Hi Guys
This is very interesting and I agree with the OLD way of boiling chain with Duckhams as it allowed the oil to get inside the moving parts of the chain(mum still remembers the smell in the kitchen). I have come back to dirt bikes after a long time off and find chain wear a problem . With the chainsaw oiling we have found the thicker and more tacky oil the better .
I have found GB brand bar oil to be the best at mimimising strecht in cutting dirty hardwood and have been thinking of a Scott oiling type system for putting oil on the bike chain as we ride .
The other thing we teach with sawchains is to submerge the chain in oil overnight to allow the oil to soak in the working parts of the chain .This stops a lot of chain streath
I dont know if these ideas would work in very dusty conditions but I think it would work under normal trail riding .I agree with Paul Go the HUSKYS
Gabba
With the soaking method you are talking about Gabba,the only problem I see with that is the fling factor. You’d probably end up with oil all over you bike. I dunno,but I used Lanox and it ended up everywhere.
Ok so now I’m fairly sure I’m on the right path.
Just back from 4hrs in dusty gritty heat up the ranges and the chain is nice and free, coating is still on sprocket valleyss and sideplates, I cut the scraper back off the chain and i have ZERO, NIL, NUDA, Absolutely NO chainstretch for over 8 hrs of bike time now, 35mm freeplay cold at the start of this experiment, and 35mm of freeplay cold today after the ride, and we did some nasty tracks with sharp hills and gullies and dry trails so it was a good test.
Think I’ll keep on this path.
With the soaking method you are talking about Gabba,the only problem I see with that is the fling factor. You’d probably end up with oil all over you bike. I dunno,but I used Lanox and it ended up everywhere.
I use Lanox as well Mick,,
and it does tend to spray around a bit, so I give it a lte wipe to remove excess and apply it more often,,,,,
I don`t know any better anyway,,, I am NO EXPERT :laugh: :laugh:
I have never been really fussy about chain lube. Just bung on whatever I have usually. Lately I have tried CRC TAC2 and it was about typical for a chain lube. It is finished so next up will be Belray or something else.
This weekend I found a can of Wurth silicone spray and gave it a try. It goes on clear and dries opaque white with a waxy feel to it. While spinning the wheel to apply it, you could feel the chain etc freeing up nicely. After it dried that freeness remained. The beauty part is that it doesn’t seem at all sticky so no problem with dust. It is yet to be seen how it goes in terms of lasting lubrication, but I figure it can’t be much worse than most chain lubes out at the moment.
That’s my experiment! Not as flash at Blue’s but hey, if it works I’ll be hitting up Wurth for another can or two!
– Keep the o-rings moist = tick
– Don’t let crap stick to the lube and chain = tick
Just don’t fall into the trap of spraying WD40 type solvents on your chain…
To combat the surface rust problem:
– Wash it in the morning, leave it in the sun
– Light compressed air to blow water off if you have to
– or the best: ride it for 5 min to fling the water off.
It’s only surface rust anyway, no big deal other than looking bad.
I purchased 2 scrubbing brushes from the reject shop. Bent and screwed a side plate to them so the bristles face each other (kinda like a boot cleaning brush now). Sit it on the chain in front of the rear chain guide block. 1st gear slow on the bike stand with the hose squirting at it. Gets all the crap off it without hurting the o-rings. I can post a picture if anyone has interest.
MK1. All of 10min. 8min of that was finding screws… Screws go through the alloy plate into the white plastic. $4 for the brushes.
You can see the backing plate protruding. Stops the knobbies catching too.
The rubber strap is to hook onto the bike to keep it straight. The brush rests against the chain block when in use.
Will get around to making a better fandangled version but have too many other projects already. Proof of concept.
