Chain

I have posted my method before on another thread, and took some flak for it, but I think I get comparable chain life as anyone who removes the chain, washes it in kerosene, and soaks in hot lube.

My lazy man's method:

Take a dollup of wheel bearing grease, put it in a pump oiler, add gasoline, shake well, and pump on pins and rollers. The solvent carries the grease where it is needed ... into the pin/roller joints, then evaporates, leaving the grease to fill the void. Concentrate the squirts on both sides of the inside plates. Grease has a greater load bearing film strength than oil, and has a greater tendency to remain in place.

Any excess on the outside of the pins/rollers does little or no good and flings off anyway.

BTW ... a drip oiler is virtually useless. The chain speeds of a MC (feet per minute) are too high and the oil slings towards the engine cases with none getting into the pins and rollers except perhaps at slow speeds, and there will likely be a constant oil deposit on the wheel as well. My Atlas vents the oil tank to the chain guard near the swing arm pivot. Oil mist from the vent would coat the left side engine case until I fashioned a guard around the inside of the inner primary cover, just forward of the GB sprocket.

The best thing is an oil bath totally enclosed chain case as Worntorn has shown above. Next best is either my method, or remove - wash - soak - replace chain. If you opt for the latter, keep two chains .. one on the bike, and one in the soak tank, and swap them out.

Slick

Dances with Shrapnel said:

Triton Thrasher said:

I'm having good results with steam cylinder oil.

Click to expand...

Had to look that one up. One add states: "Bearings Under High Temperature and Load Conditions" so it sounds like it might have some of the right stuff for non o-ring chains. Trick is getting it to all the places on a chain (non o-ring) where it needs to be and keeping it there. How do you apply it? Do you brush it on or soak the chain in it?

Anybody try something along the lines of Texaco Crater X?

Click to expand...

I just dribble it on the rollers and let it find its way wherever it's going. I use a plastic bottle with a hole punched in the lid. It takes quite a hard squeeze.

Certainly keeps the chain oily longer than anything else I've tried and wear has been good.

Guys I gotta ask...

With so many very good, motorcycle chain application, easy to use, chain lubricants available off the shelf... Why the home remedies...?

Fast Eddie said:

Guys I gotta ask...

With so many very good, motorcycle chain application, easy to use, chain lubricants available off the shelf... Why the home remedies...?

Click to expand...

Eye of newt, and toe of frog,Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing,--For a charm of powerful trouble,Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Glen

Fast Eddie said:

Guys I gotta ask...

With so many very good, motorcycle chain application, easy to use, chain lubricants available off the shelf... Why the home remedies...?

Click to expand...

Can only speak for myself, but I don't find the sprays to be as good as they're claimed to be, in a wet climate.

Hobot, when Andy said he used fork lift oil to lube his chains I wondered what that might be. Then I ealised he was talking about the chain oil [ I think ] and started using chain bar lube. I carry a 30 ml bottle with me when I go on long trips.
As for the washing and lubing the chains with hot grease etc. etc. I did that years ago with my Suzuki Titan and then my Commando and found the chains in those days still wore out after 6000 miles.
My second bike, a Suzuki 150 twin, it not only had that magic starter Dyno, but it had a fully enclosed chain. I don't remember ever having to renew that chain, [ but maybe out of sight, out of mind ]. The chain cover looked quite smart as well, but I guess it went with the pressed steel chassis.
Dereck

ps to NZ bike owners, I just sold my last 107 link IWIS chain so will have to order more from Andy. Unfortunately the $NZ has just gone down a bit against the GB pound. Bugger.

Chain lube in a spray can just don't last long on the chain, I know when I use gear oil it last 5x times longer, but on dirt bikes you still got to do it every day, plus a 1lt of gear oil will last for many years and is cheap, a can of spray lube will last 3 months maybe and at over $17 a can it all adds up over time, I use a small paint brush to lube my chain top and bottom and only use 2 cap fulls of oil, I do this when the chain is hot and depends on how many miles you do I usualy only have to do it once a month.
Next time I take my chain off to clean and relube I mite mix a bit of STP in with the gear oil and see if that helps as well, I am always open to experment.

Ashley

ashman said:

Chain lube in a spray can just don't last long on the chain, I know when I use gear oil it last 5x times longer, but on dirt bikes you still got to do it every day, plus a 1lt of gear oil will last for many years and is cheap, a can of spray lube will last 3 months maybe and at over $17 a can it all adds up over time, I use a small paint brush to lube my chain top and bottom and only use 2 cap fulls of oil, I do this when the chain is hot and depends on how many miles you do I usualy only have to do it once a month.
Next time I take my chain off to clean and relube I mite mix a bit of STP in with the gear oil and see if that helps as well, I am always open to experment.

Ashley

Click to expand...

I don't think STP would be nearly as good as a way tack type oil to add to a chain oil solution. Hobot hit on it indirectly because chain saw bar and chain oil has way tack properties.

Sticky is good and that seems to be the only key attribute to chain bar oil. From the limited reading I have done, chain bar oil does not have the extreme pressure attributes. Maybe an additive like a graphite or moly might bump up the EP characteristics. I doubt it penetrates any better than motor oil or gear oil.

I also question the cost to value added of an aerosol over more conventional lubrication but aerosols are convenient.

I like texaslick's approach best (bearing grease and volatile solvent) - it can deliver an extreme pressure lubricant (grease) where you need it and should apply light enough that I would not expect gobs of grease missiles when the volatiles volatize and the chain gets spun up.

Once upon a time oil was cheap and chains expensive so best way has been long known and shown above. Btw might re-thing sticky as the key element. Bar oil is only relatively sticky compared to gear or engine oil and requires flow of messy new oil displacing old oil to flush crap and heat away or can get too sticky from tree sap and fibers so chain heats up in bar to smoke wood dark and chain so slack lays out of groove sideways not cutting well or can jump off bar.

My one use of Sticky type lube on cycle chain in my area w/o some constant sling off and drip replacement is what finalized my going sans lube. I use the sticky chain spray for tool hinges and mower dolly wheel swivels and to smear on to soak into wood handles not to rot so fast and wasps nests.

Triton Thrasher said:

Dances with Shrapnel said:

Triton Thrasher said:

I'm having good results with steam cylinder oil.

Click to expand...

Had to look that one up. One add states: "Bearings Under High Temperature and Load Conditions" so it sounds like it might have some of the right stuff for non o-ring chains. Trick is getting it to all the places on a chain (non o-ring) where it needs to be and keeping it there. How do you apply it? Do you brush it on or soak the chain in it?

Anybody try something along the lines of Texaco Crater X?

Click to expand...

I just dribble it on the rollers and let it find its way wherever it's going. I use a plastic bottle with a hole punched in the lid. It takes quite a hard squeeze.

Certainly keeps the chain oily longer than anything else I've tried and wear has been good.

Click to expand...

I should warn you all that the steam oil is stringy and messy.

Triton Thrasher said:

I should warn you all that the steam oil is stringy and messy.

Click to expand...

You might want to adapt to texaslick's approach by thinning with a volatile solvent first, then wipe off excess and let volatize.

All good stuff.

Dances with Shrapnel said:

Triton Thrasher said:

I should warn you all that the steam oil is stringy and messy.

Click to expand...

You might want to adapt to texaslick's approach by thinning with a volatile solvent first, then wipe off excess and let volatize.

Click to expand...

Yebbut, that'd be work.

check out 1st part of this vintage drive chain development film. As a teen got to operate and work deeply on small dozers including track repair and changes - to know one does not want to put lube in its links in Fla. limestone, coral rock and sand. Tough luck if track links getting less friction lubed by operation in watery mud.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcxCOqKP7Fc[/video]

Triton Thrasher said:

Dances with Shrapnel said:

Triton Thrasher said:

I should warn you all that the steam oil is stringy and messy.

Click to expand...

You might want to adapt to texaslick's approach by thinning with a volatile solvent first, then wipe off excess and let volatize.

Click to expand...

Yebbut, that'd be work.

Click to expand...

Work, that other four letter word.

Come on Andy . You can explain the above better than any of us.
Dereck

Basically the only way to lube is boil in wax.

This gets the lube to where it is need pin and bush, all other forms of
lube, spray, oiler etc etc basically put lube on the chain.

I use a spray called Chaintec forklift spray because it is very liquid to start
and after a few minutes goes waxy. Spray down the inside of the chain and
go for a ride straight away. Some of it may get close, but boiling is best.

For O ring use nothing as the seals are good at keeping lube out. If you
must do something cheapo diesel engine on a rag and wiped over chain
is OK, has lots of detergents.

Putoline does a good boil in. Its expensive but will last for years.

Andy

PS Dont use solvents as it will remove any lube that is there, iwis has IP3 as standard (google it)

Good info Andy.
How longe will the treatment with chain wax last? Or how many km?
One season (3-4 mnd)?

No fixed time scale more often the better but I would suggest every 2000km.

Do it monthly and the chain will outlast the bike.

Andy