Cleaning your chain. | GTAMotorcycle.com

Cleaning your chain.

Mukala

Mukala

Well-known member
What do you guys clean your chain with? I was told kerosene and a grunge brush is the best option.
 
Why clean it? O-ring chains are sealed. Dry waxing them is a good thing to do though.
 
I don't clean it often but when I do I use kerosene. Just rag, no brush. I paint the chain with Lucas oil stabilizer. Sticks like snot.
 
Kerosene and a paint brush with the bristles cut half way up.
 
a clean chain is a happy chain. I clean it every once in a while with kerosene and a brush/rag. take it for a short spin to warm up the clean chain before lube.
 
meme said:
Are you suggesting that they shouldn't clean it? All that road grime between sprocket and chain?
Click to expand...

If you lube it, you better clean it. But if you run it dry, then you may not have to.
 
Still don't see how that would prevent road grime. Puddles, dust etc from accumulating.

It's like washing your car without rinsing it first to me. I wouldn't grind all that filth into my clear coat. My vehicle though, and I guess this is their bikes.

Thanks.
 
meme said:
Still don't see how that would prevent road grime. Puddles, dust etc from accumulating.

It's like washing your car without rinsing it first to me. I wouldn't grind all that filth into my clear coat. My vehicle though, and I guess this is their bikes.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Oil sticks and crap sticks to oil. So if you lube it, you better clean it. Whereas if you don't lube it, then crap won't stick to it. Sure, a minuscule amount may, but not anywhere close to the amount if you lubed it.
 
Running a chain dry is expensive. Even with an O-ring chain you still need to lubricate the surfaces between the rollers and sprocket teeth, if you don't want the chain and sprockets to wear at twice the normal rate.
 
Robp said:
Oil sticks and crap sticks to oil. So if you lube it, you better clean it. Whereas if you don't lube it, then crap won't stick to it. Sure, a minuscule amount may, but not anywhere close to the amount if you lubed it.
Click to expand...

I get that but imo it's still dirty from the road
 
Kerosene and the Tyrox brush. You may have to buy a can of their cleaner first.. It's great.. Wraps around the entire chain and cleans from all sides. Wipe off with a rag.
 
Most clean the chain, because it looks nice. Why not, it takes 10 minutes? It's just another thing I enjoy doing on my bike while I'm already devoting a nice morning or afternoon working on it.

Kerosene, and pick up a $5 chain brush from ebay. MUCH faster than a toothbrush.
 
Same as most above, I use kerosene and either the Grunge Brush, or the Tirox cleaning brush + some shop towels to wipe off the excess crap. Then spray on some DuPont Chain Saver and good to go.

Remember to also check & adjust your chain slack! A lot of folks (myself included) don't do this regularly enough and you can be unpleasantly surprised when you find out how much wear/damage this can be causing.
 
Kerosene, rag or brush and dupont teflon chain saver. This has been beaten to death over the years, but this seems to be the winning combo ;)
 
Correct, guess what is easier, WD-40 is 80% kerosene and easier to apply and wipe clean and Dupont chain saver after. If you dont care about wheel mess, I have done more than 50000 with just wd-40 , but it is messy.

BB
 
busabim said:
Correct, guess what is easier, WD-40 is 80% kerosene and easier to apply and wipe clean and Dupont chain saver after. If you dont care about wheel mess, I have done more than 50000 with just wd-40 , but it is messy.

BB
Click to expand...

WD40 is the worst thing you can put on a chain, it will penetrate the O rings and just washout the factory grease.

From the WD40 website:
[h=5]What does WD-40 Multi-Use Product contain?[/h]"While the ingredients in WD-40 Multi-Use Product are secret, we can tell you what it does NOT contain. WD-40 Multi-Use Product does not contain silicone, kerosene, water, graphite, or chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)."

http://wd40.com/faqs/



It's hard to know where there is more misinformation on the interwebnet, cleaning a stupid chain, or motor oil choice.
 
Do you use Kleen Heat synthetic kerosene or are you using a mineral spirits kerosene? Which one do you think is better for the task?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom