Chain life

[9 Lives]

I have 16,000km or 10,000 miles on the bike and have started to notice some links starting to kink. I was hoping to get more mileage out of it, I have kept it cleaned and lubed regularly. How many miles are you guys getting out of your chain? Is this the normal life for the OEM chain?

 

[Woody146]

I pushed mine up to 11.5 k miles..sounded like a damn mariachi band was following me?! Supposedly they last 20 k with proper lube and cleaning (every tank of gas I guess?)

 

[Kliph]

Just changed mine last week with 29Kms on it. Like you I kept it clean and lubed. I trust the new one will do better..........Kliph

 

[pae58]

52.000 kms (appr. 32.300 mls) and still the 1st chain. Never cleaned but always using PDL

Greets from Germany,
Axel

 

[Larry P]

15k miles and while its not in mint condition it still drives fine. Will probably replace at 20k just because it feels like the right time.

 

[9 Lives]

It looks like I am on the low end of the scale, oh well, I think I will squeeze out a couple k more kms then change it.

 

[DanS]

52.000 kms (appr. 32.300 mls) and still the 1st chain. Never cleaned but always using PDL

Greets from Germany,
Axel

I never clean mine either, I just knock off the chunks with a rag saturated with lube.

 

[Woody146]

I've noticed a huge difference...has resistance when dirty...spins extremely free after clean/ lube.

I've started doing this every couple tanks of gas..guess the gunk builds quick

 

[TorontoAlex]

Silly question but how often do you need to adjust for chain play? And how do you do it? I am afraid to f. up my bike. I used to have no issues with my older cb750. I am also wondering how to adjust the rear susp with the funny wrench thing. Manual describes it but doesn't really show.

 

[Umyaya]

Silly question but how often do you need to adjust for chain play? And how do you do it? I am afraid to f. up my bike. I used to have no issues with my older cb750. I am also wondering how to adjust the rear susp with the funny wrench thing. Manual describes it but doesn't really show.

Depends how you ride. When the chain has too much slack you will notice it when you ride and you will hear it. Also when you check if it has a few inches of play that is too loose. You loosen the rear motorcycle axle and then there are these like small nuts on both sides by the rear swingarm spools. You have to tighten these but make sure you do it the exact same on both side because it essentially is moving the rear wheel just back. There should be a small measurement like ruler engraved on it. The rear suspension should just be able to be turned... I just hardened mine by 2 clicks.

 

[Willasan]

I'm right under 12k and my OEM chain was shot. Granted, when I was living in Florida I did not clean and lube after every rain, but I did do it every 300-500 miles and I'm not a particularly aggressive rider. I had 11 completely siezed links and over a dozen so stiff I could barely move them. I'm going to be a little more careful with my new EK Mvxz chain and hopefully it lasts like it should.

 

[Fazer 8]

IIRC from working on my bike, it comes with a DID chain, which should be a good quality chain.

I'm not going into a whole chain maintenance thing, so I'll keep it to this:

Key to chain life are the o-rings, which seal lubricant into the critical pin-bushing part of the chain. If the o-rings are damaged and that lubricant escapes you'll see kinking and/or red dust coming out of the link, which is a sign of mechanical wear inside the link.

So, if anything you're doing to maintain the chain is shortening the life of the o-rings, it may well be doing more harm than good. One thing I would look at is cleaning using one of those stiff bristled brushes - probably too still. Another is what sort of cleaner/degreaser you're using - the chain manufacturers recommend kerosene and a soft brush for cleaning. Overly aggressive solvents (like brake cleaner) or degreasers may damage the o-rings or seep past them, washing out lubricant. In the past when I have cleaned the chain I have used kerosene and a soft paint brush (messy, but ultimately effective), and Simple Green and a soft-bristled tooth brush (time consuming, not sure how good Simple Green is for the o-rings).

Having said all that, I've been getting about 25-30k KM out of my chains. The last chain received almost no cleaning and lubing with only Dupont Teflon dry wax lubricant (no longer available, they changed the formula), which wasn't the longest lasting lube, but didn't fling off and which wasn't sticky, so it didn't attract grit.

I think that may be the most important factor in lubes - not sticky so they don't attract and hold grit and turn into grinding paste. Thinner lubes (like oil) that fling off will tend to take dirt with them, so that's no so bad, and is probably one of the reasons why people with chain oilers get such good life. Of course they also make a bit of a mess, although not as bad as the spooge that flings off and builds up from typical sticky chain lubes.

On my new Fazer I'm trying some Motul "chain paste". Not sure yet how well that will work out. It's a bit more fiddly to apply than I had hoped (it's in a squeeze tube with a brush on the end), since getting a straight shot at the inside of the links is difficult. If this stuff doesn't work out I will switch back to some sort of dry lube product, like BelRay SuperClean, the "PDL" stuff mentioned above, or possible this stuff, mean for bicycles, but seeming very similar to the original DuPont Teflon dry wax lube: Finish Line - Bicycle Lubricants and Care Products - DRY Lube with Teflon®

 

[9 Lives]

IIRC from working on my bike, it comes with a DID chain, which should be a good quality chain.

I'm not going into a whole chain maintenance thing, so I'll keep it to this:

Key to chain life are the o-rings, which seal lubricant into the critical pin-bushing part of the chain. If the o-rings are damaged and that lubricant escapes you'll see kinking and/or red dust coming out of the link, which is a sign of mechanical wear inside the link.

So, if anything you're doing to maintain the chain is shortening the life of the o-rings, it may well be doing more harm than good. One thing I would look at is cleaning using one of those stiff bristled brushes - probably too still. Another is what sort of cleaner/degreaser you're using - the chain manufacturers recommend kerosene and a soft brush for cleaning. Overly aggressive solvents (like brake cleaner) or degreasers may damage the o-rings or seep past them, washing out lubricant. In the past when I have cleaned the chain I have used kerosene and a soft paint brush (messy, but ultimately effective), and Simple Green and a soft-bristled tooth brush (time consuming, not sure how good Simple Green is for the o-rings).

Having said all that, I've been getting about 25-30k KM out of my chains. The last chain received almost no cleaning and lubing with only Dupont Teflon dry wax lubricant (no longer available, they changed the formula), which wasn't the longest lasting lube, but didn't fling off and which wasn't sticky, so it didn't attract grit.

I think that may be the most important factor in lubes - not sticky so they don't attract and hold grit and turn into grinding paste. Thinner lubes (like oil) that fling off will tend to take dirt with them, so that's no so bad, and is probably one of the reasons why people with chain oilers get such good life. Of course they also make a bit of a mess, although not as bad as the spooge that flings off and builds up from typical sticky chain lubes.

On my new Fazer I'm trying some Motul "chain paste". Not sure yet how well that will work out. It's a bit more fiddly to apply than I had hoped (it's in a squeeze tube with a brush on the end), since getting a straight shot at the inside of the links is difficult. If this stuff doesn't work out I will switch back to some sort of dry lube product, like BelRay SuperClean, the "PDL" stuff mentioned above, or possible this stuff, mean for bicycles, but seeming very similar to the original DuPont Teflon dry wax lube: Finish Line - Bicycle Lubricants and Care Products - DRY Lube with Teflon®

I have only used kerosene to clean the chain with a rag and have used a couple of different chain lubes, motul and Tirox and have never used any kind of brush. I did use an air gun to dry the chain off before I put on the lube, maybe that's how the o-rings got damaged. I won't do that with the new chain. I will also try the PDL lube.

 

[Fazer 8]

Having said all the above, I should say that that is just my best guess on what's best for the chain, from what I've been able to gather. There is undoubtedly a lot of opinions and disagreement on what actually works best. And what one person considers best (say clean and non-sticky) may not be for another because, for example, it doesn't last very long, or disappears quickly in wet conditions.

Another alternative to the original, much loved, but now discontinued DuPont Multi-use Dry Wax lubricant that I've just become aware of is Liquid Wrench Dry Lube, which apparently may be very similar. The downside of these lubes is while they are probably good for keeping the o-rings clean and lubricated, and not making a mess, they have a limited lifespan on the surface of the rollers.

 

[9 Lives]

Having said all the above, I should say that that is just my best guess on what's best for the chain, from what I've been able to gather. There is undoubtedly a lot of opinions and disagreement on what actually works best. And what one person considers best (say clean and non-sticky) may not be for another because, for example, it doesn't last very long, or disappears quickly in wet conditions.

Another alternative to the original, much loved, but now discontinued DuPont Multi-use Dry Wax lubricant that I've just become aware of is Liquid Wrench Dry Lube, which apparently may be very similar. The downside of these lubes is while they are probably good for keeping the o-rings clean and lubricated, and not making a mess, they have a limited lifespan on the surface of the rollers.

Well you must be doing something right, your getting double the km than I am. Thanks for all the info.

 

[Fazer 8]

Well you must be doing something right, your getting double the km than I am. Thanks for all the info.

Yeah, maybe an air gun might have driven stuff under the rings. Also, I don't know what sort of consistency those lubes have - actually, I've used the Motul (goes on as sort of a clear greasy coating?), but not the Tirox. Are they sticky at all? Could they hold grit? If so, it could be that your cleaning regimen was not enough to get rid of all the stuck-on crud and grit, which might have then been grinding away at the o-rings.

Thick, sticky lubes make a mess, can hold grit and turn into grinding compound, and are a pain to clean off again. That's why I prefer dry lubes that can't trap stuff.

The shorter lifespan of your chain could also relate to riding style or conditions, like if you commute or just ride in rain regularly.

ps since switching to dry lubes, I don't really clean the chain anymore - just wipe down the outside of the side plates, and the top and bottom edges of them, just to wipe away any accumulated crud and keep the chain looking good. Of course my Fazer is new, so I've been pretty anal and even cleaned the sides of the rear sprocket really well.