chain cleaning? : Kawasaki ZX Forums: Kawasaki Ninja Forum

bigbrew · 02-25-2008, 04:10 PM

should you clean your chain??? what is the best way of doing so???

Swoosh · 02-25-2008, 05:11 PM

YES!! of course you should.

Opinions vary on what is the best way to clean your chain, and what will or will not hurt it.

I've heard everything from soup to nuts for cleaning chains. (okay maybe not nuts but you get the point).

I use MOTUL chain cleaner... IMO its the best, with the least amount of effort. Put your rear tire up on the stand, spray the chain while rotating the rear tire.... then once it's all coated in cleaner, hold a rag under the chain and rotate the tire again. You won't believe how grimy and gummy your chain gets.

Once that's done, find a really good chain wax, or lube (again, I use MOTUL) and apply to the chain while rotating the rear tire. Even with good wax or lube, you need to let it set up. Don't spray your chain and instantly go peeling out... most of what you put on will fly off and end up on the inside of the chain guard, the undertail, etc.

I had an ex-girlfriend that said something to me once and it stuck with me... seems appropriate in this situation as well... she said "You can never have too much lube". I thought she was talking about greasing the chain on your bike... now I'm not so sure.

NOX · 02-25-2008, 07:53 PM

Kerosene

VOZ · 02-25-2008, 08:12 PM

I use WD-40 to clean chain and chain wax by Maxim.

I soak chain with WD40 hold my grunge brush over and under the chain to romove all types of junk, then hit with a rag. Spray my chain wax and I'm good..

BlueBomber14 · 02-25-2008, 08:15 PM

they make a brush for chain cleaning if you think you really need to scrub it it has three sides in a U shape.

I tend to agree with Swoosh's good advice.

Kerosene???? don't know if I would go that way on an o-ring chain personally, but as said above "from nut's to bolt's". There are to many good cleaners as swoosh pointed out that I'm more comfortable with.

NICE VOZ i typed and then when I came back there is the brush I typed about...it's magic!!!!

NOX · 02-25-2008, 09:01 PM

DID says use kerosene on the box......., last time I had a o ring chain couple years ago. I use a non o ring. EIther way, soak it in kerosene, let it drip dry, use good lube. I wont say what I lube mine with, but I clean mine about every 20 miles........lol

BlueBomber14 · 02-25-2008, 09:14 PM

Yeah I try to get her to lube mine every......woops..wrong forum...this is the motorcycle one isn't it???

Swoosh · 02-25-2008, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NOX

I wont say what I lube mine with, but I clean mine about every 20 miles........lol

You clean your chain every 20 miles?? I'm going to have to call you on that one!! If I cleaned my chain every 20 miles I would never get anywhere... and I'd have no friends to ride with because they would get tired of stopping.

An average day for us would entail riding 300+ miles easily. So, if by your standards... I would have to stop 15 times during the day to clean my chain. Come on.... tell us you're kidding?

I have heard several people use kerosene...it's supposed to clean really well, and won't dry out the o-rings like other products such as (I've heard) WD-40. I personally wouldn't use WD for chain cleaning as it is almost guaranteed to dry out the rings IMO. It says it right in the name WD = Water Displacement... hence removal of moisture. As I said, to each their own, and if it works for you... then do it.

still

about the "I clean mine every 20 miles", and hoping he doesn't mean his chain... but rather his "chain".

MKP · 02-26-2008, 09:37 AM

I've used wd-40 to clean chains for years without any adverse effects. It doesn't "dry out the o rings". In fact some chain manufacturers even recommend it for cleaning their chains.

VOZ · 02-26-2008, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueBomber14

NICE VOZ i typed and then when I came back there is the brush I typed about...it's magic!!!!

I have ESPN

slim1100 · 02-26-2008, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swoosh

You clean your chain every 20 miles?? I'm going to have to call you on that one!! If I cleaned my chain every 20 miles I would never get anywhere... and I'd have no friends to ride with because they would get tired of stopping.

An average day for us would entail riding 300+ miles easily. So, if by your standards... I would have to stop 15 times during the day to clean my chain. Come on.... tell us you're kidding?

still

about the "I clean mine every 20 miles", and hoping he doesn't mean his chain... but rather his "chain".

Nox is only doing drag strips ....... from what I gather anyway

otherwise like you say^^

kc10maineiac · 02-26-2008, 03:55 PM

I have pretty much followed the service manual to a T for a types of servicing. The manual states that kerosene and diesel oil is recommended for cleaning chains and O-rings of the drive chain. Do not use gas or trychloroethylene as it will cause deterioration and swelling of the O-ring. Immediately blow the chain dry with compressed air after cleaning. If you dont have a special chain lube, a heavy oil such as SAE 90 is recommended over lighter as you dont want it coming off when centrifical force does its thing. Apply oil to both sides of the rollers so that oul will penetrate to the rollers and bushings. Apply the oil to the O-rings so that the O-rings will be coated with oil....wipe off any excess. Well there ya have it guys, a special lesson directly from the zx-10 service manual. Hope it helps

n8dagr8 · 02-26-2008, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kc10maineiac

I have pretty much followed the service manual to a T for a types of servicing. The manual states that kerosene and diesel oil is recommended for cleaning chains and O-rings of the drive chain. Do not use gas or trychloroethylene as it will cause deterioration and swelling of the O-ring. Immediately blow the chain dry with compressed air after cleaning. If you dont have a special chain lube, a heavy oil such as SAE 90 is recommended over lighter as you dont want it coming off when centrifical force does its thing. Apply oil to both sides of the rollers so that oul will penetrate to the rollers and bushings. Apply the oil to the O-rings so that the O-rings will be coated with oil....wipe off any excess. Well there ya have it guys, a special lesson directly from the zx-10 service manual. Hope it helps

I wish more people would read service manuals...

Jester · 02-27-2008, 05:16 AM

^^ kawasaki also suggests that the platinum plugs that they come out with need to be changed every 12000km's and we al know that they should last double that so I am not going out of my way to trust everything that Kawa says.

I use wd-40 and have done for year with all my O ringed chains. They rings are sealed in lube so the Wd wont affect that and IMO chain lube just attracts and holds dirt and therefore keep's it in between friction points (generally not reccomended but hey each to there own) and the WD40 stops this affect. I will admit though that if you use WD as lube then you should apply more often as it is not as long lasting as lube

Bluesteiner · 03-02-2008, 05:19 PM

all i've heard is that wd-40 will dry out the chain, why would you use it anyways when kerosene cleans soooo much better and is recommended, also, it's cheaper!

MKP · 03-03-2008, 01:47 PM

For me...WD-40 is cheaper than kerosene because I always have a can of the stuff (I never have kerosene so I'd have to buy some).
It also cleans the chain just fine and doesn't stink as bad as kerosene.
As far as "drying out the o rings", well it's just not true. I've used it on all my bikes for many years (I've owned more than 35 bikes in 35 years of riding) and never had any problems with the o rings.

ZuluNinja · 03-03-2008, 03:38 PM

bit of advice - never EVER clean your chain with regular gasoline. My chain lasted a lil bit over 15,000 miles with regular cleaning, oiling and tightening but the first 2 or 3 times I used gas and it seems that over time it really messed it up, my chain was making popping noises at 8,000 miles.

Now I use diesel that I keep on a spray bottle, jack her up on the stand and thoroughly spray while rotating tire, put a rag on the floor as it will drip filthy and get a grunge brush, that thing is meant for that. Brush entire chain thoroughly after spraying, wipe with a rag then apply whatever chain lube you use, there's plenty of them out there.

Ochoa039R · 03-11-2008, 10:16 AM

I use wd-40 and a grunge brush, then lube it with either motul or chain wax and I have never had any problems.