chain cleaning

[kparkfan]

hey all. wnt out today and bought some chain was. was wondering how to clean the chain before i put that stuff on.

[Griffin]

?????????????

If it's new chain, why do you need to clean it? If the shipping grease really bothers you, spray some WD 40 or kerosene on it and wipe it down.

Right now it's as clean as it'll ever be.

[kparkfan]

oooops meant to say chain wax lol.

[Nessism]

Mineral Spirits, Kerosene, diesel fuel, or something similar to clean the chain. Don't use any thing harsh like gasoline, acetone, lacquer thinner, or mek. Let dry well and then slather on the lube.

[kparkfan]

cool can i do this with the chain on the bike.

[rapidray]

Yes, you can. Ray.

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. kparkfan,

Please do not turn on the motor and put it in gear to get the chain moving around while you clean or wax it. We've all seen pictures of fingertips on the garage floor.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[bonanzadave]

Hi Mr. kparkfan,

Please do not turn on the motor and put it in gear to get the chain moving around while you clean or wax it.

My friend did that on his CB900F. His finger went all the way around the rear sprocket !!

[kparkfan]

oh wow. i will definatly be spinning the wheel by hand.

[simon kuether]

Once you've been riding for a while,and the chain and sprockets get all grotty,try cleaning them with WD40 sort of stuff..use heaps as you turn the wheel (by hand of course..or old mate Basscliff will come and smack you on the pee pee) then wipe it well with some rag before you put the chain lube on.You can get some white coloured chain lubes that tend not to make as big a mess.One of them might worth a go.I don't use kero or diesel etc,because I reckon it's not so good using something that will dissolve the lube in x and o'ring chains to clean them.To my way of thinking ( bear in mind that I'm hanging upside down here ),it's better to use something that will wash the grime off rather than dissolving it off.If you've got a coulpe of damaged rings..........Cheers,Simon.

[chef1366]

Try using Engine Gunk on the chain. Let sit and spray off. Then lube the crap out of it. Gunk smells like diesel fuel.

[Griffin]

I received this email from RK Chain five years ago. Every time a chain cleaning thread pops up, I end up trotting it out.

Thanks for buying RK chains. There should have been warranty cards in the boxes with maintenance instructions.

They come from the factory with that thick sticky grease to help them resist rusting on the ocean voyage and in storage. Leave it on and just add a layer of your favorite o-ring chain lube.

To clean the chain while it's on the bike - apply a good coat of WD-40 and let it soak in. Then wipe the chain down with a rag or soft bristle brush. After you get most of the crud off, put on another coat of lube.

To really clean the chain - take it off the bike and let it soak overnight in a pan of kerosene. Wipe most of the crud off. Hang it by one end and spray well with lube. Wipe most of it off and put the chain back on the bike.

When you lube an o-ring chain, you are not trying to get lube past the o-rings. There is already a lifetime supply of lube sealed in behind the o-rings. What you're doing by lubing the chain is keeping the metal from rusting and the rubber o-rings from drying out.

Leslie Sowden
Director of Sales
FTM Enterprises Inc.

[hikermikem]

Good info - do you think it would hurt a chain to be left in kerosene for a couple of weeks??

I'm going out of town for that duration & was hoping to "revive" an old chain that has sat for a while... any legs there??

Mike

(Sorry, didn't mean to hijack a thread, but it's the same subject )

[Billy Ricks]

This is supposed to be the latest and greatest thing for chains. Zero mess.

http://www2.dupont.com/Consumer_Lubricants/en_US/products/dryfilm.html