Chain

[Sarris]

My GZ started making a shenka-shenka noise while driving steady under power this week and my mechanic discovered that I had a bad chain (with several very worn out and loose links), and that my rear hub internal shock absorber (cush drive rubber) was heavily worn and had too much free play (slack). Ron Ayers supplied an OEM hub rubber for $19.26 shipped and I bought an o-ring chain on e-bay for $49.50 shipped (vs. $100 for an OEM chain). I only have about 13,500 miles (mostly city driving) and everything has been serviced every 3k miles.

He also said that he thought that most aerosol chain "lubricants" do a very poor job of deeply penetrating the links and should not be used as a substitute for a good oiling (with good old fashioned clean motor oil) at every other 600 mile chain maintenace interval. He mentioned that this may be the cause of my premature chain failure, but he's at a bit of a loss for the cush drive rubber failure.

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced either of these two problems as both seem to me to be a bit premature.

:??: :??:

[Water Warrior 2]

Use Du Pont with Teflon for lubing the chain. Good stuff and cheaper than most other lubes. The cush drive rubbers are replaceable and cheap. Don't fret the minor things.

[Easy Rider]

He also said that he thought that most aerosol chain "lubricants" do a very poor job of deeply penetrating the links and should not be used as a substitute for a good oiling (with good old fashioned clean motor oil) at every other 600 mile chain maintenace interval.

I'm a fan of good 'ole 90W for the chain. A few drops every couple of hundred miles, partly 'cause it gets all over EVERYTHING (sadly including the back rim!) and prevents rust. As for getting INTO the links......that's a bunch of BS since an O-ring chain is specifically intended to keep stuff (dust, water, etc.) OUT of the link......and that seal keeps extra oil out too. I'd like to think that plain oil helps keep those O-rings "wet" and keeps them from drying out but that's just a wild guess on my part.

The chain mfg. says to use oil. It works. It's cheap. I see no reason NOT to do that.......well maybe except having to clean the back rim a little more often. :cool:

I actually use synthetic 65W90, not because I think it's better but because that just happens to be what I've got in the shop.