[Miteorite]

What's the easiest way to oil the chain?
I'm not looking for anything efficient at this point in time. This is the first time I'll be doing it - i'm rather more interested in keeping my chain & sprocket alive.

thanks in advance.

-d

 

[thr1]

having a rear stand helps also spray on the inside part of the chain cause when you ride the centrifugal force will help the lube penatrate better into the chain...it also helps to reduce oil from flinging of onto your swingarm

 

[LimitedEdition]

Ummm .. if you got 2 ppl .. get someone to leverage the bike on its own kickstand .. that way you got the rear wheel off the ground. The 2nd person will then turn the rear wheel while spraying the lube on the chain? Somebody showed me to put the straw against certain areas on the sprocket to get the oil to the right places on the chain (ie .. on the ring seals).


I went out and bought a $20 pump style jackstand on wheels from walmart. You just position it on the right side of the bike under your engine? There should be a spot that is solid metal .. then you just jack it up so that the rear wheel is 1" off the ground. Then you turn the wheel and spray lube.

NEVER try leaving the engine on in gear to lube the chain. It is dangerous =)

 

[TeeTee]

I like to get the bike up on a rear stand and spray the chain down with WD40, scrub with a toothbrush (not your current one but feel free if you want to ) and then follow with more WD and paper towels to wick away the dirty stuff. Use paper towels until very little residue from the WD comes off and then spray on a good quality grease based chain lube like Silkolene or PJ1. Stay away from the wax based lubes. They attract less crud but they don't protect from rust worth a damn.

And don't forget to brush away at the lube buildup on the side of the rear sprocket and in the teeth.

To help keep the tire, wheel and the rest of the bike clean during all this splashing around I made up a corrugated plastic guard that fits up between the wheel and the swingarm and circles quite closely around the wheel hub between the rear sprocket and the spokes.

And for safety sake be sure you spin the tire so the chain sweeps off the sprocket. Getting a finger caught in there due to spinning it the wrong way will really put a damper on your day. That chain and sprocket with the momentum of the wheel to back it up will act just like a guillotine.

 

[Miteorite]

cool
thanks for the suggestions
so getting a rearstand is a good idea.
how much are they and where's a good place to buy them?
how often do you clean your chain like that?

 

[dknite]

AlphaQ,

There are a lot of different opinions on stands, but I use an anaconda stand, it seems quite strong and the model that doesn't use spools is adjustable to fit your bike snugly (sp?) and i can get them for $140 inc tax. If you are interested.

 

[Bluestone]

Ditto on the anaconda. I just got one and i paid $140 for it from Burnaby Kawasaki. I think there's a thread on that topic .....
http://www.bcsportbikes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=61

 

[Ryan R]

I normally just soak it with lube after a long ride so the chain is warm then leave it for 10 minutes and come out and wipe it down to soak up any extra lube thats left over. With it warm all the oil soaks in the chain real nice.

 

[Miteorite]

holy crap!
how come they are so expensive? :confused
as far as i saw they are just a bunch of aluminum tubes welded together!
140 bucks is like 2/3 of the tire price (which i will need to replace pretty soon)..

are there any other altenatives, or should I save up for a good stand?

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[TeeTee]

holy crap!
how come they are so expensive? :confused
as far as i saw they are just a bunch of aluminum tubes welded together!
140 bucks is like 2/3 of the tire price (which i will need to replace pretty soon)..

are there any other altenatives, or should I save up for a good stand?

Thanks for your suggestions.

They are that much because you're paying for the labour as well as the aluminium.......... and the distributor's cut............. and the dealer's cut..............

Got access to a welder somewhere? Make your own. I made mine for about $10 worth of steel from ABC salvage........... and about $100 worth of my time.

 

[bl1tz]

i got so lazy i didn't even bother wiping off the old chain lude, i just warmed up the chain and sprayed chain wax all over it