[medsker]

How often should I spray lube on the chain. I tried a search and didn't come up with anything. I have some liquid wrench lube that says it works on motorcycle chains so that is what I will be using. The bike is a stock 2013.



Thanks



Medsker

 

[r80rt]

Manual says to lube the chain every 300 miles.

 

[medsker]

The bad thing is it didn't even occur to me to look there

 

[scotti158]

I'd use a lube designed for motorcycle chains, liquid wrench is too thin. It will fling off quickly. A good chain lube goes on thin to penetrate then thickens to stay. Lube both sides of the chain, you want it to penetrate the side plates of the chain and get to the pins and inside of the rollers. Anything on the outside just holds the dirt to make an abrasive goo that wears the rollers and sprockets. I lube mine every 250 miles, it's easier to remember by watching the odometer. 250,500,750,1000 mile increments.

 

[jckosnow]

I use super thick gear oil (like 90w/130 or something crazy like that). it stays on the chain.

 

[medsker]

I'll go get some proper lube to do it with. I like the idea of keeping track easy at the 250 marks. Gear oil would probably work well but man that stuff stinks.

I hate doing my diffs on my truck because my hands smells like gear oil for a couple of days.

 

[elime]

I use super thick gear oil (like 90w/130 or something crazy like that). it stays on the chain.

Ditto! I wash in kerosene and soak overnight in 85/140 oil and do it every 300 to 400 miles for asphalt riding and after every dirt ride regardless of mileage.



It is an aftermarket chain and I now have almost 20K miles on it. Next time around I am using an o-ring chain.

 

[trailscout]

I use O-ring chains. There is no way to oil the pins and bushings which cause the chain to elongate, so I don't. Haven't oiled a chain since O-rings came out in the mid eighties. That said, a good rubber lubricant will lengthen the life span of the O-rings and hence the pins and bushings.



Anything on the outside of the chain that attracts dust creates a grinding compound that wears the sprockets faster which puts more stress on the pins and bushings which shortens their lifespan.



I used to adjust the chain as many as 2-3 times in a hundred mile muddy enduro. O-rings ended that.



My 1/2 cent.

 

[plumbstraight]

How often should I spray lube on the chain. I tried a search and didn't come up with anything. I have some liquid wrench lube that says it works on motorcycle chains so that is what I will be using. The bike is a stock 2013.



Thanks



Medsker

I am using a spray on dry lube for chains. You can most likely get it at your bike shop. I have a bit over 2000 mi on mine and only adjusted the chain once and is the stock chain.

 

[silverhead]

Good chain lubes made by companies like Motul go on like liquid and dry like a hard wax. You can get DuPont or Gunk brand chain lube at WalMart for only a few dollars which doesn't stink like gear oil.



My ritual is to put the front wheel in a chock, jack up the back of the bike and spin the rear tire while cleaning the chain with a rag and WD-40 to remove dirt and the old chain wax. Then I spray new Motul chain lube on there. Probably about once every 500 miles. I have 15,000 miles on the o-ring chain on my 650cc street bike with no wear to the sprockets. The TW should be fine because it has a lot less torque to stretch chains. The flipside is that you ride it in dirt.. Dirty chains cause wear to metal parts. The drier wax picks up less dirt than something wet with gear oil.

 

[medsker]

I'll look into the different lubes. Since I'm only off-road I may try a waxy one like Motul. If I upgrade to the o-ring chain which one do I get. On Amazon the first couple are 520 pitch in 106 or 114 links.

 

[silverhead]

Motul sells both a street version and an off-road version of their spray lube. Just an FYI. Should cost between 11 and 15 bucks at your local retail motorcycle joint. Or get it on Amazon. One can should last a while.



I'm using the street version, since that's what I have on hand. A can has lasted me two seasons owning about 8 bikes with chains.



Then again, I only ride about 8000 miles/year max on my bikes.

What's funny is that mine is yet a different kind.. I think this is what I'm using:

 

[TW-Brian]

On Amazon the first couple are 520 pitch in 106 or 114 links.

The TW uses a 428 chain.

 

[medsker]

Just ordered some on Amazon...thanks

 

[silverhead]

With the 50 tooth stock rear sprocket and 14 tooth front sprocket on my '93 I barely got a 122 link 428 (428 is the size, 122 link is the length) chain on there. The chain also works with a 47 tooth rear sprocket.



I paid about 35 bucks for a chain on ebay (non o-ring, from RK Racing, which seems nice enough.)





I pulled an RK racing O-Ring chain off of the bike when I removed the 44 tooth rear sprocket the previous owner had put on. It was too short to use with my bigger sprockets.



Here's a page that shows the dimensions of various chain sizes you commonly see in the motorcycle world... 420 up to about 530. The only important thing to note is that you need the right size for your sprockets. So in our case, 428 chain.

 

[evan]

I have an oring chain and haven't had to adjust it since when I first got bike. I do like to clean and lube it before each ride (along with oil level, tires, etc...) even though it is sealed with the orings. I know you can just use a rag to clean it but I have one of those "grunge brush" you can get from walmart or any motorcycle shop that work well.