help, - i cant look after my chain!

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Imsimon
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help, - i cant look after my chain!

Post by Imsimon »

was just after some advice on keeping your chain all nice!

my problem is that i wash my bike a fair bit and my chain always ends up looking old and rusty, some advice and recommended wax, greese, lube recommendations please!
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Post by Guest »

try this:

first spray your chain wid wd40.
then go out for a quick blast to generate heat into the chain and allow the wd40 to soak through.
then come back and spray some proper chain lube(silkoline) on it.

notice the chain lube sticks to the chain and not all over your rear wheel :)
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masterofinsanity
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Post by masterofinsanity »

apparently wd40 rots the o-rings in the chain ? so you shouldn't use it, but i would imagine the time it takes to rot your chain will have worn out first?
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Post by Jamz »

Best i've found is chain wax.

Even this flings off a tiny bit, but a hell of a lot less than anyhing else!

The downside is that it's a right bitch to get off your wheel!!! lol

Get yourself some Yoshimoto Gold Chain Wax - also has the advantage of.... tunring your chain a golden colour!!!

A bit of rust on your sideplates isn't really anything to worry about - it's the O or X rings between the plates that you have to look after.

You can also buy special chaincleaners to spray/soak the chain before you apply new lube - but i've never bothered.
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RedexRobB
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Post by RedexRobB »

I dont need to mantain my chain that much as i have a scottoiler! :P

Best thing sliced bread in my opinion. Just fit it to your bike, fill it with oil, set it up and forget about it for about 1000 miles! I only ever have to wipe the chain clean with a cloth soaked in degreaser and it looks like new again :D No effort and as your chain is being oiled constantly, your chain lasts a hell of alot longer!
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Post by Jamz »

I actually bought a scottoiler when i had my VFR750, but never got around to fitting it....

The twin-oil-adaptor-type thing looks like the dogs danglies...

Thing is, it's so thin oil that if you don't keep an eye on the levels in the reservoir, if it does run dry you're chain would be lubeless in not many miles at all...

I think it's really down to how often you can be bothered to check/lube your chain as to how much better a Scottoiler is.

I also bought one of those 'Wheel Spinner' things - which is 4 ballbearings on an adjustable square that you can slip under your rear wheel so you can turn it without having to push the bike forwards 12" at a time. That's come in handy a few times when i couldn't be arsed to take my bike to the top of the driveway but knew the chain needed lubing!!! :D
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RedexRobB
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Post by RedexRobB »

Jamz wrote:The twin-oil-adaptor-type thing looks like the dogs danglies...
Yeah thats the dual injector :) Usual oiler oils just one side of the chain but the dual injector does bothsides :)

You can set the flow rate of the oil, really your chain should look like a glistening cock on the withdrawal :D but really you should set it according to the weather; in the rain you increase it, and drier weather decrease it.

Ive got the touring kit fitted to my XJR, but for some reason doesnt appear to work very well, your supposed to turn it up cos of the touring kit but still on maximum flow it doesnt flow as much as it should :? still the chain does get oiled :)

Another point tho, if you dont oil your chain your gonna loose power at the rear wheel, imagine that, your bike is slower cos its wasting energy in your chain :wink:
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Post by RobZX636RNinja »

Hey , if you wanted to treat your chain well , and dont mind putting the effort in , you say you like washing your bike alot , so you shouldnt mind lubing and washing ya chain , ok then what ya need is a rear paddock stand , if you havent got one then all u gotta do is roll ya bike down the drive to get round the chain , ok using which ever method , have on hand a brush alot of soapy water / or chain degreaser , and brush all the clumped up muck off all way round chain , spin ya wheel round / or roll the bike and double check for muck , at this point i would wash the bike , then dump loads of water over it and over the chain , leave ya bike for awhile then at the same time you would usually be buffing it up with autoglym :D , ( go to halfords and buy some castrol chain wax - also u can get castrol chain degreaser ) , so have ya castrol chain wax and spray a nice even coat all the way round ya chain , i spray both sides of the chain but i personally spray a second coat on the inner side ,

leave the bike for about 5 - 10 mins then ride :) ,


and then basically to maintain your chain , its

every 200 miles spray on the chain wax ,

every 1000 miles clean chain

i personally dont mind doing this , i like to spend an hour or so every week or so cleaning and polishing my bike up , so if like me you dont mind looking after ya baby , then no need to purchase a scottoiler :) ,
scottoilers are good , but id rather have some thick wax on my chain , that wont run off in wet weather riding , just my opinion , hope this post helps out a bit , Rob
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SimonH
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Post by SimonH »

scottoilers rule, I had one on my 4 and there wasn't a spot of rust on my chain after 5,000 miles in all weathers.....and now on my new bike I had the chain for less than two weeks before there were signs of rust...can't recommend them enough, they're just pretty expensive for what they are really
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Post by RedexRobB »

Yeah i agree simon, but i guess you easily make the money back in what you save in buying chains!

I got no prob looking after me baby, the scottoiler just makes it easier :D But like i say your chain is being oiled 100% of the time. Rather than a soaking of oil/wax every 200 miles of which it only stays oiled for the first couple after the lot has flinged off onto ya wheel.
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Post by kb-zxr »

RobB wrote:really your chain should look like a glistening cock on the withdrawal :D
lol Thats what i've been doing wrong all these years then :lol:
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Post by RedexRobB »

8)
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Re: help, - i cant look after my chain!

Post by masterofinsanity »

any tips for unseizing rusty chains?
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Re: help, - i cant look after my chain!

Post by crushedlizard »

I think WD40 is bad because it's a penetratig oil so flushes out all the grease/oil. Probably ok to apply it so long as you re-lube the chain very well.
But Castrol Chain cleaner is pretty effective at cleaning them up though, even mild rust (dunno about seized though). You have to put a toad load of wax/lube on afterwards though as it literally cleans it back to bare metal.

The main thing with a chain is that you spray it on then rub it in/excess off. Takes fucking ages but it limits 'fling' and the chain doesn't pick up toad. I lube mine after every long ride or 150-250km. My chain was in a poor state when I got my bike but laborious cleaning regime got it almost new again.

...but winter wore my patience down and now it's fecked! :smt005
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