Chain lubrication continued

MY CHAIN

CHAIN

Tried this in the last window but the bytes where too big

Thats my ATF chain guys, never had to wipe it clean

CoreyClough wrote:

From my experience with chain lubes in the mid 70's and early 80's. Dad would bake the chains in oil in the oven, when Mom went out shopping for the day. OK who hasn't used some kitchen item when the "other half" was away? If you said you didn't then you're a liar!!!

Anyways. There are new advanced produsts out there that are better for your chain, than engine oil. Products that don't "fling" and can repel dirt and grime, along with lubricating newer o-ring chains are out there. I use Maxima Chain Wax on both my dirtbike and streetbike.

<br><br>Post edited by: CoreyClough, at: 2006/11/30 00:15

funny about the wax and kitchen stove. back in the early 1970s, i had a CB450, and i recall putting a metal bucket on the stove and soaking the chain in hot wax and motor oil. it must have been a "best practice" at the time :lol:

Some very nice ones..

Maxima Chain Wax
PJ-1 Blue (for o-ring/x-ring chains)
PJ-1 Black (for non o ring chains)
Bel-ray Superclean
Motul Chain Lube

All are very nice products but as the old saying goes...

"Lubing is NOT a substitute for cleaning!!!"

I have had great success using a lubricant that I read about in a maintenance book for bicycles. You wait for the wife to leave. Melt some paraffin in a pan on the stove. Add in an equal quantity of SAE 90W gear oil. Get the mixture away from the stove and add in about 3 parts solvent such as white gasoline or enamel reducer to one part of the previous mixture. Stir. It will cool into a soft solid, so keep it in a container that can be heated and also sealed.

It is best to apply when the bike is warm. Heat the mixture until it becomes a thin liquid. Then apply it liberally to the chain with a small paint brush. The solvent allows the 90W to run into the pins where the lubrication is needed. The solvent evaporates and the 90W remains along the pins and does not run off. The paraffin cools into a wax that repels dirt, grime and moisture. The heating of the stuff makes a huge difference.

Don't use chain waxes on something that see's dirt time. They hold grit like crazy.

ATF has abrasives in it. That's why it'll screw up the power steering pump on a car if used in it. And why doing a service on an older auto tranny can FUBAR them too.

WD40 is a joke.

Motor oil or gear lube attracts grit too, and doesn't last.

I've tried just about every over the counter chain lube you can imagine, and I keep going back to the products made by PJ1.

Know what's funny...the chain on my KZ is bigger than the one on my Busa. (630 vs 530)

...which leads to another topic...

Don't forget, lube the chain right after you ride, not before. The lube sticks better to a hot/warm chain and is a lot less prone to fling off the next time you ride.

Clean looking chain doesn't mean much. The worst wear sites are the internal faces of the roller pins where all the force is applied. The really expensive chains have O rings around the roller pins that keep lube trapped in there. The spray lubes have a thin carrier chemical so it can run into the chain and then the propellant evaporates, leaving a lube that is as sticky as super glue. I use the PJ-1 blue and I think it's better than regular oil and lasts longer.

I have used ATF to clean and soak chains for awhile now and it works pretty well. On my KZ 750 B I didn't want to put up the money for a new chain so instead I put the original 30 year old chain in a bucket with a bunch of ATF and left it for 2 weeks. When the chain went in it had a bunch of those stiff kinks in it that wouldn't come out. When it came out it was clean and moved freely. I probably will be getting a new one when i buy new tires this summer and When I do I plan on using something like PJ1 or Maxima.

I think the DuPont chain lube is great stuff. It's clean, doesn't fling, and it seems to work great. Besides applying lube after a ride and waiting for the carrier to evaporate, apply the lube at the sprocket. This concentrates the lube on the pins. Your chain will be lubricated better and you'll use less lube.