Chain Lube | GTAMotorcycle.com

Chain Lube

WestBrantKid

WestBrantKid

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Hello friends,

I'm placing a Fortnine order, I need a set of barring for my front wheel, and thought I may as well stock up on a few items while I'm at it. Fuel filters and chain lube, for instance.
I currently use Motul C2 Chain Lube Road. Before placing my order I thought I'd see if there's a consensus on a better chain line.
A bike mechanic suggest a white lithium spray for my chain, but a quickly discovered that was bad advice. Every bit of road grit stocks to it, and it gums up pretty bad. Makes for hard cleaning.
I Googled several lists and the one that seemed the least bias recommended Motul. I tried it, and do like it. I'd recommend it. But if there's an even better product I'd want to know about it.
Recommendations?

Side question: Anyone know when to get replacement filters for these reusable aluminum fuel filters? There sold everywhere yet I'm unable to find the replacements anywhere.
 
The best chain lubricant is ... oil.

Kawasaki factory service manuals recommend gear oil. My experience has been that they're not wrong.

It flings off, it makes a mess (you can minimise this by wiping off the excess with an old rag), it carries the dirt off with it when it flings off. The mess can be easily wiped up with WD40 on another rag or paper towel.
 
Unfortunately a chain drive system is open to atmosphere.
It's going to get dirty because the road is as well.
The back tire is going to fling dirt into the chain.
Fortnine had a good YouTube video about the subject of chain lube.
For myself, I use what ever half empty can, grease, oil combo lying around because I know it's getting a THROUGH cleaning before the next ride.
Lately I've been using BellRay chain lube because I like the way it foams up and then seems to melt back into the chain. No matter, I clean the chain and sprockets far too often to worry about it.
 
I switched to gear oil a while ago mostly because of how insanely overpriced your average can of chain lube had become (this was pre-COVID already). If gear oil was too expensive I would consider Brian's idea, my used motor oil has been looking pretty clean lately

Edit: But I expect my current bottle of leftover gear oil to last me years
 
Spray when chain is hot. You can hear that "Sizzle" as it hits the O rings and inner sideplates. So satisfying !! Use some Cardboard in between the chain and tire to prevent that stuff from hitting the edge of your tire. . I wouldn't bother overthinking lubing up the chain. WD-40 doesn't hurt the seals of the O rings. Just don't use it as a lube: just as a cleaner.
 
Brian P said:
I should add that the chain and sprockets on my street-ridden ZX10R have about 65,000 km on them. The only lubricant it has seen has been used motor oil.
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I don't oil my x-ring chains, just clean them with diesel 3 times a year. My vstrom chain has 35k on her, still like new.

On my oldies, I use Castrol chain spray. I would use regular oil, but I find the chain spray doesn't go everywhere when riding and it's cheap. I just bought an x-ring for my old RD, it will never be lubed and should last 100 years.
 
Why bother? Is getting a few hundred extra kilometers out of a $150 chain really worth the hassle, mess and expense of cleaning and lubing? I regularly get 20,000km out of a good quality X-ring chain riding dirt and gravel on my KLR and all I do is wipe it with an oily rag before storing it for the winter.
 
KLR Junkie said:
Why bother? Is getting a few hundred extra kilometers out of a $150 chain really worth the hassle, mess and expense of cleaning and lubing? I regularly get 20,000km out of a good quality X-ring chain riding dirt and gravel on my KLR and all I do is wipe it with an oily rag before storing it for the winter.
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often times changing chain will come with changing sprockets which is just a bit more work. I'm not saying to clean it every week but maybe, just maybe, if it looks rusty, it could perform better? lol
i bought motul paste that applies with a brush at the tip of the tube of paste, ill probably be switching to gear oil once that is done.
I ride in rain so it does get dry and i start hearing the chain which usually is a sign im overdue lol
 
KLR Junkie said:
Why bother? Is getting a few hundred extra kilometers out of a $150 chain really worth the hassle, mess and expense of cleaning and lubing? I regularly get 20,000km out of a good quality X-ring chain riding dirt and gravel on my KLR and all I do is wipe it with an oily rag before storing it for the winter.
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You aren't doing it to lube the inside of the links - the o-rings hold that grease in.
You lube to cushion the rollers and side plates against the sprockets as well as preventing rust.
I have an old rag I douse with chain lube (or gear oil if that's your preference) and wipe the chain down.
It seems to remove any old schmutz and keep the lube from throwing off.
 
I lubed my first few chains regularly then decided to stop and see what happened. The first chain I didn't lube lasted essentially just as long as the ones that I did, and it didn't get rusty either. Maybe if you're trying to get 35,000km out of a chain.... I just treat the chain and sprockets as a consumable and replace them every 2 years or so. To each their own.
 
After watching Fortnine's video on chain lubrication, the state of my chain makes more sense. I don't think Motul is traditional lube, more of a coating.
I'm switching over to my '03 Katana from my '01 (the '01 will become my winter beater). Some of the new parts I put on the '01, and are still good on my '03, I'm swapping. When I took my chain off the '01 which had been lubed just days before and not yet ridden, I noticed that it's not oily like I expected. It's coated, and a little tacky. Reminds my of belt dressing. (come to think of it, I wonder how belt dressing would work?)
The tackiness I would think is bad for dirt collection, but it would work well for rust prevention. Considering I rode the bike all winter, and the chain is one of the few parts not rusting or corroding, I'd say it works well for that. I'm sure motor oil would need to be applied more often, but it's free and would work as well, and the dirty should fling off.
I'm gonna go with motor oil for the summer and use up the rest of my Motul on the winter beater.
 
Had a chain on a Vstrom that I rarely cleaned. Ended up having to replace it and the sprockets, as a couple of the links got stiff. There's nothing like having your chain tight, tight, tight in one spot, and dragging in another.
 
bitzz said:
If you have an Oring chain all you're trying to do is keep the chain clean and rust free. Bacon drippings will work just fine.
I wouldn't put WD40 on an Oring chain, it's a solvent that can dilute the lubricant behind the Orings
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