Wilsons Sandbox

> Hello, My chain looks real dirty and I was thinking of cleaning and > relubing it, but am not sure the best way. > > What is the best way to clean it; gas, soap water...? > What do you use to lube it; WD-40, oil, wax...? > When is it supposed to be replaced? > > Thanks, Lou

> Jack of Four Stroke riders club has elmuchco miles on his KLR650 he > just gave to his son in law. 117,000+ last I read. He's getting 50,000 > miles on his chain and rear sprocket by changing the front every > > >

> On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 03:34:58 -0000 "tilster187" > > writes: > > Hello, My chain looks real dirty and I was > thinking of cleaning and > > relubing it, but am not sure the best way. > > > > What is the best way to clean it; gas, soap > water...? > > What do you use to lube it; WD-40, oil, wax...? > > When is it supposed to be replaced? > > > > Thanks, Lou > <><><><><><><><> > <><><><><><><><> > > Lou, > > Lots of folks on the list are having good results > using WD-40 to clean > and lube the chain. Spray it on while spinning the > rear wheel until the > chain is clean of debris. Then ride away. > > Lots of different ideas on when a chain needs to be > replaced. Some > measure the links to see about chain stretch. Some > check chain tension > in different sections of the chain and use the > section with the most > slack. Some watch for tight links. Others do a > combination of checks. > And the old way to check a chain was to see if you > could slip a #2 > phillips screwdriver between the chain and the rear > of the sprocket. I > think you could google motorcycle chain maintenance > and find a bunch of > thoughts on this subject. > > When I was a poverty rider in the mid 70s I'd run a > chain until I didn't > work reliably. That point was often determined at > inopportune times. I > remember on one very rocky section I stopped moving. > I punched it into > gear just to make sure a rock hadn't shifted it to > neutral for me. No > movement. I looked down and the chain was spinning. > Still no bike > movement. Then I realized the chain was off the > rear sprocket. That > chain was so worn I didn't even need to move the > wheel to put it back on > the sprocket. I just worked it over the worn teeth > and took it easy the > rest of the day. That was before o-ring chains were > used on bikes like I > owned. We probably got 3,000-5,000 miles from a > chain back then. I > lubed the chain with 90 wt gear oil and had a home > made oiler on the > bike. > > Make sure you check the teeth of the sprockets when > you think your chain > is worn. Not much point in replacing the chain and > putting it on worn > sprockets. > > Best, > > Jeff Saline > ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal > Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org > The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota > 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT >

> I've been using some of that spray-on chain wax that > looks so pretty when it goes on - white and drippy > just like a new chain. In three days it looks dry and > miserable, and I end up spraying it with WD 40 to sort > of melt it and let the grease run a bit.

----- Original Message ----- From: cfiisparks To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, October 22, 2007 11:06 AM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: chain maintenance? At one time I told myself I'd never have another chain-drive m/c; this was after my previous mid-70-s bike on which I was constantly having to fool with the chain. But then, folks been telling me how much better the newer O-ring chains are and boy, you've all been right, what a difference! I have just around 1400mi on my '07 KLR and so far, can't tell that it's stretched at all - can this be right? Unheard of in my previous life. I'm a pretty light load, all of 145-lb myself plus a little stuff commuting, so guess that's a factor. Then a post by Bill Watson was heartening; 25K-mi and only adjusted it 3 times?! And, fwiw, I'm doing WD40. Used to get thousands of miles out of my bicycle chains using WD40 before being told I "wasn't supposed to", so switched to one of the "boutique" bike chain lubes; will go back to WD40 for bicycles as well, after using up latest $6-for-4-oz stuff. Got the kit of stuff from Fred to do the doo, but going to first do the oil screen at next oil change, don't like what I read about that thing being clogged. Also, fwiw, valve clearances at around 500mi were right in middle of spec range, so didn't remove the cams; will check again around 3kmi. Best Regards to all, I appreciate this group! Mike Holl Bellingham WA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On Oct 22, 2007, at 1:06 PM, cfiisparks wrote: > > At one time I told myself I'd never have another chain-drive > m/c; this was after my previous mid-70-s bike on which I was > constantly having to fool with the chain. But then, folks > been telling me how much better the newer O-ring chains are > and boy, you've all been right, what a difference! > > I have just around 1400mi on my '07 KLR and so far, can't > tell that it's stretched at all - can this be right? > Unheard of in my previous life. > I'm a pretty light load, all of 145-lb myself plus a little > stuff commuting, so guess that's a factor. > Then a post by Bill Watson was heartening; 25K-mi and only > adjusted it 3 times?! > > And, fwiw, I'm doing WD40. Used to get thousands of miles > out of my bicycle chains using WD40 before being told I "wasn't > supposed to", so switched to one of the "boutique" bike chain > lubes; will go back to WD40 for bicycles as well, after using > up latest $6-for-4-oz stuff. > > Got the kit of stuff from Fred to do the doo, but going to first > do the oil screen at next oil change, don't like what I read > about that thing being clogged. > > Also, fwiw, valve clearances at around 500mi were right in > middle of spec range, so didn't remove the cams; will check > again around 3kmi. > > Best Regards to all, I appreciate this group! > > Mike Holl > Bellingham WA > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On 10/28/07, John wrote: > > I've had my KLR for four years now and although I love it overall, I > thought I wanted something with a little more highway comfort. I was > getting tired of getting nearly run over on the freeway because I am > only going 75 mph, I find my hands and legs getting numb after an > hour at speeds above that. > > I had looked at the old Concours before. I had heard so many positive > things about it on here but I'm tall and found it fairly cramped. The > new Concours-14 is supposed to be pretty spectacular, though pricey. > > My first stop was the local BMW/Triumph dealer. I test rode the BMW > R1200GS. Though very nice, it's not really much smoother than the KLR > and at $13K plus for used one, I really couldn't justify the cost for > any added benefit. > > Next was a new Triumph Tiger 1050. Very nice, smooth, powerful. They > had a demo for $9K+. Seemed like a fairly good deal but I wanted to > check out the V-Stroms. > > The Suzuki dealership didn't have any V-Stroms, though they had a > wrecked DL1000 in the back they were fixing up. The ergonomics were > good. I had read many reviews that the DL650 is actually a better > bike overall, so I started looking for one of those. > > I found a 2005 Wee-Strom in the paper for a little over $4K and > figured I would at least go test ride it to see how it behaved. Turns > out it was in fantastic condition, had a Corbin seat, Givi top box, > center stand & laminar lip windshield though with fairly high miles. > I was a little concerned that it might be too similar to the KLR (I > was looking for something a little different). Turns out this was the > bike I was looking for (it compares quite favorable to bikes at twice > the price) and I brought it home today. > > First impressions... > > KLR suspension is better in the rough stuff. > V-Strom is much quicker (60+ HP) and smoother (10,500 RPM > Redline/under 6000 RPM at 75mph). > Highway riding at freeway speeds is much more comfortable on the V- > Strom. > Ergonomics, controls & seating position are quite similar. > Wind buffeting is much better on the V-Strom. > There is much more room for a passenger on the V-Strom. > KLR plastics are much less fragile/expensive. > Insurance costs (Liability and Comprehensive) are very comparable, > though collision coverage is higher on the V-Strom. > They both have that "ugly" bike appeal. > > For local commuting and any off road riding, the KLR will probably > still be my first choice. > > For longer distances on pavement or with a passenger, the V-Strom is > the one. > > Seems like a good stablemate for the KLR. > > John > 2004 KL650A18 > 2005 DL650 Wee-Strom > > P.S. any one seen this new Harley video... > > http://tinyurl.com/2hpfc3 > > Pretty ironic how they emphasize being an individual and going your > own way, not following the crowd, etc. But to do this, you have to > join the club and ride a Harley (like everyone else)! Quite funny. > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]