[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by MechPrasad

I'd prefer cleaning a drive chain with a mixture of lube and petrol, why?

Petrol is abrasive by nature, not the best to use when dealing with O rings.

Try Diesel, its lubricative by nature.

If chain life is all you seek then forget cleaning the chain, simply lube with gear oil and be done with it.

EDIT:

Here's a snap of my 30k old chain, it has NEVER been cleaned, only lubed. As you can see even after completing 30k kms, there's a LOT of adjustment left.



Photo was snapped when I'd dropped the motorcycle, hence the awkward angle.

Regards,
A.P.

[Ajaybiz]

Small input on this topic, small bikes specially under 20 BHP are OK to run without cleaning and with minimal lubing, it hardly matters, bigger bikes definitely requires more often cleanup and lube, 600-800 kms for lube, clean up if its ridden in dusty roads.
Chain tension and cleanup actually decides the life span of its service.

[Manoj2268]

I used to melt grease in a discarded omelette pan and dip the chain post diesel wash once every 6 mo with monthly gear oil lubrication.

Worked like a charm.

[MechPrasad]

Originally Posted by Manoj2268

I used to melt grease in a discarded omelette pan and dip the chain post diesel wash once every 6 mo with monthly gear oil lubrication.

Worked like a charm.

Lovely bro, that's indeed a great idea. I love the the sound after greasing the chain, sounds almost like a new one.

Lovely Learning

MechPrasad

[mithun]

I own a new Duke 250, ran just 500+ KMS.

Query:

I don't have a paddock stand and I use a moto jack

Should a chain slackness be measured when the rear wheel is on the jack or on the ground?

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by mithun

I don't have a paddock stand and I use a moto jack

If its convenient and won't result in personal injury then go for it.

Should a chain slackness be measured when the rear wheel is on the jack or on the ground?

Doesn't matter.

We've adjusted chains while on interstate rides, as you can see I am the "stand" lifting the motorcycle off the ground.



Regards,
A.P.

[mithun]

Thanks ashwinprakas

1. Since Dukes come with X-ring, any difference in treatment when compared to O-rings?
2. Can I use a car bottle jack for chain maintenance/washing/changing tyres? Any negatives?

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by mithun

1. Since Dukes come with X-ring, any difference in treatment when compared to O-rings?

None.

Standard procedure.

2. Can I use a car bottle jack for chain maintenance/washing/changing tyres? Any negatives?

You can use anything as long as commonsense isn't left out of the equation.

I've used a scissor jack and jack stands to hoist mine, was able to take off the sub frame and work on the motorcycle, only to drop the motorcycle while dismounting it.

P.S. This was why I had my paddock stand fabricated.



Regards,
A.P.

[Rocketscience]

Team,
Due to the ongoing situation my bike is going without service, it was anyways long overdue since i was out of station for a while before the lockdown began so it must have been over 6 months since the bike and also the chain were serviced.

Now i had no reason to carry out the maintainance myself as my bike's running is anyways too low and getting chain cleaned and lubed 2-3 times a year from the service center, which charges about 200 for the same would have worked fine for me.

Long story short my bike is sitting on dry chain which doesn't look too good and i don't want to get the bike serviced anytime soon, even when the lockdown gets lifted.

I must also add i'am hardly using my bike these days and this won't change anytime soon, so is it important to service (clean + lube) the chain even if i go for short 3-4 kms rides for no more than 20-30 kms total a month?

I have heard some horror stories of chains randomly and prematurely failing with some dangerous consequences. (My bike must have run around 1000 kms without servicing, the chain has went through a couple of rides in rain as well)

My second concern is if yes, my bike r15v3 comes with a side stand and i don't want to spend on a paddock stand immediately, will the car jack work?

If yes what will be the best position to place it on my bike, i have seen videos use it to lift the wheel a few mm above the ground while being on the right side swing arm, others have it somewhat under the center of the bike, which is the safest position for the same? (Lifting just a few mm seems pretty safe to me)

Also i'am ready to buy Motul Chain Lube and WD 40 (for cleaning), so i need advice from fellow and much more experienced bhpians on the same.

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by Rocketscience

Team,
...so i need advice from fellow and much more experienced bhpians on the same.

I suggest you go through this very thread for more information on maintaining your bike's chain. Members such as @ashwinprakash have detailed posts to help you.

[Rocketscience]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

I suggest you go through this very thread for more information on maintaining your bike's chain. Members such as @ashwinprakash have detailed posts to help you.

Thanks for your response, actually i did go through this thread as well as some youtube videos, however i had some specific concerns like where exactly (if perfectly safe) to place the car jack on my particular bike as well as in these unusual circumstances can i actually get away without maintaining the chain if i actually do super low mileage in a month? I'am relatively new to the bike maintenance thing and have zero practical experience hence did not want to take chances.

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by Rocketscience

Thanks for your response, actually i did go through this thread as well as some Youtube videos, however i had some specific concerns like where exactly (if perfectly safe) to place the car jack on my particular bike as well as in these unusual circumstances can i actually get away without maintaining the chain if i actually do super low mileage in a month? I'am relatively new to the bike maintenance thing and have zero practical experience hence did not want to take chances.

If you feel like it's difficult to handle your bike for chain lubrication, ask someone to help you. One person can hold and tilt the bike to allow the rear wheel to rotate by hand and the second person can lubricate the chain.

If a second person isn't available, then park the bike on the stand and clean and lubricate the section of chain that is accessible. Once you finish that section, move the bike so that a dirty section of chain becomes accessible. Deal with that section and so on.

If the bike is not standing stable, then don't risk working on it. If the bike falls you could get injured and also damage itself.

Most importantly, don't handle the chain with your hands. The risk of injury by fingers getting caught in the sprocket or elsewhere is very high, even without the engine running. Use a paint brush or old toothbrush for cleaning with diesel or applying oil.

Happy maintenance!

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by Rocketscience

Thanks for your response, actually i did go through this thread as well as some Youtube videos, however i had some specific concerns like where exactly (if perfectly safe) to place the car jack on my particular bike as well as in these unusual circumstances can i actually get away without maintaining the chain if i actually do super low mileage in a month? I'am relatively new to the bike maintenance thing and have zero practical experience hence did not want to take chances.

Since use is strictly limited, I'd suggest you stick to bearing grease.

With the engine off, apply grease on the drive chain on all exposed parts of the chain, then move the motorcycle to expose more parts of the chain and then repeat till you've spread grease on the complete chain. No need to lift the motorcycle, you just need to move the motorcycle a few feet to lube the entire chain, a paddock stand or lifting the rear wheel off simply to lube doesn't make sense if you're alone and not at a shortage of time, saying so as I've lifted the rear end off several motorcycles to help fellow enthusiasts spray chain lube but that was because it was more convenient since we were in greater numbers and less time consuming even though marginally not enough to make a fuss about.

It is not aesthetically pleasing but gets the job done and stays in place longer.

During a monsoon ride to Yercaud and back last year I clocked about 1.2k km's on bearing grease without breaking a sweat, my fellow riders had to lube their chains a few times using chain spray whereas I had no care in the world.

Not kidding about the aesthetics, grease is inconvenient to apply and even more inconvenient to clean off, works for me as I do not believe in cleaning the chain, I merely stick to lubing it with gear oil/grease and forgetting about it until the rollers start shining again.

Cheers,
A.P.

[ArizonaJim]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

If you feel like it's difficult to handle your bike for chain lubrication, ask someone to help you. One person can hold and tilt the bike to allow the rear wheel to rotate by hand and the second person can lubricate the chain.

If a second person isn't available, then park the bike on the stand and clean and lubricate the section of chain that is accessible. Once you finish that section, move the bike so that a dirty section of chain becomes accessible. Deal with that section and so on.

If the bike is not standing stable, then don't risk working on it. If the bike falls you could get injured and also damage itself.

Most importantly, don't handle the chain with your hands. The risk of injury by fingers getting caught in the sprocket or elsewhere is very high, even without the engine running. Use a paint brush or old toothbrush for cleaning with diesel or applying oil.

Happy maintenance!

I agree with this, 100 %.

Do not use a car jack to lift the rear of the motorcycle. Car jacks are not designed for this job and they are not stable enough to safely do this.

Although you will see videos that show people successfully using a car jack to lift a motorcycle, IMO they were just lucky and when there is such a great possibility of damage to you or to the motorcycle if it falls, luck is something that is very poor to count on.

[Balthazar]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Petrol is abrasive by nature, not the best to use when dealing with O rings.

Try Diesel, its lubricative by nature.

If chain life is all you seek then forget cleaning the chain, simply lube with gear oil and be done with it.

Why would you not recommend cleaning the chain? I am not very knowledgeable about lubing and cleaning. I did see Ryan's video on F9 where he says using 75-90w engine oil is a good choice.

But wouldn't applying or re-applying any lube without cleaning the chain not remove fine dust and sand particles, and they can in turn act as an abrasive?

Also, what do you mean when you say "if chain life is all you seek?" Could you please elaborate?