How often do you lube your chain? | Page 5 | GTAMotorcycle.com

How often do you lube your chain?

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When people give you advice on how to take care of your chain ask them how much mileage they get out of their chains



I rode 57,000 km last year. My 2006 has 202,500 km but I stopped riding it when I got my 2012 in March (the 2012 has over 14,00 km.) I ride dailly in almost every condition except when there is snow on the roads. Rain, gravel, twisties, commuting, touring, whatever. I ride. I am on at least one bit of Gravel road almost every day.

The last chain I replaced on my 2006 was changed at 75,000 km and had some life left in it. It was NEVER cleaned (in my opinion cleaning is a total waste of time and effort and does nothing whatsoever of value apart from cosmetic.)

I did exactly what Ted at Rosey Toes told me. Lube with every tank of gas and after every ride in the rain, and I used Wurth HHS 2000. The stuff is messy but lubing this way makes the chain last big time.

..Tom
 
V-Tom said:
When people give you advice on how to take care of your chain ask them how much mileage they get out of their chains
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Bingo. While you are at it, ask them what their bike's torque figure is. Size of the chain is not irrelevant either.

75,000Km per chain is truly impressive, no matter what the other parameters are. I consider it an accomplishment when I get 50,000Km out of mine, but I admit I don't always take the best care of it. I never heard of Wurth, maybe I'll give it a try...

ItIsWhatItIs said:
"The belt may have a tendancy to slip with excess wear."
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Answers.com sucks, most responders can't even spell right. Slipping, although possible, would be the least of my worries with belt drive. Way more important would be the necessity to keep the belt taught at all positions of the swingarm, susceptibility to damage by road debris and the size/width of the belt necessary for heavier/torquier motorcycles. It's also practically impossible to change the gear ratio (a disadvantage belt shares with shaft). It's advantages are that it's lighter, easier to replace and essentially maintenance free. It should be cheaper too, but I doubt it is in real life.
 
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Vlad said:
Bingo. While you are at it, ask them what their bike's torque figure is. Size of the chain is not irrelevant either.

75,000Km per chain is truly impressive, no matter what the other parameters are. I consider it an accomplishment when I get 50,000Km out of mine, but I admit I don't always take the best care of it. I never heard of Wurth, maybe I'll give it a try...

...
Click to expand...

The current chain on my 06 is at 56,000 km and would probably last as long if I rode the bike, but am not anymore so that is probably the last chain for it. Chains that are lubed will last almost indefinitely if there are no other factors. Size of the chain and torque doesn't really matter, as long as the chain is strong enough to handle the power in the first place. There are many chains in industrial environments that are in an oil bath and these chains last almost forever. Since our chains aren't enclosed we need to lube them often, and every 500 to 1,000 km isn't nearly enough. The part the really needs lube is between the side plates so this is the area to focus on. Lube does very little anywhere else but when lubing the side plates some lube will splash around.

I think that any cleaning that could do anything useful will do more harm than good. Cosmetic cleaning on the outside does nothing, but if you have one of those chain cleaning bushes then it is conceivable that it gets between the plates and if so odds are it will damage the O-rings. So better to not clean it in the first place. (BTW, I'm convinced that any dirt in that area gets rinsed clean when I apply the HHS2000.)

..Tom
 
Vlad said:
Bingo. While you are at it, ask them what their bike's torque figure is. Size of the chain is not irrelevant either.

75,000Km per chain is truly impressive, no matter what the other parameters are. I consider it an accomplishment when I get 50,000Km out of mine, but I admit I don't always take the best care of it. I never heard of Wurth, maybe I'll give it a try...



Wikipedia sucks, they can't even spell right. Slipping, although possible, would be the least of my worries with belt drive. Way more important would be the necessity to keep the belt taught at all positions of the swingarm, susceptibility to damage by road debris and the size/width of the belt necessary for heavier/torquier motorcycles. It's also practically impossible to change the gear ratio (a disadvantage belt shares with shaft). It's advantages are that it's lighter, easier to replace and essentially maintenance free. It should be cheaper too, but I doubt it is in real life.
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I like shaft, two of my other bikes were shaft. They work great until something goes wrong. Sprockets and chains are inexpensive replacement parts. Shaft is good on certain types of bikes, mainly tourers and cruisers. Off road, sport, adventure chain is the choice. Shaft, belt , chain has their applications. For those being arbitrary in saying shaft is the only way to go perhaps should ride other types of bikes.
 
ItIsWhatItIs said:
I like shaft, two of my other bikes were shaft. They work great until something goes wrong. Sprockets and chains are inexpensive replacement parts. Shaft is good on certain types of bikes, mainly tourers and cruisers. Off road, sport, adventure chain is the choice. Shaft, belt , chain has their applications. For those being arbitrary in saying shaft is the only way to go perhaps should ride other types of bikes.
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One other nice thing (apart from toughness, efficiency and ability to chainge ratios) about chains is that, in general, they fail "soft". My first two chains on the 2006 lasted 33,900 and 37,900 km respectively and were maintained essentially by the recomendation in my owner's manual (Every 1,000 km clean with kerosene and then lube.) A frend pointed out to me on the second day of a 5,500 km ride that the chain had the red dust of death on it. It was shot. I tried to get a chain on the road but timing messed me up so I ended up riding with it for about 4,000 km even though it was toast. It got me home.

..Tom
 
I got 20,000 out of a 520 chain running on an aluminum sprocket on my 180whp GSX-R 1000. It was an RK chain, stretched like hell but otherwise was good... changed it to a DID ERV3 + steel Superlite sprocket and expect 35K out of it, minimum (it isn't stretching, either). And I use WD40.

Works for me. YMMV.
 
V-Tom said:
Size of the chain and torque doesn't really matter, as long as the chain is strong enough to handle the power in the first place.
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I dare say that a chain on your V-Strom will last considerably longer than the chain on my Bandit, everything else being equal (we can use the same type/size chains - some 520 are rated for both our bikes). Even if power/torque doesn't make any difference the chain itself does, and so do the sprockets. A non-O-ring chain on aluminum sprockets will definitely last less than a DID ZVM2 on steel sprockets (brand name or OEM).

V-Tom said:
The part the really needs lube is between the side plates so this is the area to focus on. Lube does very little anywhere else but when lubing the side plates some lube will splash around.
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Again, rollers need lubrication too, both internally and externally. They are not sealed by O rings. The pins get most wear and account for most of the "stretch" of the chain, but they are sealed so the space between the side plates needs more cleaning than actual lubrication.
V-Tom said:
...but if you have one of those chain cleaning bushes then it is conceivable that it gets between the plates and if so odds are it will damage the O-rings.
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I have KETTENMAX. It's bristles are definitely hard and long enough to reach deep between the plates and brush rollers hard as well. I'm on the fence whether they can or will actually harm the rings, but the point is essentially moot in my case since I'm lazy to do it and I haven't seen any advantages the last time I cleaned my chain (I don't care how clean or dirty it looks, as long as it is maintained right).
 
Vlad said:
I dare say that a chain on your V-Strom will last considerably longer than the chain on my Bandit, everything else being equal (we can use the same type/size chains - some 520 are rated for both our bikes). Even if power/torque doesn't make any difference the chain itself does, and so do the sprockets. A non-O-ring chain on aluminum sprockets will definitely last less than a DID ZVM2 on steel sprockets (brand name or OEM).
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On my last two chains I needed to replace the front sprockets well before the chain was done.


Vlad said:
Again, rollers need lubrication too, both internally and externally. They are not sealed by O rings. The pins get most wear and account for most of the "stretch" of the chain, but they are sealed so the space between the side plates needs more cleaning than actual lubrication.
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If you spray onto the side plates lube will get down into the roller area. Lube on the outside of the rollers does nothing as it is gone after few km's of riding. As I mentioned before I suspect that any cleaning that might be effective in the side plate area will likely damage the O-rings.



Vlad said:
I have KETTENMAX. It's bristles are definitely hard and long enough to reach deep between the plates and brush rollers hard as well. I'm on the fence whether they can or will actually harm the rings, but the point is essentially moot in my case since I'm lazy to do it and I haven't seen any advantages the last time I cleaned my chain (I don't care how clean or dirty it looks, as long as it is maintained right).
Click to expand...

When I stopped cleaning my chains and lubed more often my chain life went from around 33,000-38,000 km to almost 80,000 km. If you talk to people that have continuus chain lube you will find their chains last a long long time with no cleaning.

Lube is the answer!

..Tom
 
V-Tom said:
On my last two chains I needed to replace the front sprockets well before the chain was done.
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That's quite rare indeed. Front sprocket does wear faster, but I never heard of a sprocket getting worn while chain remained in spec. I'm not doubting or arguing, I'm just puzzled :)

V-Tom said:
When I stopped cleaning my chains and lubed more often my chain life went from around 33,000-38,000 km to almost 80,000 km. If you talk to people that have continuus chain lube you will find their chains last a long long time with no cleaning.
Click to expand...

I absolutely agree that lubing is way more important than cleaning, All the way to the point of making the later irrelevant. Good lube will not attract dirt and will partially wash the chain every time you lube it.

As for the automated lubrication systems, I had the old style Loobman installed for a while and found it way too messy and maintenance intensive in itself, so I took it off. I presume some other solutions would perform much better, but it's not very high on my priority list to try them out.

V-Tom said:
Lube is the answer!
Click to expand...

Absolutely!
 
V-Tom said:
When people give you advice on how to take care of your chain ask them how much mileage they get out of their chains



I rode 57,000 km last year. My 2006 has 202,500 km but I stopped riding it when I got my 2012 in March (the 2012 has over 14,00 km.) I ride dailly in almost every condition except when there is snow on the roads. Rain, gravel, twisties, commuting, touring, whatever. I ride. I am on at least one bit of Gravel road almost every day.

The last chain I replaced on my 2006 was changed at 75,000 km and had some life left in it. It was NEVER cleaned (in my opinion cleaning is a total waste of time and effort and does nothing whatsoever of value apart from cosmetic.)

I did exactly what Ted at Rosey Toes told me. Lube with every tank of gas and after every ride in the rain, and I used Wurth HHS 2000. The stuff is messy but lubing this way makes the chain last big time.

..Tom
Click to expand...

Who stocks Wurth HHS 2000 local? Ted?
 
Malks said:
Well I don't know about those other machines, but my ST has just over 144,000km on it and the shaft drive is performing just as it did when new. A jug of diff lube is cheap and the fluid only needs to be changed about every 20,000 km. Every car on the road uses a shaft drive and they seem to be fairly reliable.
Click to expand...

All I am saying if they break it will be a costly repair. Sprockets and chains are inexpensive. As we all know bikes are about maintenance. Buying a bike with shaft is a buyer beware situation.
 
V-Tom said:
I know Ted does. It's sold to Auto dealerships for use in the shops as well.

..Tom
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Thanks - gotta visit Ted.
I am nowhere near your mileage - i put may be 20K a year tops but looking forward to increase it.
How many cans do you use on average per year?
 
The whole automatic lubrication idea got me thinking. How about rigging a can of spray lube to a pair of nozzles (or even a single one) directed to the chain? It would be quite convenient on long rides when the bike is too heavily loaded to be easily propped on the center stand. Press the nozzle cap for a few seconds as you approach the gas station to fill up and that's it...

Looks like I just need a length of thin flexible tubing for this. Those IV tubes look mighty convenient...
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