and had some useful life left in it. I never cleaned that chain as cleanigng the chain does nothing usefull, but lubed it with Wurth HHS2000 every time I filled up the tank and after every ride in the rain. The HHS200 makes a mess, but it works. (The forth chain is still on the 2006 with 35,000 miles and lots of life but the bike is essentially retired so may not see any more mileage.)"

I like the idea of the white chain lub @shanekingsley mentions to get a visual of the amount of lube or coverage, I've seen this on newer bikes.

motul chain paste is like this, its white and comes in what looks like a toothpaste tube. Much cleaner and nicer than the spray stuff.

 

[Jay Alexander]

Am I the only one without a stand that does one section of the chain, pushes it forward, then repeats?

I use kerosene with a chain brush (order off aliexpress, they're $2 shipped), then Motul chain wax.

 

[sburns]

Am I the only one without a stand that does one section of the chain, pushes it forward, then repeats?

I use kerosene with a chain brush (order off aliexpress, they're $2 shipped), then Motul chain wax.

I might be following this routine for the short term, seems good to me.

 

[Evoex]

Thanks all, very helpful, now I have to put it into practice.

I did a quick google search and found a post with @V-Tom advise in it, similar to what @Jayell mentions.

Chain Maintenance

www.stromtrooper.com

from his post:
" When people give you the above (or any) recommendations ask them how long their chains last. You will probably find that most chains doing any of the above last in the 20,000 to 30,000 mile range. My first two chains on my 2006 DL650 lasted 21,000 and 23,500 miles following what the manufacturer recommends.

My third chain was replaced at 46,500 miles and had some useful life left in it. I never cleaned that chain as cleanigng the chain does nothing usefull, but lubed it with Wurth HHS2000 every time I filled up the tank and after every ride in the rain. The HHS200 makes a mess, but it works. (The forth chain is still on the 2006 with 35,000 miles and lots of life but the bike is essentially retired so may not see any more mileage.)"

I like the idea of the white chain lub @shanekingsley mentions to get a visual of the amount of lube or coverage, I've seen this on newer bikes.

my motul paste goes on white

EDIT: Poppa beat me to it

Also i cannot completely get behind 'cleaning the chain does nothing'. I will concede in this age of technology we're likely feeling a little exposed by our grimy/rusty chains. Maybe it affects something, maybe it doesn't, but nothing??

 

[just-me]

Regarding the lack of centre stand, if you don't plan on buying them, you can make your own small version that is easy to carry with you. @timtune has posted pics of his before.

V-Stroms don't come with centre stands? They make chain lubrication much more convenient... I dunno if I would cough up the $500 that Suzuki seems to want though

I have one of these, comes in handy, cheaper than $500, and you can use front or back wheel for whatever.

motorcycle wheel rooler - Google Search

 

[Jay Alexander]

I might be following this routine for the short term, seems good to me.

I don't have a garage, so very limited on what I can do at the moment

 

[sburns]

I have one of these, comes in handy, cheaper than $500, and you can use front or back wheel for whatever.

https://www.google.com/search?q=mot...#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:371bf059,vid:p0urSoMifno

That is pretty neat. But I think the centre stand will serve me better in the long run. I'm sure I can find a aftermarket one for less then OEM

 

[shanekingsley]

my motul paste goes on white

EDIT: Poppa beat me to it

Also i cannot completely get behind 'cleaning the chain does nothing'. I will concede in this age of technology we're likely feeling a little exposed by our grimy/rusty chains. Maybe it affects something, maybe it doesn't, but nothing??

I used to never clean my chains and they would routinely last to 60k,where I was changing them out, and only because my sprockets were getting done, so I was changing as a set.

For a couple years I had a VFR750 with white rims, so I cleaned that chain about 1x a month and those never lasted more than 30k.

Now I clean my chains every now and then only because I'm vain like that, but really, never more than 2x per year and they are lasting around 50k. I'm pretty positive if I didn't clean my chains at al lthey would be back up to 60k per swap.

That Wurth HHS2000 lube that Tom was mentioning is expensive but awesome. It's all I used to use until the last few years. I recall they changed the name and it's now called HHS. And the price doubles from around $10/can to $20. It's does tend to fling if you ride shortly after putting it on though, so really best done when parking the bike for the night.

 

[Baggsy]

I used to never clean my chains and they would routinely last to 60k,where I was changing them out, and only because my sprockets were getting done, so I was changing as a set.

For a couple years I had a VFR750 with white rims, so I cleaned that chain about 1x a month and those never lasted more than 30k.

Now I clean my chains every now and then only because I'm vain like that, but really, never more than 2x per year and they are lasting around 50k. I'm pretty positive if I didn't clean my chains at al lthey would be back up to 60k per swap.

That Wurth HHS2000 lube that Tom was mentioning is expensive but awesome. It's all I used to use until the last few years. I recall they changed the name and it's now called HHS. And the price doubles from around $10/can to $20. It's does tend to fling if you ride shortly after putting it on though, so really best done when parking the bike for the night.

Rarely cleaning and lubing the chain was how I ended up with stuck links on the Wee on the way to Alabama.
I was lucky that a shop had a chain in stock and put it on in a couple of hours.
I had to replace that chain, and the sprockets when I got home.

 

[Soulcatcher668]

I use kerosene to clean it, let it sit for 10 minutes on a particularly grimy chain and it eats everything.

D.I.D. seems to specifically say not to use kerosene.

D.I.D does not recommend maintaining any drive chain with kerosene.
■Cleaning a sealed chain with kerosene would cause deformation of the seal ring and can oftentimes lead to rusting of a chain due to the removal of grease on the chain’s surface, which increases the risk of chain corruption and chain failure. It is highly likely that use of kerosene on a sealed drive chain will drastically decrease the chains performance.

 

[shanekingsley]

Rarely cleaning and lubing the chain was how I ended up with stuck links on the Wee on the way to Alabama.
I was lucky that a shop had a chain in stock and put it on in a couple of hours.
I had to replace that chain, and the sprockets when I got home.

I would agree!
that’s why I would always lube the chain even if not cleaning.

 

[Evoex]

D.I.D. seems to specifically say not to use kerosene.

D.I.D does not recommend maintaining any drive chain with kerosene.
■Cleaning a sealed chain with kerosene would cause deformation of the seal ring and can oftentimes lead to rusting of a chain due to the removal of grease on the chain’s surface, which increases the risk of chain corruption and chain failure. It is highly likely that use of kerosene on a sealed drive chain will drastically decrease the chains performance.

isn't that what we're cleaning and reapplying?

 

[sburns]

BTW There seems to be a sale on for the Wurth HHS2000 lube, it's $14.99 from their store in Vaughan

HHS 2000 | Lubricants | Synthetic Lubricant | Wurth Canada

High pressure resistant and highly adhesive synthetic lubricating oil 893.106

shop.wurth.ca

But yeah it's normally $26!

 

[shanekingsley]

BTW There seems to be a sale on for the Wurth HHS2000 lube, it's $14.99 from their store in Vaughan

HHS 2000 | Lubricants | Synthetic Lubricant | Wurth Canada

High pressure resistant and highly adhesive synthetic lubricating oil 893.106

shop.wurth.ca

But yeah it's normally $26!

That's a good price!

It's the best

 

[TK4]

Lube the chain (your choice of product), let it sit, wipe off the excess, move along.
When the chain is stretched to the point of no more adjustment, or has nasty tight and loose spots, replace the chain and sprockets.
This isn't rocket surgery.

 

[shanekingsley]

Lube the chain (your choice of product), let it sit, wipe off the excess, move along.
When the chain is stretched to the point of no more adjustment, or has nasty tight and loose spots, replace the chain and sprockets.
This isn't rocket surgery.

Agreed.
And nor is it brain science.

 

[timtune]

I've lubed my motorcycles without a center stand.

Lever the rear wheel off the ground by pulling the bike toward you using the front wheel and side stand as a two-pointed base. Make sure you have the front brake engaged.

Use your foot to rotate the rear wheel while it's off the ground, set the bike down again, lube that part of the chain and repeat the above steps to get at all parts of the chain.

Helps if there's someone else there to help you either lift the rear wheel or lube the chain, but you can do it yourself, it just takes more time.

Yes this way. Except on a trips a buddy takes one task and at home the Squeeze holds the bike leaned over. Never tried it solo.

 

[Lightcycle]

Yes this way. Except on a trips a buddy takes one task and at home the Squeeze holds the bike leaned over. Never tried it solo.

Yep.

For certain bikes a centerstand is not a desirable option. And if you're on a long trip, this is the quickest and easiest way to get your rear wheel up.

I have one of those doohickeys you made to add a leg on the other side of the side stand to simulate a centerstand, but really, just levering the rear up on the front wheel is so fast that I only use the doohickey for trail-side wheel removal.

 

[gsxr guy]

Get a stand.

I’m currently using motul chain paste, on the fence if I’ll continue but no complaints.

I use kerosene to clean it, let it sit for 10 minutes on a particularly grimy chain and it eats everything. Then wipe with a rag, ready to relube.

Kerosene is bad for o rings.

 

[gsxr guy]

isn't that what we're cleaning and reapplying?

All the lube is inside the links, held in by the orings. Damage the orings and the grease comes out. Anything that damages an oring does more harm then good.