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chain maintenance

Kiwiscoot

Well travelled
OK I see where you are coming from. The old Kerosene had a lot of sulfur in it which caused rust. Guess today less sulfur the way the world has gone, but I have not left a chain overnight to see what would happen.
On a chain tho the idea is to just squirt some on, brush with a brush, thoroughly clean with a cloth and then thoroughly lube the chain. The kerosene will even remove some of the rust on the chain. But hey, chain cleaning is a topic in the same category as "what is the best engine oil to use".:LOL:
 

Roy Gavin

Well travelled
I fitted a Scottoiler to a Honda VFR with good results .
The principle was simple, the oiler continuously deposited the oil on the face of the rear sprocket where it was flung out over the chain and O rings and then off the chain, taking the dirt with it.
The PO had worn out two chains in 30,000 km, DID/VMX/ Scottoiler and still a good bit life 95,000 km later when I sold the bike so it worked for me.
Never cleaned the chain in that time. Or had a puncture, or adjusted the valves or------! bloody boring bike!
Mind you, out on the river plains the rear sprocket sometimes spun about three times faster than the Hima's usually does, perhaps that helped with the cleaning!
 

cwadej

Well travelled
Location
San Diego
Your post said paraffin , and I only said that paraffin will rust iron.
And it will - simple fact!
It is not an lube oil it is a low grade combustible hydrocarbon sometimes used as Jet fuel, not as a lubricant - you should try actually reading Thicopedia
I use kerosene to clean the chains on all my bikes.
Knock off big junk, brush then rag with kerosene, dry with clean rag, then lube. never a rust issue
 

Jollyassassin

Getting there...
Location
UK
I fitted a Tutoro automatic chain oiler not long after purchasing my new Himmy. I wash her every week and wipe the chain down with a rag soaked in WD40. Then I lightly oil the chain with motor oil, wiping off any excess. Leaving the chain to be lubed by the oiler for the weeks riding. I've covered over 2000 miles since buying her in July and I haven't adjusted the chain once.
 

Curt Meinecke

Well travelled
Location
Kansas, USA
use kerosene/paraffin. Cheap as, cleans it beautifly and compatible with the O-rings of the chain.

Consider a Tutoro chain oiler. Makes chain maintenance easy. have had mine on my RE Himalayan now for 20 000 kms and will not be without it.
So the chain on the Himalayan is sealed? So we should not use grease then? Is that correct?
Thank you.
 

Kiwiscoot

Well travelled
I fitted a Tutoro automatic chain oiler not long after purchasing my new Himmy. I wash her every week and wipe the chain down with a rag soaked in WD40. Then I lightly oil the chain with motor oil, wiping off any excess. Leaving the chain to be lubed by the oiler for the weeks riding. I've covered over 2000 miles since buying her in July and I haven't adjusted the chain once.
I would suggest you check the master link as mine did not have any grease in it from the factory. I had to change the chain at 15 000kms even tho I had the chain oiler.
 

Jollyassassin

Getting there...
Location
UK
I would suggest you check the master link as mine did not have any grease in it from the factory. I had to change the chain at 15 000kms even tho I had the chain oiler.
Thanks I'll do that. Though I'm hoping that a weekly oil with a can might have found its way around the link. Thanks for the heads up though👍.
 

Kiwiscoot

Well travelled
The master link has o-rings to keep muck out and grease in. Problem is that if the factory never put grease in then they run dry and wear. Oil applied to the chain will never get in there. Only way to check really is to remove the link and check or apply a good coating while you're at it. Just be careful not to loose the two o-rings in the process.

 

thresher

Well travelled
I live in a Sandy area. After a good ride I put the bike on the center stand and saturate the chain with wd40. Let it sit for a little bit take a rag and dry it completely off and spray it with wax. It doesn't pick up all the sand as bad as oil... The stuff I'm using is Dupont chainsaver wax based chain lube with Teflon. The stuff works
 

GaleForceEight

Well travelled
Location
Southend on Sea
I have heard good things about Lanoguard. Bear in mind we use lanolin based grease for aircraft control cables to make sure they run smoothly and don’t corrode. At room temperature it is a solid waxy substance, but warm it up to hand temperatures it liquifies and you can paint it onto the inside of your chain. It lubricates and protects from rust, and isn’t messy unless you grossly over-apply it to the point it sheds onto structure (in which case warming up and a soft cloth will remove it, along with any crap that has stuck to it).
 

OldGuy

Well travelled
Location
Seattle,WA
FortNine on YouTube has a great myth-busting video on chain lubes. He did some pretty extensive testing and got some pretty unexpected results. Surprised me and I've been in and around m/c's for something like 55 years. (I also switched to his winner. Works great!).

OG
 

grymsr

Well travelled
Location
Maine
FortNine on YouTube has a great myth-busting video on chain lubes. He did some pretty extensive testing and got some pretty unexpected results. Surprised me and I've been in and around m/c's for something like 55 years. (I also switched to his winner. Works great!).

OG
For some odd reason I can't get his video to play. Can you tell me what his winner was?
 

OldGuy

Well travelled
Location
Seattle,WA
Actually his winner was 75W-90 gear oil, not engine oil - big difference. It's sticky enough not to fly off, and is shear-resistant, so goes easy on the sprockets. I think one of his points is that chain lube doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to still be effective.
 
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