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Cleaning and lubing the chain

38K views 41 replies 29 participants last post by  Pavel  
#1 ·
Well according to my owners manual I'm due to clean and lube the chain however I don't have any type of rear or center stand. What's the easiest way to preform these services using the side stand, or would it just be better to invest in a stand for basic maintenence needs?

Also what's the best chain cleaner and lubrication to use on the chain?
 
#3 ·
or just clean a section of the chain at a time, lube it then pull the bike forward so you expose a new section of chain, rinse and repeat.

However, stands are a wonderful thing haha not only for lubing chain but storage so your tires dont get a flat spot, and other mantance, or mods you may do. they arent too expensive.

you could invest in a cheap pair of stands, but you may as well get some rear spools and a stand that works with them, its much safer and better. However, the cheap ones work. I have the cheap ones because I didnt know about spools before... and not I wish I had the better one. I bought spools anyways for protection.

Also, may as well grab a front an rear stand, storage, maintenance, balance while doing all this etc..
 
#5 ·
Exactly. We've found WD40 is a better cleaner that lube. Any good brand of chain lube will do, just get something on there.


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#8 ·
Thanks for all the great info everyone. I'm probably just going to invest in a rear stand and then eventually pick up a front stand as well. As far as spools go where exactly do they get installed at? As far as wd40 goes I've heard from a few people that its horrible for your chain and that diesel fuel or regular gasoline is better but I've read online that its perfectly safe for the chain as well.
 
#10 ·
I use maxima chain cleaner also. Let it settle in a bit, scrub, then rinse it off. Your chain will be glistening afterwards. It's a worthwhile investment to get a rear stand. Aside from making cleaning the chain 100x easier, it's also nice to be able to keep the bike upright when doing other maintenance. A have a pitbull but the ones they sell at cycle gear are fine and they sell them half off quite often. For $40, you can't go wrong.
 
#26 ·
I use maxima chain cleaner also. Let it settle in a bit, scrub, then rinse it off. Your chain will be glistening afterwards. It's a worthwhile investment to get a rear stand. Aside from making cleaning the chain 100x easier, it's also nice to be able to keep the bike upright when doing other maintenance. A have a pitbull but the ones they sell at cycle gear are fine and they sell them half off quite often. For $40, you can't go wrong.
I go for a small ride, put the rear end up on the stand, clean the chain with WD40 or CRC, wipe it off, spray on whatever chain lube you have
is rinsing it off better/worse than just wiping it off? i'm trying to cut down on dirty towels haha. i'm using wd40 to clean my chain btw
 
#13 ·
scottoiler to the rescue

http://www.scottoiler.com/

its an automatic chain oiler.the oil they sell is dear as poison.buy chainsaw oil instead and use that, its less then half the price.
worth its weight in gold.i bought one of these and set it up on my vfr800 back in year 2000 and then rode it 17,922 kilometers round australia via highway number 1. i put over 60,000 kays on that bike before i sold it , with the stock oem chain it came with off the show room floor. the scottoiler did a magic job on that chain, no tight spots or anything.i cant speak highly enough about the scottoiler
 
#18 ·

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#22 ·
I use a piece of 2X4. With my bike on the side stand I lift the rear wheel barely off the ground and stick the 2X4 under the right side of the trailing arm. Spin the wheel with my hand and clean-lube.

Cost $0, it was a scrap of wood from building my house 9 years ago and has been used on many different bikes.

regards
Mech
 
#23 ·
I have not officially purchased any stands yet, I plan on those in the near future, as it will be necessary for more detailed maintenance, however, I did buy a wheel roller from amazon, roll bike on to device, place 1" piece of wood under kickstand to balance the bike, and place bike in neutral, now i can roll the tire by hand, makes chain cleaning easy. This resembles mine, although, I found one for $25
http://www.amazon.com/Motorsport-Products-Wheel-Cleaning-97-1001/dp/B005Q0ZRC0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369836575&sr=8-1&keywords=motorcycle+wheel+roller
 
#28 ·
Cleaned and lubed my chain yesterday. I did it with the bike on the side stand and used Motul Chain Clean and Motul Chain Lube. Talked to several mechanics and their suggestion was to not use WD-40 (their cheaper alternative was kerosene).

Pro tip 1: Start the cleaning and lubing process from the chain link with the colored (mine is black) face plate. That way you won't waste too much time going over the same section multiple time (not that that's a bad thing).

Pro tip 2: When lubing the chain, start spraying the inside of the chain. That way when you start riding the lube will be flung to the outside and will coat the outside of the chain as well (centrifugal force ftw).

Spraying the outside will cause the lube to be flung outside and there won't be any lube on the inside of the chain.
 
#29 ·
I like the Stands I purchased from EBay from seller emgear item was

Motorcycle Stand Front Triple Tree & Rear Spool Stands, Head Lift
NEW, FREE AXLE CLIP WITH PURCHASE - $5.00 Value

Great price and GREAT Customer Service, the 18 pin that was sent didn't fit for my front stand and they send me a 17 pin right away. Super nice.

Also a set of spools Black Protector Swingarm Spools Kawasaki from ilevers works great.

I cheat and got a nice huge flat cardboard from Costco free and use that to catch any drips from chain cleaning, A Chain Grunge Brush in Aluminum for under $20 offers a sturdy brush with replaceable bristles and will last.

Hope that helps.
 
#30 ·
You can get a cheap stand at cycle gear if you are tight on funds. You can have a buddy help you move your bike for you while you clean and lube your chain as well. Don't get any lube or cleaner on your rear tire.. Just grab a piece of cardboard and block your tire, when you are cleaning and lubing. The buddy method works good because you know where you have cleaned and lubed. Spraying the chain with water after cleaning is a good way to speed the whole process up. Just ride it around the block to get the water off and clean again. Wait 20 mins and then lube. Our bikes are 10mm thread for spools there are little holes on the swingarm. Make sure you use loctite blue or you might lose your spools. Don't use wd-40
 
#33 ·