chain -- clean or replace

[rayzuki]

I just bought a 2003 and have a bunch of questions. This is my first bike so I am very unknowledgeable about a thing or 2. My first concern is the chain. This bike only has 721 miles on it but and has been sitting in a garage for a while. The chain shows signs of rust. Should I try and clean it or just replace it?

[5th_bike]

A little rust shouldn't be a problem, clean the chain with kerosene, have it dry for ten minutes (wiping off in colder weather also helps) and oil it with motor oil. I made a stand last week with 4 pieces of 2x3, supports the rear fork just in front of the rear axle. Handy to lube the chain.
Be careful that the chain slack doen't go over 15 mm at the tightest point.
Did the previous owner ever give it it's "600-miles first big maintenance" ? If not, you will have to do it, or have the dealer do (part of) it. It's an oil and filter change, lubing the chain, tightening frame bolts, oiling and greasing a few points, and checking valve stem/rocker clearance or something, it's all in the maintenance book that can be downloaded at one of the stickies.

[jonathan180iq]

Ditto on 5th's comments.

An oil change, chain clean/lube and throttle cable adjustments will make it feel like new, which, with 700 miles, it basically is.

[Easy Rider]

I just bought a 2003 and have a bunch of questions.

No, really ?? :)

Should I try and clean it or just replace it?
........................YES..............NO....... ..

[rayzuki]

5th bike said to use motor oil. Somewhere eles I read gear oil. Which is the prefered?

[Easy Rider]

5th bike said to use motor oil. Somewhere eles I read gear oil. Which is the prefered?

I use 90W Synthetic gear lube.......mostly because it's what I have handy.
I doubt it makes much difference.

[5th_bike]

Um, when I got my bike it was 2 years old but had only 35 miles, so I did give it an oil change and chain lube after I got home with it, I bought "O-ring chain safe chain wax" in a spray can. However 600 miles later the chain looked dry and the rust seemed more. Also the spray goes all over the place, and not necessarily all over the chain where it is needed.

So, at 600 miles I used motor oil (standard 10W40) and the chain looks much better now. I use a paint brush for the kerosene as well as the oil, and a paint tray underneath the chain to catch (most of) the drips from both.

[jonathan180iq]

There are 100 different ways to lube/oil a chain. Just try some different products out and see what you like best. A chain should be taken care of, but they aren't delicate. If you don't like one lube/wax/oil, just clean it off and try something else.

[Regular Guy]

I agree with Jonathon, many good ways to lube your chain, just matter of what works best for you and your individual preferences. Recently I have been doing mine this way: while on my MC stand, I clean the chain with a spray solvent and a small paint brush, allow to dry, then apply a liberal coat of chain lube, black kind (because I have a lot of it laying around), and then while lube is still wet, I spray the chain with dry Moly-Cote (molibdimum di-sulfide, dry film lubricant spelling??), again I had a case lying around my shop that a friend gave me when they closed his plant down, so what the heck- why not use it. It seems to be holding up good and it's suppose to stand up to extreme pressure, ie. like chain bushing to tooth contact.

I am not sure yet, but watching to to see if this will slow sprocket wear. Can't see where it could hurt.

PS: Easy Rider- I posted pics of my windshield adaptation in my orginal post. Have you seen them yet?

[Badbob]

Motor oil slings off really bad.

Gear lube is cheap and slings off a lot less.

Both are messy and dirt (sand in my case) sticks to them.

Spray on motorcycle chain lubes don't sling off much and don't collect as much dirt but they can be way more difficult to remove. They are expensive and messy to apply.

Dupont Multi-Use Teflon Lubricant is dry doesn't collect dirt and doesn't sling off. Actually it does sling off a little. It goes on wet and then dries. The cost is moderately less expensive that Motorcycle Chain lube and more expensive than gear lube. About $6 for the aerosol. I switched to this about 2000 miles back and I have no intention of ever going back to using oil.

[mcintyre_aerospace]

I just use any oil i have around my shop, but I oil my chain once a week. I have an after market chain with master link, makes it easy to work on. If I need to get the bike off the ground, I just use my engine hoist and a strap around the frame where the trunk goes, really quick and easy. I clean it once a month with Jet A jet fuel, it works like a champ. I also tend to run my bike on about half regular gas and half 100LL aircraft fuel, Gives my bike more power. I really recommend the new chain, master links are handy.