Chain lube recommendations : Kawasaki ZX Forums: Kawasaki Ninja Forum

immtbiker · 10-17-2009, 11:29 AM

Regular riding, no racing.
Just high speed pursuits, usually out of the precip (if if it can be avoided).

Mike P · 10-17-2009, 11:30 AM

Chain wax.

Somefun · 10-17-2009, 11:50 AM

Chain Wax every 500 miles...

DEK · 10-17-2009, 01:56 PM

Dupont Dry Wax spray from Lowes. The best I've ever used. Never a mess on your bike anywhere after spraying your chain. I only have to apply it about every 1000 miles or so and my chain still looks like new after 4600 miles. Great stuff.

Mike P · 10-17-2009, 02:06 PM

1000 mile interval? No way I would. To much debris.

jollyroger · 10-17-2009, 02:49 PM

Dupont Chain Wax? Never heard of it-maybe I'll give er a shot.Right now I use Silkolene Chain Lube.Really good stuff IMO.Minimal Fling-and virtually NONE after the first initial ride.Lube mine about every 500 miles,maybe less depending on heat and dust.Marvel Mystery Oil cleaning every 600,700 miles.Lightly brush on with horsehair dog brush,wipe dry-then Silkolene.

**Shifty1** · 10-17-2009, 03:02 PM

MotorcycleFred · 10-17-2009, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shifty1

I used to butcher horses for a living years ago......

I love horse meat.....

LimeBobZX14R · 10-17-2009, 04:21 PM

motorcyclefred that is funny,,,
floggin a dead horse.
my wife always says that but never seen an animation for it...
and yes, every 500 w/chain wax...
i use a little wd40 on a clean rag to wipe clean first..
do not directly spray chain with the solvent, it will get past the seals and wash out the lube...

ezmport · 10-18-2009, 07:42 AM

i just used regular cleaner from dealer nothing special. i'll be honest at first i didn't realize how often you had to clean the chain, didn't clean it until about 2000 miles on bike and she cleaned up perfect. chain looks great after 6,000 miles. ( i didn't have to use a brush or anything just cleaner and a rag)

185EZ · 10-18-2009, 09:23 AM

Shifty and I seem to be beating the same horse lately.

Just curious what you guys mean by saying your chain "looks" good. Any chain that hasn't been run in the rain everyday will look good but doesn't mean the chain isn't worn. A better indicator would be to look at the sprockets and teeth. The only way I've known to test a chain is to remove it and hold it sideways to see if it has alot of "bow" in it.

jollyroger · 10-18-2009, 12:14 PM

I don't go through all the bending thing and all-I just inspect the links for x-ring breakage,along with keeping her adjusted right.My last chain-I began to see a bunch of "black grease" flinging onto my rear wheel.Yep-x-rings were cracking and breaking.I do check my sprocket teeth fairly regularly though.

185EZ · 10-18-2009, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jollyroger

I don't go through all the bending thing and all-I just inspect the links for x-ring breakage,along with keeping her adjusted right.My last chain-I began to see a bunch of "black grease" flinging onto my rear wheel.Yep-x-rings were cracking and breaking.I do check my sprocket teeth fairly regularly though.

That's more of what I was wondering. I'm not sure if I was asking correctly via the internet. I can make a chain look good but that doesn't necessarily mean the chain is mechanically good. Everyone has their special lubes but is it really working or just making the chain look pretty when clean? I use the spray chain lube from walmart (champion?). As I rotate the chain, I get the spray head real close and it blows out the dirt and I do one side at a time and gets the lube inside the chain where it belongs. It takes me a little longer for cleanup but I know I got the grease in the right spots. Does it work good?

But it looks good.

mike the bike · 10-18-2009, 01:10 PM

ive been running a "scottoiler" for the last 3 years, if you use your bike in the wet then they are worth fitting, just top it up every now & then, here in the uk they are pretty much essential.

Hammerhead · 10-19-2009, 04:41 PM

4600 miles? 6000 miles??? Your chain ought to look good at those mileages. How does it look at 20, or 30,000? I use Bel-Ray Superclean every 300-600 miles depending upon conditions and clean every 1,000 or so. The P.O. used chain wax, and when I took the countershaft cover off to change the drive sprocket, that stuff was caked solid in the space along with rocks, sticks, crud and anything else that would stick to the wax. Liquid Wrench Chain Lube makes a good cleaner since it is o-ring safe and has lots of solvents to break down accumulated munge.

DEK · 10-19-2009, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hammerhead

4600 miles? 6000 miles??? Your chain ought to look good at those mileages. How does it look at 20, or 30,000? I use Bel-Ray Superclean every 300-600 miles depending upon conditions and clean every 1,000 or so. The P.O. used chain wax, and when I took the countershaft cover off to change the drive sprocket, that stuff was caked solid in the space along with rocks, sticks, crud and anything else that would stick to the wax. Liquid Wrench Chain Lube makes a good cleaner since it is o-ring safe and has lots of solvents to break down accumulated munge.

Sounds like the "P.O." must have sprayed the chian and then took off riding instead of letting the wax dry. I've never had anything stick to the wax nor have I had any wax buildup. It's not rocket science just clean,check,lube the chain pretty simple but everyone has their own method. Whatever works for you.

cjd223 · 10-19-2009, 05:34 PM

Dupont Chain Wax. Does not fling off.

DEK · 10-21-2009, 07:47 AM

Yep. Two of the best kept secrets for sportbikes is Dupont Dry Wax and Grip Puppies.

**STREETDREAMS** · 10-21-2009, 08:49 AM

DuPont chain wax is good just make sure your chain is cleaned well. I also like MFR lube, doesnt make much of a mess and its easy to maintain...

DEK · 10-21-2009, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STREETDREAMS

DuPont chain wax is good just make sure your chain is cleaned well. I also like MFR lube, doesnt make much of a mess and its easy to maintain...

Hey Dreams,
That's the good thing aboout the wax the chain hardly ever gets dirty! I always clean my chain with kerosine and then dry and wax it. Lasts me a good 1000 miles before I even think about cleaning it again. Matter of fact I used to clean the chain on my Gixxer 1k with kerosine and never put anything else on it. Never had any problems with the chain doing this but I quit doing it because I was afraid my luck might run out. But I have known other guys that do the same thing and never have any trouble out of their chains. Kerosine has enough lubrication in it to oil the chain so they claim. I for sure would not do this if I were racing the bike but for normal street riding I never worried about it.