Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech chain wax, a whine/rant/tirade......

Chain wax - avoid it like the plague....

Since new, I have used Maxim chain wax to lube my chain. It seemed like a good thing, my dealer sells it and uses it, so I figured that was the best product out there.

In my opinion, unless you have a lot of free time, it is the worst product out there....

A lot of this is my fault. Even though I check my chain often enough, I never cleaned it until several weeks ago. I figured that a fresh coating of chain wax every 500 miles or so should keep it lubed and protected.

Well, it did. But eventually that wax built up to the point where it started oozing out all over the rear hub and sprocket, and all over the frame and engine cover under the front sprocket and onto the right muffler/silencer..
My fault for not cleaning the chain. The wax also picks up dirt and turns black and when subjected to heat, becomes a tar-like substance - very difficult to remove. Soap and water won't touch it. Simple Green, Complicated Green, Happy Orange, OxyClean, New, Improved Tide, ... nothing will take it off. I removed my sprocket cover, chain guard, and slackened the rear wheel adjustment and scrubbed and scraped away for a few hours with limited success. Put everything back together, sprayed on another light coating and rode for another 800 miles or so.
After reading the sage advice of those wiser than I on this forum, I bought a pretty blue plastic can and went out and filled it with kerosene. This long holiday weekend, I cleaned my chain once again. Removed the chain guard, sprocket cover, right silencer, and went at it. Using several different brushes and the kerosene, I managed to get all the chain wax off, or so I thought. What a mess! I had to spray wheel cleaner on every thing to get the kerosene and dissolved chain wax off, then rinse and repeat. Then I blew everything dry with my air compressor and wiped the chain off several times with a rag.
I bought some ProGold MFR chain lube which goes on wet but dries clear. I sprayed it on let it set and then took a ride. Well, it seems the MFR also dissolves chain wax, as my rear wheel and tire and everything within slinging range were once again covered with black slime. So once again I sprayed and rinsed and repeated and wiped with a rag and blew everything dry with compressed air.

I parked the bike in the garage and it still sits there, dripping blackened chain wax residue on the floor.

Tomorrow, I am going to ride anyway and hit the local carwash....

So don't use chain wax, eh? Unless you really like to clean your chain...

Be careful with the carwash - it's fine as long as you're just washing the cr@p off the bike, but hitting the chain with high pressure water'll force the water in past the x-rings, and force the lubricant out.

Matt

Moderation is the key to chain wax. I too WAY over did it to start with (my KLR was my first chain bike after many belts and shafts). A little goes a long way and when used correctly, doesn't cause the problems you describe.

Also, S100 will take the black wax/dirt combo off when you wash the bike.

Dang Grump,

Ya should have seen nobby's chain! Moe, I says, is there a chain under all this black gunk? Well, I can say that Shaun's chain had no rust! I cleaned his chain up with, yes, kerosene and his chain looked brand new. Two or three hours I seem to recall…

Maxim's chain wax. I use it. Will always wipe off as much as I can after application. Will even spot-wet a rag with it and wipe off the chain ring teeth too. Never had the problem you have had. But have been told that I spend too much time detailing Vera!

Any spray-on chain lube will do as you have described Maxim's product as having done. Build up is build up. PJ-1 built up on my chain before I made the switch to the Maxim wax. Shaun used PJ-1 too? Chain lube conditions the outside of the chain's o-rings and keeps the chain from rusting. Wipe off as much as you can after application. No matter how much you apply you should never be able to penetrate the chain's o-rings seals with any lubrication. That's the whole idea behind o-ring/x-ring chains...Factory seal is impenetrable. Ya want to keep the o-rings conditioned so the o-rings maintain the factory seal. When I was using PJ-1 I used kerosene a lot! Seems like I cleaned the chain all the time. Then with a new chain and sprockets, I switched to Maxim’s wax (thanks dinqua) and started to wipe the lube off after application. Since then, I have yet to touch the chain with kerosene.

Every time I lube the chain I’ll use up two or more rags…

Moe,

Like Nobby's chain, mine was looking like a belt drive. As I mentioned, it was my fault for not cleaning the thing more often. But I won't be using chain wax anymore. Too much mess and hassle.....
This ProGold MFR chain lube is a dry film lubricant. Once it dries, you don't see it. Spray it on, let it dry and ride. It doesn't collect and hold the dirt like wax or oil or any other heavy-bodied lube. After the cleaning ordeal with the wax, I'm sold on this stuff....

Hi Grump,

Time will tell! When I get ready to install a new chain kit, I'll be asking you how the ProGold MFR chain lube is holding up! Thanks for the information.

Scuse me whilst I chuckle to myself. hee hee.
The belt drive seems to sound better and better about now I bet?

Grump,
I am on my second chain (changed it out at 28,000 miles).
When I see goo start to develop, I ride to the car wash, lift my rear wheel a tad, start spinning wheel and blast away at the chain. Only spray directly from the side and don't stay in any one place long. Doing the inside is a little tricky, spraying through the spokes, just maintain the horizontal spray. Takes about 3 minutes and the chain looks like a new penny. I wipe it down to dry it and apply a fresh light coat of Amsoil metal protector to the inside of chain..
By the way, when I removed my old chain, I broke it apart in several places - there was plenty of wet lube still in there.
Call me crazy, but I ain't spending a lot of time in that greasy mess.
Ride Safe,
Dennis

Dennis,

I'm with you on the "not spending time with a greasy mess" thing. For me, 500 miles in the summertime is about once a week, on average. I don't want to spend my time babysitting a chain, I want to ride!
As far as a car wash being able to force the lube out of the links, you would probably have to put the nozzle right on the x-ring surface, and even then I doubt it would cause a problem... for the sealed chains to work in the first place the tolerances have to be pretty darn tight or just the torque on them would squish the lube out of the links.

As an update, I didn't go to the carwash. I moved the bike, cleaned the garage floor, and just wiped the chain and the spotted areas off. Then I went for a ride and the chain was much quieter....

I'm likin' this!

Grump,

I use Amsoil Heavy Duty Metal Protector (which has wax in it). I spray it on the chain, with a rag under and behind the chain, and wipe the chain down as I go. The carrier in the Metal Protector spray helps break down the old wax buildup. Then at the end I lightly spray the chain again and wipe any excess away.

The only time the wax gets on anything other than the chain is when I over spray when applying, which is easy to clear if you get to it prior to drying.

I would be very careful spraying the chain (or the bike for that matter) with high pressure water.

Tom

Grump:
I clean my chain about 2x's a year with Kerosone, works like a charm, takes about 15 minutes. I've used BelRay SuperClean Chain lube since day one. I put on a light coat every 500 - 1000 miles. At 10k, I've had to adjust my chain once so it must be working pretty well. I typically apply after a ride and let the bike sit overnight. I get zero fling and my chain stays pretty clean. The BelRay stuff is white so you can see exactly how much you apply. The lube is really only stopping rust on our x-ring chains so a light application is all that is needed. My wheels and chrome chain guard stay spotless, give it a try.

Al,
Actually, a good chain lube should do more than prevent rust. It should keep the x-rings soft and keep them from drying out. Also, a film-type lube should provide some lubrication between the rollers and the sprocket teeth to prevent wear. A heavier bodied lube does the same thing, but it makes a mess unless you keep after it, and it is more prone to collect dirt and be extruded out of the contact area. ( I love it when I talk like that... )

From what I've read it appears these type of chains are sealed from the elements quite well, most folks apply way too much lube which generates the mess.

Sounds like moderation is the key...

Moderation is the key indeed. Yet you can spray a lot of Maxim, just be sure to wipe off as much as you can. This wetting of the chain and wipe down is in essence cleaning the chain...

Grump,

Is this the stuff? http://www.progoldmfr.com/products/chainlube.html

Soren

Yep...

Bel Ray Super Clean Chain Lube

This is the stuff I use.

I use the chain wax... lube it at every 500 miles after I come home from a ride trick is not to over spray it a litte does go a long way then wipe it down with a rag good to go for the next 500 miles 5 mins of my time... chain drive a bullet proof drive system that you can tune in with a sprocket change not bad for 5 mins of my time dont over use the stuff you will not get all that fly off and if you do clean it when its hot after a run comes right off

The chain wax that I use is fortified with special rust and corrosion inhibitors and is designed to penetrate rust and adhere to metal surfaces, plus it conditions plastic and rubber. So, it is also great for undercoating anything you don't want rusting (like my cars). I also use the chain wax on all the hardware that directly mounts to my bikes frame. I spray the threads of all fasteners with it and then install and tighten. The wax will insure things don't vibrate off and it will keep everything from rusting together.

I love it when something is multifunctional.

Tom