Chain maintenance

[JonKerr]

Originally Posted by ksanbon

Thanks for the posts everyone.

I just finished lubing my chain for the first time at 1400+ miles (had the dealership do the first one at 680). It takes a little more time than my bicycle, but it was really easy.

I got the Harbor Freight swingarm stand and used Bel-Ray Super Clean chain lube (dealer recommendation). That stuff works great. The chain still had a decent coat and a miniscule amount of grit despite the fact that I've been riding in the rain.

I'll go another 700 miles and see how it looks. If anything changes, I'll post again.

You're actually supposed to clean and re lube the chain every time you ride in the rain. I know if you commute every day in the rain that's not really possible, but I would definitely do it more often than 700 miles if you're riding in the rain. I don't ride in the wet at all and I probably clean mine every 300 miles or so. I wash my bike often and I do it every time the bike gets wet.

[arkkornkid]

I cleaned and oiled my chain for the first time this past weekend and thought I'd pass this along:

I was inspired by the PackJack that GoGreen09 mentioned in an earlier post. You can get by with using a common jackstand with a rag on top to protect your swingarm from scratches. Stand on the left side of the bike with the kickstand down. Use the rear grab bar and pull back towards you (and against the kickstand) and you'll feel the rear tire lift. Reach and place the jackstand under the swingarm in front of the exhaust. The front tire will want to rotate, straighen it back up and make sure the bike is stable. Be sure the release handle of the stand is facing the front of the bike or the rear tire will rub, thus defeating the purpose. It really is as simple as that, and here's a video of me doing it.

YouTube - Yamaha FZ6R chain maintenance in a pinch

YouTube - Yamaha FZ6R chain maintenance in a pinch

and I went ahead and ordered the swingarm rear stand from Harbor Freight for next time.

and on another forum this comes highly recommended. No fling and doesn't attract dirt and stuff as bad, so keeps the chain cleaner longer. And says right on the can that it's safe for o-rings.... The only place I could find that had it was Lowe's. I went to HD and 3 different auto parts stores with no luck.

[Diluted]

That's a cool trick...I can see myself pulling the bike over on top of me lol.

[arkkornkid]

haha... nah, you'd have to be pretty 'roided up to manage that. That kickstand puts up a good fight.

[Diluted]

lol, I did like that PackJack, might have to save up and get one of those...I may need to get swingarm spools though, I don't think I trust it balancing on that bolt head.

[MDRaven0223]

Originally Posted by arkkornkid

The only place I could find that had it was Lowe's. I went to HD and 3 different auto parts stores with no luck.

I had the same problem. Spent a day trying to find it. Grabbed the last can from Lowes.

[joloy133]

After reading this article I tried this product and like it. FWIW
Tri-Flow Lubricants - webBikeWorld

[arkkornkid]

Well, I figured I'd give an update on my previous suggestion.

The first time I serviced my chain I used Maximum (sp?) Chain Wax and it did a very nice job, didn't sling off at all and didn't really build up much grime over 600 milles. On my second service I used the DuPont Teflon spray..... and after about 75 miles, my upshifts started feeling lurchy. I hadn't changed anything about my technique, so it kinda took me a minute to figure out what the problem could be. Well, this continued for another 100 miles and I decided to service the chain again. This time I used the DuPont stuff then followed it up with the Chain Wax. Put a couple hundred more miles on it to make sure the issue was resolved before I posted and sure enough, things were immediately back to being silky smooth again.

So, IMO: The DuPont stuff is good but for shorter intervals, unless you seal it with the wax spray. So really, just the chain wax is fine too. The main benefit of the DuPont stuff was that it dries completely clean, although as long as you let the wax set for a couple of hours it doesn't fling off either.

[bmw4422]

all this talk about chain maintenance, what about adjusting the chain?
i seen the post on How-to but who has done it? at what miles did you do it at. mine seems to still be in spec, just wondering when everyone (those that have many more miles than me) first had to do an adjustment.

[arkkornkid]

Originally Posted by bmw4422

all this talk about chain maintenance, what about adjusting the chain?
i seen the post on How-to but who has done it? at what miles did you do it at. mine seems to still be in spec, just wondering when everyone (those that have many more miles than me) first had to do an adjustment.

I know what ya mean. While I was figuring out my issue, I broke out the tape measure and it was smack in the middle of spec. I put over 5k miles on each of my last two bikes with never having to adjust the slack... traded one in and the other is being stored at the moment. So it probably has more to do with how hard you ride than it does how many miles you rack up.