self-lubricating chain

[Anonymous]

What is a "self-lubricating" chain. I was looking around for a match to my 530/106 chain and came across this term in JC Whitney.

It's not "O-Ring" but claims to have all the lube it'll ever need -- something about "sintered bushings."
Anybody have experience with these?

[Jethro]

Never heard of such a thing. The definition of a sintered material is one that is formed into a mass under heat and pressure. I assume they simply mean it is heat treated.

[bwringer]

Some sintered materials are meant to be porous, then impregnated with a lubricant. That's probably what they're doing with these chains.

There are two problems, though. For one, I don't believe a porous sintered material would be anywhere near as strong as the usual metals used for the pins and rollers. Therefore, they're probably using it as a thin lining layer, like babbitt. This seems like it could wear quickly, though.

For another, this chain isn't sealed. Even if the lubricant can't escape, this still allows dust, dirt, water, etc. into the chain.

I might try one of these chains on my wife's anemic little Honda 400, which never sees rain or dirt, but I'd be reluctant to use them on a more powerful bike, or one that could be used in rain or dust.

[jimcor]

Tim, I bought one of those for an old 73 CB450 Honda. I was very disappointed in its performance. The lube thing was a joke and it developed kinks very quickly. Waste of money. See 'Hinermad's' post 'Buying a chain' in this section for my recommendation. (not that I'm some friggin' authority on the subject! 8O )

[Anonymous]

chain

You get what you pay for, all chains need to be lubed, even o-ring chains, witch have there own type of lube, I use a standard high end chain an I service it regularly the little bit of mess is no big deal, and this way I can afford to do the spockets at the same time,witch will last longer than the best chain out there, if used on the old sprockets!! most of the new chains are way stronger than what was available 25 years ago, match your chain to your bike, you don't need a chain that is a million pounds tensile strength and $200 on a gs 450

[scotty]

Dont mess with that baloney. Please dont fool yourself and waste money.

[Anonymous]

Good ol chain lube is the way to go.

Even if your bike has an oiler for the chain you should lube it yourself. My honda is set up to let oil weep out from the front sprocket onto the chain. When the time comes I will be turning off the oiler and using chain lube instead.

[Anonymous]

manufacturer talks about their self-lube chain

"The average ultimate strength for this type of
chain is 6,200 lbs so you should check your manual for equivalent strength
rating. Also, the self lubricating feature welcomes any additional lube to
further enhance chain performance." :roll:

Customer Service
Montec Direct

"Welcomes" -- sounds a lot like "needs" to me.

Ride on.

T H

[jimcor]

Tim, trust us on this one. Don't buy that chain. ALL chains need lube O, X and RING AROUND THE ROSIE. If you're trying to save a few coins buy a reputable ( Tsubaki, RK. EK, Regina, etc,) non O ring chain before you buy that POS.

Read Scotty's post.

Would Scotty lie to you? A man who put 750 badges on his 1100 to sucker HD riders? Nah!

[Anonymous]

chain

Oh, I'm with you guys, Jim.

I'm going with OEM chain & sprockets. And I lubed the old O-ring chain religiously. Unfortunately the previous owner apparently didn't believe in chain maintenance.

I was definitely curious about a "no-lube" chain at first. Hey, if they can put men on the moon and create edible panties, maybe scientists will come up with a no-lube chain that works -- just not yet.

I posted the note from Montec -- to let people see that
even the manufacturer doesn't seem to have a lot of confidence in
that chain.

Take good care,

Tim