How do you lube motorcycle chain?

Answer 1

How to lube your chain: Before starting off it is important that the chain is clean of old chain lube and dirt. More often than not, the chain lube mixes with grit and dirt to form a grinding paste which acts like sand paper on your chain and sprocket creating increased wear. Beware to not use a cleaning agent that will damage the "O" rings in most motorcycle chain. So, once the chain is clean; Get the back wheel off the ground. Spin the back wheel while spraying the lube onto the top of the bottom run of the chain. This will allow the overspray to land on the surface below the chain, not all over the swingarm and other parts of the motorcycle (you don't get overspray if you use Go Chain Wax). Lubing on the inside of the bottom run of the chain also pushes the lube outwards as the chain goes around the sprocket. Don't start the engine, engage a gear and let it run with the clutch out to spin the wheel. This is not only dangerous to your fingers, but it also flings the wet lube all over the bike and floor. Also, don't try to push the bike along while trying to spray lube onto the chain - you will only end up spraying it everywhere but the chain. What you need to know about chain lubes There are two groups of lubes on the market: wet, which are oil based; and dry which are wax, graphite, Teflon, etc based. Wet lubes are so called because they stay wet on the chain, and dry are so called because their carrier liquids evaporate to leave a dry lubricant on the chain. It is a misconception that wet lubes are for wet conditions, and dry lubes for dry conditions - a good dry lube will, taking component wear and cleaning into consideration, 'out lube' a wet lube in all conditions. While a wet lube will perhaps obtain more distance its major disadvantages are that it attracts dirt like honey to a blanket, forms a grinding paste and is a pain in the neck to clean. In every instance, chains lubed with wet lubes require regular degreasing for optimal performance. Almost every dry lube on the market is formulated with the lubricant component dissolved in a carrier liquid, which is almost always some form of solvent mixture comprising benzene, propane, heptane, alcohol, acetone, etc. The net effect of this is that such solutions are saturated with too low a content of the lubricant; therefore, once it is applied to the chain, the end result is that the chain is left with too little lube. Furthermore, the carrier liquid usually always evaporates too quickly before the lubricant can be carried into the openings in the chain between the plates, and pins and rollers. GO Chain Wax has a unique formulation circumventing these issues.