Waxing lyrically ’bout chain lube

[Adrian LeeMember]

billt wrote:

Quote:

I use a good quality Silcon Spray on my chain, have been doing it for a couple of years now. Stops the shit form sticking to your chain and does a good lube job.

Bill.

Be very carefull mot to get the silicon on your brakes;)

[alanMember]

axel wrote:

Quote:

billt wrote:

Quote:

I use a good quality Silcon Spray on my chain, have been doing it for a couple of years now. Stops the shit form sticking to your chain and does a good lube job.

Bill.

Now THAT I find interesting. I have read the start of this thread but have chosen to stay clear as I am one of those nasty “no lube, new gen” activists

As always, everyone should “do what works for them”, but despite me doing my own thing I do like to see new ideas and their results.

Out of interest, I managed nearly 6000 kms out of the last bike (KTM250excf) with only one set of chains and sprockets changed (and they were probably 30% worn) before I sold it. Regina (~4500kms) then RK (~1500kms). I only lubed the chain after cleaning crud with a laundry brush before washing the bike (every now and then).
My theory is: o-rings keep the grease in. Don’t spray anything on the chain that will dissolve that grease or swell the the o-rings (WD40/kero/etc). Keep the o-rings from drying/shrinking.

I don’t believe the chain lube keeps the chain from getting “heated”. I don’t believe the lube can stay on the chain long enough to slow metal on metal contact significantly either. In my experience anyway.

I’m going to try the Silicon Spray, I like the theory. Moisten but not sticky. Thanks Billt. Maybe graphite lubes will work too.

now you have got a bike with some horse power i bet your chains and sprockets and back tyres don t last anywhere near as good :silly:

[GregMember]

white rocket wrote:

Quote:

now you have got a bike with some horse power i bet your chains and sprockets and back tyres don t last anywhere near as good :silly:

Yeah I was thinking the same, many many years ago I raced an XR 250 for two years I did a lot of races and if I wasnt racing I was trail riding at least 3 weekends a month every month. Peter Woods kept going crook that my chain was robbing two much power from the little engine it was an O ring and I am sure it was. After two years an engine rebuild, I sold it with the same chain and sprockets (two front sprockets)

Now I get less than 1000kms from a bling alloy Renthal sprocket, about 3000kms from a Stealth (two chains and three fronts) and am still going with my Chain Gang 4250kms (one chain, 2 x fronts)

Its horses for courses or horsepower destroys

TB

[Bruce CurtisMember]

That was part of my point originally, the more power you have the more stretch you get, now that was my anology with the GSXR11, this bike two years running won Streetbikes northern division horsepower shoot out against all comers was easily 5 hp clear of the next and the torque curve was awesome, yet my chain and sprockets lasted 60k, yet my mates with 750s and yamahas 1000s and zzr11s were flat out getting 30k. I believe there is two keys to it, quality of original equipment and the maintenance including lube schedule.
Torque destroys the sideplates, crud wrecks the rollers and sprockets.

BC

[alanMember]

i am with you mr blue have found chains last longer with lube .run out of lube once and thought i will try it without it being a tight a##e and the chain deterated real fast soon went and bought a can.

[Nick AgainMember]

My bike has a Regina chain..It gets whats handy most days? Wd40, Silkolene chain lube even used Browning Gun oil. So far its 5200 klms old..2x fronts same rear. I clean the bike after a ride, then drown ALL in WD40..I really expected to have needed to replace them by now ??

[Scott SouthwellMember]

I remember seeing an experiment a few years back done by Rob Twyerold (head mech of teams like CDR and KTM and also managed Kawasaki race team at one time). He ran two identical bike for a year, one with a lubed chain, one without. After a year the only differance between the two was the chain without lube was a shit load noisier.

[Bruce CurtisMember]

Scotty wrote:

Quote:

I remember seeing an experiment a few years back done by Rob Twyerold (head mech of teams like CDR and KTM and also managed Kawasaki race team at one time). He ran two identical bike for a year, one with a lubed chain, one without. After a year the only differance between the two was the chain without lube was a shit load noisier.

MX racing?

BC

[Mick DMember]

micknmeld wrote:

Quote:

I have been using the Motul spray and it seems to dry out in no time.

Sorry guys, I want to retract the above statement, I was mistaken, and the lube in question I have been using, was in fact Motorex. Sorry for any misinformation.

[Mick DMember]

micknmeld wrote:

Quote:

As of the last two rides I have been giving Lanox a go on my chain,I will post my thoughts soon.

After trying Lanox on the chains of a few of my bikes over the last few weeks,here are my findings.
I made sure that I had covered the chains in copious amounts of Lanox and after a ride the chain still appears wet unlike the motorex lube I had been using. The down side of Lanox I have found is that it flings badly and dust settles on the flung product,it tends to spray off the front sprocket and drip out of the case saver in such a fashion, to give the appearance you have blown a countershaft seal.
I fell for this the other day and ordered a new seal for the XR only to work out later that the seal is OK and it was just a build up of Lanox.
So my findings are it is good but messy.

[Bruce CurtisMember]

Take a chainsaw chain as an extreme example, I’ll leave the cutter issue alone as this is a seperate component altogether.
Now chainsaw chains are made from some very high tensile, high carbon chromium metals, they are covered in crud and some of the timbers have up to 17% silica content, they must be lubricated constantly, if they aren’t the pins/rollers die very very quickly, quite often plain seizing, they run hot as hades and the main issue is sideplate stretch, now oregon chain doesn’t quite stretch as badly as Stihl brand does, but that has to do with heat treatment at the production end. They don’t wear out pins and rollers despite being covered in “grinding Paste” constantly it stretches from heat rather than wears from friction, because it is lubed. Now our pins and rollers don’t seem to wear much when lubricated, if left unlubricated they do, so all we are left to content with is sideplate stretch, which comes back to tensioing, torque, heat and quality of components.

Mick lanox is great stuff, just don’t use it for long term coating like I did on some flatslides…..the bloke who bought them still swears at me about trying to cleanit off once it had dried into a thick brown gunk…..:dry:

[paulMember]

for good chainsaws and cutting chains, go for a husqvarna! i hear they make pretty good bikes too…..
tee hee!!!

as for the bike chain, i use chain wax on my road bikes religously, but on my TE i use crc 5.56. it gets sprayed almost everywhere after being washed and the chain cops it as well. so far it seems to be working well, and with putting it on after washing, it has time to dry and the excess drips off long before it gets in the dirt.
i used the duckhams oil on the stove when i was a kid and my mother tore strips off me, told me to use the bbq, then dad tore strips off me! duckhams is marketed in australia by bp i think and it’s still available apparently. only for non o ring chains though, and i think i may go for a non o ring chain and see how it goes, if it’s strong enough for the 450.

paul.

[Bruce CurtisMember]

loony888 wrote:

Quote:

for good chainsaws and cutting chains, go for a husqvarna! i hear they make pretty good bikes too…..
tee hee!!!

as for the bike chain, i use chain wax on my road bikes religously, but on my TE i use crc 5.56. it gets sprayed almost everywhere after being washed and the chain cops it as well. so far it seems to be working well, and with putting it on after washing, it has time to dry and the excess drips off long before it gets in the dirt.
i used the duckhams oil on the stove when i was a kid and my mother tore strips off me, told me to use the bbq, then dad tore strips off me! duckhams is marketed in australia by bp i think and it’s still available apparently. only for non o ring chains though, and i think i may go for a non o ring chain and see how it goes, if it’s strong enough for the 450.

paul.

Hello Paul, I have a sneaking suspiscion you know a hell of a lot about the husqvarna marque too… , tells us if you go to the old style chain and lube and how it goes, cause I’m tempted to if it’s the go.

BC

[Bruce CurtisMember]

Went out for about three hours riding in deep sandy area, mixed with dry dirt.

Conclusion worked to a point, the rollers had very little left on them after three hours, but i am running a plastic “roller scraper” as well on the front chainguard, but the sideplates amd sprockets had a good coating which seemed to resist fling altogether and after curing for a few weeks did not become a grinding paste. No stretching of chain this time chain “rattle was not heard at all and no slap or undue heat each time I checked, so I’ll keep using it.

BC

[Paul BaylyMember]

micknmeld wrote:

Quote:

I made sure that I had covered the chains in copious amounts of Lanox and after a ride the chain still appears wet unlike the motorex lube I had been using. The down side of Lanox I have found is that it flings badly and dust settles on the flung product,it tends to spray off the front sprocket and drip out of the case saver in such a fashion, to give the appearance you have blown a countershaft seal.
I fell for this the other day and ordered a new seal for the XR only to work out later that the seal is OK and it was just a build up of Lanox.
So my findings are it is good but messy.

I love the lanoline sprays. Maybe you are using the wrong grade? I use some old lanoline spray, can’t recall the brand, that was left over from rustroofing an old car.

I spray it on a clean(ish) chain and LET IT DRY OVERNIGHT. Wipe off any excess while it’s still wet.

I found this worked great, even on sandy tracks around Gippsland. After about 3 days this stuff dries to resemble a wax, without the need to do any mixing or heating.

To clean it off I use WD40 to dissolve it a bit, wash the bike and chain, WD40 again to get rid of excess water, blow with the airgun if I have access, let dry overnight, apply lanoline spray, wipe wipe wipe, let dry, ride, fall off, and go thru the whole routine again :S

[Author]

Posts