Cleaning chain/sprockets

[chronyx]

Just wondering the best way to clean these - I imagine after my trail ride they are dusty, which mixed with grease would form a rather effective grinding paste. Not really what I want on my chain!

How do you do it? Can't just blast the hell out of it as it's an O-ring.

[Slimie]

Just wondering the best way to clean these - I imagine after my trail ride they are dusty, which mixed with grease would form a rather effective grinding paste. Not really what I want on my chain!

How do you do it? Can't just blast the hell out of it as it's an O-ring.

Small (00) sable paintbrush, unleaded ultraparafine, unbleached Egyptian cotton cloths.

Cleant the stuff off with the brush, carefully avoiding the O or X or those new fangled B rings, pat dry GENTLY with the cotton cloth being extremely carefull only to wipe with the grain of the steel sideplates, once clean loohoobricate with your choice of chain loohoobricants and e-n-j-o-y the sparkly cleanness of you rdrivechain.

Alternatively take it to any reputable jewellers who will be able to clean it ultramasonicaly, for ultra clean, ultra sparkly, ultra ultray chain cleanliness. Don't forget to disinfect, ahhh sod it, I've been drinking and don't know where to go with this! :wink:

Some folks say spray WD40 on it, wipe with a rag. I 'unno!!

How was Jon Bon Jovi? Are your ears still ringing? :lol:

Cheers
-Simon

[Slimie]

And where did you go trail riding?

-Simon

[squirrelciv]

I always use 'muck-off' and an old tooth brush. Give it a good rinse, pat dry, then re-lube.

[DaveS]

I just turn my Scottoiler up a bit....

[chronyx]

And where did you go trail riding?

-Simon

Clicky! (http://www.xrv.org.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5077)

Bon Jovi was awesome thanks! Supported by Nickelback and a band called Spin (I think) who won the chance to. They were all amazing.

Standing all day though, and was still in Milton Keynes in the early hours of the next day - 20,000 people trying to get out mean that when we saw some other people taking a shortcut, so did we. Unfortunately, a fully loaded Mini Cooper S (Not mine!) doesn't take kindly to going down kerbs...

That side skirt is with God now. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Dilbert]

Don't use any solvents or spray on cleaners (also containt solvents), buy a biscuit tin and eat all the biscuits, this is called preparation :) find the cheapest thinest oil you can, natural, synthetic or semi-skimmed, doesn't matter, unhook the chain from the rear sprocket and dangle it into the oil filled biscuit tin, with a 1"(ish) paintbrush splash the chain, soak it in the oil, flick oil all over the place till there's no sticky on bits, pull the chain through to the next bit, rinse and repeat till all done and pretty, put back on the rear sprocket, re-tension the chain, wind the back wheel round by hand and hold a clean rag around the chain as you go.
this is what we used to have to do in the 70's before o-rings, only we heated the oil so it got sucked up into the pins and rollers by capillary action, think yourselves lucky, jees kids of today I dunno :roll: :lol:

[chronyx]

Cool cheers Dilbert!

I put some WD40 on it this time, last time I used proper chain lube.

It's getting a bit tired now anyway, snail cams are nearly at full adjustment.

[YEN_POWELL]

Standing all day though, and was still in Milton Keynes in the early hours of the next day - 20,000 people trying to get out
Don't say I didn't warn ya :D

[chronyx]

Standing all day though, and was still in Milton Keynes in the early hours of the next day - 20,000 people trying to get out
Don't say I didn't warn ya :D

No, you did! :lol:

It seemed like the worse sort of day for lugging bike gear around though, and I was out till 3am the previous day, probably still over the limit, so I jumped at a lift!

Wish I'd ridden though... :roll:

[BobA]

I used to spray WD40 on a rag, then use the rag on the chain to remove any crud...until, somebody told me that WD40 is actually no good for rubber, and will slowly ruin the O/X rings. I never saw any evidence of this, but now, if the chain is really cruddy, I use Brake clean (formulated not to harm rubber) on a rag, and wipe the $hite off the chain.

Important Note: Obviously, I used to have a bit of a system for doing this, but once (on another bike) decided to do a good and proper job by removing, cleaning, lubing and re-assembling everything. My process of spinning the rear wheel in one direction (away from the sprocket) whilst cleaning with my rag, went a bit haywire once I'd removed the chainguard and moved to the top of the chain,and shortly afterwards removed the top of one finger with the rear sprocket!!!

I always find it best to re-lube the chain immediately after a ride, or as early as poss prior to a long ride.

Fave Lubes

Motul (clear)
Putoline (blueish clear)
KY !!

Cheers

Bob

[djadams]

I used to spray WD40 on a rag, then use the rag on the chain to remove any crud...until, somebody told me that WD40 is actually no good for rubber, and will slowly ruin the O/X rings.

Tis supposed to be true, yes. Not sure you're likely to do much damage, but not advised, for sure.

I use Brake clean (formulated not to harm rubber) on a rag,

Actually, my can of brake cleaner says to keep off rubber parts, so may have to check which brands are OK, and which aren't. Safest is def paraffin or diesel or other "heavy" solvent, or even better a thin oil as suggested by Dilbert.

TBH, I'm now with DaveS on turning up the Scottie.

I always find it best to re-lube the chain immediately after a ride, or as early as poss prior to a long ride.

Very good advice - warm chain=better penetration.

Fave Lube
KY !!

Even better advice, erm... ahaaaa... errrr... no comment... :D

[chronyx]

Cool, cheers guys!

[XRV_AndyM]

Here is the technique used when washing my @. I always clean the chain before the bike is washed. There is a Scotoiler on my @ but I still use chain lube after cleaning so that the chain is NEVER dry.

CLEANING THE CHAIN:
1) Put Bike on Centre Stand
2) Put large sheet of rags under back wheel (To keep the ground clean)
3) Put a long tray under the back sprocket
4) Pour some clean diesel oil into tray
5) Get some heavy duty gloves, use a paintbrush to work the oil onto the back sprocket, chain, spokes, rim and swing arm
6) 5 minutes of this and the back of your bike should be spotless & muck free
7) Empty used diesel into container (To be used again, or bring to local recycle centre)
6) Use a rag to clean any residual oil from the chain and back wheel
7) Wash bike thoroughly, especially back wheel, use powerhose but as usual try to avoid directly washing the chain or wheel bearings etc
8) Adjust chain if necessary and apply a coat of chain wax (Rock oil etc), even if a scotoiler is fitted

Paraffin/Kerosene can also be used. There is much advice online against using WD40 or Petrol as these can penetate the O-Rings and wash out any grease that should be left between the rollers.

My Gold Regina chain always looks great after this procedure!

[Sharribee]

Here is the technique used when washing my @. I always clean the chain before the bike is washed. There is a Scotoiler on my @ but I still use chain lube after cleaning so that the chain is NEVER dry.

CLEANING THE CHAIN:
1) Put Bike on Centre Stand
2) Put large sheet of rags under back wheel (To keep the ground clean)
3) Put a long tray under the back sprocket
4) Pour some clean diesel oil into tray
5) Get some heavy duty gloves, use a paintbrush to work the oil onto the back sprocket, chain, spokes, rim and swing arm
6) 5 minutes of this and the back of your bike should be spotless & muck free
7) Empty used diesel into container (To be used again, or bring to local recycle centre)
6) Use a rag to clean any residual oil from the chain and back wheel
7) Wash bike thoroughly, especially back wheel, use powerhose but as usual try to avoid directly washing the chain or wheel bearings etc
8) Adjust chain if necessary and apply a coat of chain wax (Rock oil etc), even if a scotoiler is fitted

Paraffin/Kerosene can also be used. There is much advice online against using WD40 or Petrol as these can penetate the O-Rings and wash out any grease that should be left between the rollers.

My Gold Regina chain always looks great after this procedure!

Jason says diesel or petrol too then give it a really good wash afterwards.



By the way Bon Jovi phwoar I'd take him for a ride any day




On Twinkletoes of course

saw him a few years ago and they were absolutely brilliant.

[severs]

As above, but I stole an idea from bicycles and scaled it up:

Put bike over a drip tray / rag sheet / newspaper, on centrestand / workshop stand / milk crate etc. Slosh thin oil or diesel or biodegradeable tree-hugging fluid or whatever onto chain. Once chain is dripping wet, take two hefty but cheapo nylon-bristled floor scrubbing brushes and "clamshell" them onto the chain of your bike, so that one is pressing onto the links "from above" and the other "from below".
Secure two halves together with zip ties or toestraps or W.H.Y. so that the chain is sort of passing along the length of the brushes through a "tunnel of bristles".
Hold the assembly still while slowly rotating the back wheel with your hand, with the engine off. The chain will pass through the brushes until it has all been round and round enough times to be scraped clean.
Squirt the oil or fluid into the bristly area continuously while sliding the chain through.

The main difficulty is getting the chain to slide and not just sending the brushes horizontally along until they hit the sprocket. You have to keep the brushes still. I'm a piffling weakling so I drilled holes in the brushes and tied them to a footpeg with string.

Does this make sense? A photograph would make it really obvious but I don't have one. Instead, here is the bicycle device I nicked the idea from:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360024028

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/images/lifeline-chaincleaning-kit-ss07.jpg

It is bristly rollers in a solvent bath in bicycle chain half-inch size, but nobody seems to make these for moto chains, shame. A chance for an entrepreneur here?

[Dee Duble Yuh]

I have a chain cleaning device similar to the one pictured. On the two occasions I've used it the chain wore out soon afterwards. It's possible that the paraffin got past the O-rings and dissolved away the internal grease, or maybe even damaged/dislodged the O-rings.

On this bike I've never used the chain cleaner and the chain has lasted over 15k miles with plenty of life left. (I tend to spray the chain liberally and allow the excess to fling off taking the dirt with it.)

I can't say categorically that chain cleaner and/or paraffin causes premature wear, but I'm not inclined to use it any more. If I were to use it, I'd use engine oil (or maybe deisel) but not paraffin.

[FatFergie]

Me again, I'm worrying now!

I've used parrafin for years with a soft paintbrush, I do it very quickly and hose it off with a hosepipe, oiling it immediately with gear oil (which goes into the scottoiler also). My last chain lasted 30 Odd thousand miles and my next one is 10k old and adjusted twice.

Is the theory that parafin will get past the rings?

[FatFergie]

oh and by the way........

how do you spell parafin?:confused:

[Dee Duble Yuh]

As I said above, I don't know whether cleaning with paraffin caused the chain to wear prematurely. It might have been the cleaning device. Or it might have been simple bad luck with the chains. Your cleanig regime seems pretty sucessful. 30-odd thousand miles and you're worried if you are doing something wrong?!?

[severs]

The solvent is important, I think. I use oil when I clean my chain, never paraffin/diesel/etc. I use a scottoiler normally (turned up quite high), so I don't clean the chain very often.

I have used the same chain for many tens of thousands of miles. The Scottoiler seems to be the main factor in making the difference.

And I don't use real Scottoil either, just whatever I have lying around: old 2-stroke oil, used engine or gear oil, new or old EP90 or EP80, etc. The effectiveness seems to have little to do with the oil, and everything to do with the constant flowrate.

Just one thing: I was short of oil once and used vegetable oil out of the kitchen. You might be able to run old VW diesel engines on it, but it turns chains (and anywhere it gets flung onto) into a horrid sticky mess. So don't.

[Steve C]

I dunno... probably got this ALL wrong, but:
my last bike was a 1979 GS thou with an ET engine and an S rear end. I ate chainsets for breakfast and back tyres for lunch. Expensive! Full chainset about every 5,000 miles and adjusting the chain was a Saturday morning ritual.

My AT has done 18,500-ish miles and as far as I can tell is on it's original chain. At 16k service, the technician felt the need to do SOMETHING with it, so tightened it one notch only on the wormy thing at the back. Too tight... had to be taken back.
It is getting a little loose now when I lift it off the rear sprocket, but only a little and I'm kind of planning a new chainset at around 20k just because it MUST be worn out by now..? But then again, I might not...

An extra squirt of stuff seems in order to me unless I'm on dusty/sandy terrain for three or four days at a go and no rain?

Or am I fool (don't answer that!), lazy (or that!) and watching my valuable expensive chain go west because I wouldn't splash out (grin). :snorting:

[barftone]

Buy a 5 litre can of 80/90 gear oil (£9.99 screw fix) and a small oil squirter can (Halfords). Last a lifetime! . When you get back from a ride lube the chain. It has to be done regularly. This is similar to Scott Oil in viscosity. Notice how they don't pick up the dirt like chain lube and hardly any fling. I used a dry chain wax for quite a while but did not trust that it was 'wet enough' if that makes sense? I am now on 20k on the original chain (changed front sprocket at 14k). I reckon it still has at least another 5k in it as I still don't need to adjust it. I still use chain wax if I go abroad. To clean real mud off it I would pro clean the bike anyway (when cold). Then rag and pro care (like WD but no degreasing agent) the chain before lubing thoroughly. My last trail bike chain lasted 6k which is good for a dirt bike covered in mud and crud every ride.

[RainMan]

I use the scottoiler turned up a couple of notches higher than recommended, 15K still on the original chain and only adjusted once, even though it's never out of the rain, although I must admit that the little puddle that is the rear sprockets constant companion can get annoying at times. I think it's obvious at this stage that continual lubrication rather than a frequent chain cleaning ritual is the key to chain longitivity.

[Opinel]

I use the scottoiler turned up a couple of notches higher than recommended, 15K still on the original chain and only adjusted once, even though it's never out of the rain, although I must admit that the little puddle that is the rear sprockets constant companion can get annoying at times. I think it's obvious at this stage that continual lubrication rather than a frequent chain cleaning ritual is the key to chain longitivity.

I agree with Rainman - the chain is beautiful after this. I dont care about the puddle.

[Dee Duble Yuh]

Cor blimey. We'll have truck drivers campaigning against all the oil us bikers are chucking on the roads. Mass drives to Parliament called "Kill Drips" or something. :evil3: :violent1:
http://www.killspills.org.uk/

[barftone]

Maybe a case for enclosed chains again aka MZ?

[FatFergie]

In Miss P's diary of her riders for health trip you'll notice she rides a yamaha with an enclosed chain.

http://www.westpenwith.co.uk/diary.htm

[Opinel]

Cor blimey. We'll have truck drivers campaigning against all the oil us bikers are chucking on the roads. Mass drives to Parliament called "Kill Drips" or something. :evil3: :violent1:
http://www.killspills.org.uk/

Yeah - it's about time we got our own back. :cool: