 a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 99
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OP
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 99 |
I cleaned and relubed my chain the other day, it was very messy!! I made up shields out of cardboard to help keep the wheel and rim clean but still made a mess on the floor. I was wondering if anyone takes the chain off to clean it? I know they make the chain links so that the chain can be taken apart easily (called a safety link??) I was thinking about doing this to the chain to remove it to clean it, does anyone have any good or bad thoughts on this? , has anyone tried it?? thanks cliff
red and black 2003 speedmaster, AI removed, unifilter, airbox mod, khromewerks pipes, 18t, 135 mains
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,378
Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,378 |
Everyone says not to use those clip links because they aren't reliable. They rate the strength of various master links and those are rated very low compared to the other links in the chain. I thought of doing the same thing but quickly changed my mind after researching it. Seems it's best to bite the bullet and clean the chain on the bike.
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,836 Likes: 5
Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,836 Likes: 5 |
Cliff,
It is a messy task. I save up a few days of news papers and cover the floor under the bike. Some bending and folding and you can pool up the run-off and catch most of the splatter. The more you do it, the easier it is - You get a sort of system going. Regardless of the mess, the effort is worth it.
2004 Triumph Speedmaster (J Lo) 2006 Yamaha Stratoliner (Adele)
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 9,223
Big Bore
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Big Bore
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 9,223 |
What are you cleaning and lubing it with and how are you doing it?
"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity" - Robert Heinlein
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,172
Saddle Sore
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Saddle Sore
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,172 |
Tube socks.... Or a rag, but tube socks work better. Put bike on lift. Put sock on hand. Saturate sock with cleaner/lube. Spin wheel, watch pinkys, and have at it. Wash tube socks in washer. Forget to tell wife or clean out washer. Put sleeping bag in garage..... 
More flags
More fun!
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,537
Check Pants
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Check Pants
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,537 |
Cliff:
It sounds like you might be putting on way too much lube. Our chains just need a very light coat, to keep any surface rust from developing. I'm still on my original bottle of Bel-Ray Super Clean lube. I clean my chain once a season, but there are never gobs, etc. on my wheel. It does collect on the front sprocket, but you can't see the mess without taking off the cover.
Kerosene and an old rag is what I use to clean the chain.
Al
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 99
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OP
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 99 |
I used brake cleaner in a spray can to dissolve and clean off dirt then I put on castrol chain wax (also spray-- dealer reccomended)
red and black 2003 speedmaster, AI removed, unifilter, airbox mod, khromewerks pipes, 18t, 135 mains
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 9,223
Big Bore
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Big Bore
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 9,223 |
Sprays will get all over, no way to avoid it.
I use kerosene on a rag also. I remove the chain guard (good time to inspect it) and wrap the soaked rag around the chain. A few spins of the wheel while rotating the rag and applying kerosene as needed gets every bit of gunk off. Cardboard backers and a light application of chain wax is next. I let it sit a bit and then wipe off the excess.
"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity" - Robert Heinlein
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 691
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 691 |
I use tube socks (one hand inside it), with kerosene on it. Spin the rear tire while holding the chain with the tube sock covered hand. Spin the wheel several full turns. Wait about 10 minutes, then I use AMSOIL Heavy Duty Protector. Never a mess.
--Tom
02 TBA; 130 mains; TBS; Nology Coils&Wires;Unifilter/opened Airbox; -AI/snorkels; -2 baffles;Progressive 440s & Springs
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 99
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OP
Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 99 |
i guess i need to put a bike lift on my christmas list-cliff
red and black 2003 speedmaster, AI removed, unifilter, airbox mod, khromewerks pipes, 18t, 135 mains
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,308 Likes: 4
Worn Saddle
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Worn Saddle
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,308 Likes: 4 |
I just wipe the belt off with a dry rag once in awhile. No mess. Oh wait, that's not what you asked was it? 
A word to the wise is not necessary. It is the stupid ones who need the advice.
Pat
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 9,223
Big Bore
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Big Bore
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 9,223 |
"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity" - Robert Heinlein
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,179
Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,179 |
I jack the bike, remove the rear peg-hanger, mark the chain with a dab of liquid teflon and carefully spray kerosene from a solvent approved bottle (ie. platic WD-40 bottle available at Home Depot) at about 10" intervals. I hit each interval with a grunge brush and rag before rotating to the next section. I carefully bend the spray lube straw and apply lube sectionally patting the chain lightly with a rag to prevent excess drippage.
I've being doing this every 500 miles or when conditions warrant (stuck in a down-pour) since I threw the chain on my '73 Commando due to neglect on my part.
For me it's a two-beer zen thing and it coincides with wheel, spoke, hub, sprocket cleaning day.
Regards from the Middle East,
Tom
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 56
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Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 56 |
Along a similar tack, would it be an incredibly bad idea to remove the chainguard completely while cleaning and when finished say, chuck it in the back of the garage until it is time to get the bike serviced/ inspected? Not many pro's other than the extremely small weight difference and overall simplifing (always a good thing IMHO). I suppose the downside is the chance of throwing the chain into my leg, or my wife putting her foot into the chain somehow. I know some folks had metal fatigue issues with the crome ones... Enought to justify an open chain?
Jason
"She's torn up plenty, but she'll fly true" - Zoe Washburn
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,018
Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,018 |
I don't think the chain gaurd would do much in preventing the chain going where it wants to should it come off. It may keep the oil from getting on your passanger's jeans.
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,537
Check Pants
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Check Pants
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,537 |
Quote:
I just wipe the belt off with a dry rag once in awhile. No mess.
.........
Belts? Those are for your girlfriends pants. Chains, now those are for motorcycles! <g>
Al
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,362
Oil Expert
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Oil Expert
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,362 |
A friend of mine used to keep an old piece of carpet rolled up in his garage for work like this - just unroll it and roll the bike up on it before you do the messy bits. The carpet absorbs all manner of sins and is easilly rolled up and put away. When it gets too nasty throw it out and get another piece - carpet shops are usually happy to give away old carpet that's been ripped up and replaced.
It also gives you a comfortable bit of ground to sit on while polishing spokes, cleaning chains etc. Flattened large cardboard boxes work well too.
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,179
Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,179 |
Quote:
Along a similar tack, would it be an incredibly bad idea to remove the chainguard completely while cleaning and when finished say, chuck it in the back of the garage until it is time to get the bike serviced/ inspected? Not many pro's other than the extremely small weight difference and overall simplifing (always a good thing IMHO). I suppose the downside is the chance of throwing the chain into my leg, or my wife putting her foot into the chain somehow. I know some folks had metal fatigue issues with the crome ones... Enought to justify an open chain?
Jason
Good point boss. I did forget to mention the chain guard removal during my cleaning/oiling process. I always reinstall the guard after cleaning/oiling. Spent too much on the chrome not to.
I seriously thought about a Scott oiler, but knowing myself, I'd get too comfortable with it and not clean the chain often enough. I'd end up automatically oiling over oil covered with grime.
Regards,
Tom
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,971
Loquacious
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Loquacious
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,971 |
Those of us who shower our chains with a daily dose of grit from our lengthy gravel driveway trips often have lurid fantasies of belt drives...
Anyway -- If one has access to shop air, a good [non-OSHA style] blast of compressed air is helpful at removing the bulk of the grit & grime from the chain, the sprockets, and especially the inside surfaces of the front sprocket cover, facilitating a pre-solvent cleaning process, if you will.
Some aluminum turkey baking pans from the supermarket are handy for catching the liquid fall out. Some newspapers under the pans will help.
And now a word from the little old lady fire paranoia beast who lives in my brain: Know that once paper and rags are doused with a flammable liquid, they can indeed very easily burst into flame via spontaneous combustion.
http://www.bartleby.com/65/sp/spontane.html
The flash point of kero is around 100 F, and often much lower with flammable cleaners and solvents*. The paper and rags infuse the flammable substance with oxygen, and makes them very much like a kerosene lantern wick.
The solution? - dilution.
Place the oily newspapers and rags into a water tight container filled with enough water to cover the paper and rags, then cap the can for disposal. A large coffee can could work, although state law may prohibit disposal in this manner.
* F'rinstance, the flash point of gasoline is minus 50 F. Ouch.
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 431
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 431 |
Not for the weak and don't try this. Years ago my buddy was drying off his chain with a rag while his bike was on the back kick stand. [1974 Yamaha RD350]. But the dum dum had the bike running, in gear, wiping the chain with the rag on the underside. The moving chain took the rag clockwise around the rear sprocket, inturn ripping his thumb right off. After a phone call I rushed to pick him up and so he is standing at the end of the lane with his severed thumb in a glad bag. Freak me out.
BikerT
Willy-2003 BA
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,457
Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,457 |
Buy a turkey roasting pan and flatten it on one side to snug it up to the tire. Put cardboard between the chain and wheel. I use a paint brush cut down and kerosene. I dry the chain with compressed air and wipe it with a rag. Le it dry a bit then Bel-ray lube inside and out. Let it sit for a bit then wipe it down again. Also I do remove the chain guard.
It's best when the chain is warm from a ride. Oh yeah-important-when you wipe the chain-make sure it's going away from the sprocket!
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,630 Likes: 7
Monkey Butt
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Monkey Butt
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,630 Likes: 7 |
Two words "Grunge Brush." Use the brush to clean, Put a rag into it for wiping. I've done too many stupid things, usually without getting hurt, to tempt fate too much. As far as I've pushed my luck over the years it may be too bent out of shape to push it much more
We all like to think of ourselves as rugged individualists. But when push comes to shove most of us are sheep who do what we are told. Worst of all, a lot of us become unpaid agents of whoever is controlling the agenda by enforcing the current dogma on the few rugged individualists who actually exist.
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 299
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 299 |
Cliff--I wash my bike and clean my chain on a 500-mile schedule. Makes a normally very messy operation surprsingly unmessy, and you kill two birds with one stone. Here's how I do it:
Put bike up on lift. Rotate rear wheel and liberally spray chain down with your favorite water-soluble degreaser (undiluted--I use the purple stuff). Let it soak and go about washing the rest of the bike. Now simply rinse everything off with the garden hose into the floor drain of your garage. Wow, that chain and sprocket looks bright and shiny! The chain/sprocket should not need any further cleaning/brushing (unless you use chain wax, I don't). For lube, I take a sponge soaked in tacky bar oil and run the chain through it several revolutions (by hand of course!) to lube the O-rings. Next, I lightly spray the chain down with Amsoil metal protector as a top coat "just because." You'll have some fling on your first ride out after that; if that bothers you, simply wipe the wheel/muffler down and you're good for another 500 miles.
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,537
Check Pants
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Check Pants
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,537 |
Quote:
Cliff--I wash my bike and clean my chain on a 500-mile schedule. Makes a normally very messy operation surprsingly unmessy, and you kill two birds with one stone. Here's how I do it:
Put bike up on lift. Rotate rear wheel and liberally spray chain down with your favorite water-soluble degreaser (undiluted--I use the purple stuff). Let it soak and go about washing the rest of the bike. Now simply rinse everything off with the garden hose into the floor drain of your garage. Wow, that chain and sprocket looks bright and shiny! The chain/sprocket should not need any further cleaning/brushing (unless you use chain wax, I don't). For lube, I take a sponge soaked in tacky bar oil and run the chain through it several revolutions (by hand of course!) to lube the O-rings. Next, I lightly spray the chain down with Amsoil metal protector as a top coat "just because." You'll have some fling on your first ride out after that; if that bothers you, simply wipe the wheel/muffler down and you're good for another 500 miles.
Wow, that sounds like a lot of work. I lube about every 500-800 miles. Clean maybe once a year, twice if it catches me on a rainy day. Bell-Ray SuperClean lube, no fling, period, so not much to clean. 18,000 miles on this chain with no adjustments needed since the 1,200 mile mark.
Al
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 386
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 386 |
I clean mine about 400-500 miles. Spray chain with engine degreaser and use Grunge Brush. Let it set for a few minutes, Hit it with water from garden hose. let it dry for a bit. and then lube it with Chain Wax.
I was so much older then, I am younger than that now (Wrote By Dylan Sung by the BYRDS,)
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 58
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Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 58 |
Might want to watch the brake cleaner, it could cause havac with the "O" rings. Keroscene is much better and as said in other post a light coating is all you need. Two much gums up to works.
May You Be An Hour In Heaven Before The Devil Knows Your Dead!
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,240
Oil Expert
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Oil Expert
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,240 |
Brake Cleaner is NOT good on painted surfaces! I doubt that it does those o-rings any good either, but it would sure s*ck to get any on the fender paint or chain guard, tank, etc., and it may be just as bad on the finishes of the sprocket hub and wheel.
We use a lot of sprayed on brake cleaner in my shop - up under the cars - spraying off motor oil spillage and the like. Some of the oil filters screw on horizontally, so there is always some spillage on to the frame when changing the filter, and not cleaning it off is a guarantee the car is going to be back with a perceived "oil leak". Up under the cars though, it is hard to get it on anything it could hurt.
Keith
Houston
Ridin'Texas
'04 Speedmaster
AI removed, Pingle, UNI Filter, 1 shim, straight-through slash-cut TORs, Stage 1 DynaJet, 140 mains, 3 turns, 16/42 final drive, 115K
2020 T120 Black
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Re: a question about chain cleaning
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 495
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Apr 2007
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I am new to chains - other than bicycle chains. I hesitate to use Kerosene for cleaning only because of the necessary precautions with kerosene soaked rags, etc. Does WD-40 serve as a good chain cleaner? I see no mention of that.I used Bel-Ray to lube, and I see that it leaves a white residue - is it important to clean that off, or is just a wipe down after setting sufficient?
Pedal Till You Puke
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