Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Chain Cleaning Question

I'm in a Condo now and want to avoid my old method of chain cleaning which was to take a short ride to warm the chain, then spray it with S100 followed by high pressure spray and then finally apply the waxy chain lubricant. This time I'd like to jack her up after a short ride and "dry clean" her before applying the lube. What type of cleaner should I use that I can wipe off with a rag instead of a high pressure hose? Your input is appreciated.

kerosene is always a tried and true wipe on, wipe off. I normally use a bristle brush and scrub the gunk away, but a rag should get most of the worst of the clumped wax off once the kerosene starts softening it up.

grunge brush

Frank

Does your wife use too much bleach in the whites? Later on that.

Sounds like you lube the chain with chain wax. Use that to clean the chain. Spray on wipe off. Repeat till clean. Of course having the bike positioned so the rear wheel can spin helps.

OK the bleached-rotted whites. Use those to wipe the chain wax off the chain.

Check out this pic. Never cleaned the chain (except for the above recommended technique) and it has some miles on it and the spray from Niagara Falls too! Pollen from the Skyline Drive, yellow jacket guts from Greg's arm, and gasoline ignited bonfire smoke from Pat's back yard...Yes it has round 5 to 6K miles on it.

hey moe how much time you normally spend on it? and how often?

Frank

I use a grunge brush & kerosene. Got a couple of the disp. roasting pans. they work great for parts cleaning, and catching all the crud that comes off the chain. finish off with chain wax.
Mark

Got this one when I when I was shacked up with Martha Stewart -

I use my old tooth brushes and kerosene.

I always use carb cleaner.

I put the bike on the lift, fire it up, put it in first gear, then pour lighter fluid on the moving chain and use a propane torch to set it ablaze.

Doesn't help the chain one bit, but it looks neat at night.......

Holy crap!

Ah, that burning ring of fire!

Honestly, I've been using Blast Orange cleaner from Walmart. It seems to work great and leaves a fresh scent . Grump wouldn't like though. It's non-flamable and not as fun as lighter fluid.

Definetely kerosene. I use a cut down paint brush, scrub the kero on, wipe it down with a rag, let it sit for a while and then apply chain lube.

One dealer salesman told me I only needed to lube the chain once in the beginning of riding season and again at the end of riding season--that's probably March and October here in Missouri. Another dealership told me to spray the chain every 500 miles. Who is right and how do you know when a chain is in need of cleaning or lubricating. I have already bought a can of spray wax.

To quote the handbook....

Lubrication is necessary every 50 miles (800kms) and also after riding in wet weather, on wet roads or at any time that the chain appears dry.

It also mentions cleaning the chain with paraffin (kerosene) So you're all doing something right...

well, I am brand new to the bike and the last bike I rode had a shaft. I do believe you need to check it if you ride a lot every couple of weeks at a minimum and make adjustments as necessary to keep the chain in the sweet zone. I have cleaned mine with kerosene and lubed it with wax once in about 1400 miles and tightened the chain up once. I think mine needs a slight adjustment again now. Too loose is not good and too tight is not good either. I think just a hair under an inch of play is the sweet spot.

That first guy either is a know-nothing asshat or he sells chains and sprockets. I usually go 300-600, depending on conditions (i.e., if its dirty, I clean it sooner). The stuff is dirt cheap and it doesn't take all that long. As a side, I don't clean every time I wax. If the chain is pretty black and gunked up - I clean. If its fairly clean & I'm about to take a 100 -200 mile scoot, I shot a coat on her.

HAH!

LMAO Grump!

You guys are great. Thanks for the ideas, so many that I can pick the one I like best or any combination. OK, lets see. Kerosene or Orange Blast, a brush, a rag, and only clean the chain if it's really dirty. Fortunately I bought that new Sears aluminum jack, almost 40 lbs. lighter than their steel model. The best thing is I don't have to use a hose. Thanks again. Ciao

I use citrus degreaser from home depot (9 bucks a gallon) and the grunge brush.

Kerosine and an old dish-washing brush worked well for me. A better idea is to invest in a scottoiler automatic chain lube-er. It uses an oil instead of a sticky wax which cleans itself once you've got it dialed in (and before that simply wipes off with a clean rag). It also means your chain is ALWAYS lubed (with no effort from you) which has GOT to extend your chain life. Think about it, a chain is a bunch of metal-on-metal pivots, and the new O or X ring chains like ours are a bunch of metal-on-rubber-on-metal pivots. Having them run dry at the speeds chains move at will wear them out real quick. Putting wax on a chain may lubricate it, but it will also provide a sticky surface to which dirt will stick, then get ground up in the links to form a grinding paste.

Matt

Would "Bug & Tar Remover" from TurtleWax work the same as the Citrus cleaner?
I was given(Yes Free) 3 cans of the stuff from Auto Zone, they were cleaning out last years inventory!!!
Steve

Grump you are great. I will have to try that one.

I use kerosene (Brit. paraffin) with old tooth brush and paper shop towels, that can be thrown away, to clean the chain. I do this at least every 500 miles. One should never use a power washer on the chain. The chain has factory installed lube and seals in the rollers. The power washer could remove this lube and you will never be able to replace it. To lube the chain I use Bel Ray chain lube. It is white so it's easy to see your coverage.

Dave

Bug and Tar remover contains solvents. Do not use solvents on your chain.
Here's the link (again) about using WD40. (near the bottom of the page). Same logic applies.

web page

Check this link ... get it? link.. chain.. ? Anyway I found this info over in the tech vault (probably because I put it there) it has some good info about chains, adjustments and maintenance.

Check out "Loobman.com" Keeps chains and sprocket in "like new" condition....

Absolutely Golden.....