diesel chain cleaning-lubing

[Jim Hyman]

Volumes could be written about proper chain care & maintenance. Proper chain slack adjustment & lubrication can double or triple the life of chains & sprockets. Chain lubrication is best when the chain is warmed up after a ride. Lubrication is applied between the side plates of all links. This means 2 applications, one for each side of the chain. Don't apply chain lube to the center of the rollers! I prefer to apply chain lube from the top of the lower chain run. It's best to wait at least 20 minutes before riding. A used chain & sprockets will have multiple loose & tight spots. It is imperative that any chain adjustment be made at the point where the chain is at its tightest. An easy way to find the tight spot is to spin the rear tire & watch the chain's lower run move up (tight) & down (loose). Perform this check to find the tightest of the tight spots. A general rule of thumb is that a properly adjusted chain will have 1" (25 mm) of travel at the mid-point of the chain between both sprockets when the chain is at its tightest position. The chain slack is at its tightest when the front sprocket, swing arm pivot and the rear sprocket centers of your KLR are in a straight line. The chain will be looser when the rear suspension is fully compressed and when your bike is on its side stand. For most riders, the chain will not be at its tightest point when you are in the saddle. Kawi's recommendation of 50-55mm (2-2.1") slack when your KLR is on it's side stand appears to be correct. Be sure to press DOWN on the chain and then press UP to accurately measure the chain slack. You can verify this by adjusting your chain & with the help of some friends, line up the sprockets & swing arm pivot & then check for 1" slack. Don't assume that the chain adjuster marks at the rear axle are correct. A rear wheel that is mis-aligned will greatly accelerate chain & tire wear. To ensure proper wheel alignment, measure from the center of the swing arm pivot to the center of the rear axle. Do this for both sides of the swing arm. In some cases, I've found the adjuster marks to be off by nearly a full mark. If the marks are not accurate, note the difference between the marks for all future adjustments. I count how many turns I make on the chain adjuster bolt (by counting how many 1/8 turns) on the left side & then turn the right adjuster bolt the same amount. When is your chain worn out? A chain that has "stretched" 2-3% is worn out. 520 chain has a 5/8" pitch (the length of 1 chain link). A 32 link section of new chain is 20" long under tension. A chain is worn out when this 32 link section of chain is 20.4" - 20.6" long. A quick check of chain wear can be performed by pulling the rearmost part of the chain (at the rear sprocket). If the chain at the rear of the sprocket can be pulled rearwards more than 1/3 of the sprocket tooth depth, the chain needs to be replaced. If the chain can be pulled 1/2 of this depth, you'll need to replace the sprockets also. I remove my (o-ring) chain once a year & soak it for 2-3 hours in heated gear oil & hang it up to drip-dry overnight. Don't do this in the house or the misses will kill you - heated gear oil smells worse than squirrel piss. I use WD-40 to "clean" my chain periodically, especially after riding in the rain. WD-40 is NOT a good chain lubricant, it's too light weight. Don't wire brush an o-ring chain, old toothbrushes are ok. Chain wear is accelerated when using smaller front sprockets because the chain has to wrap around a smaller diameter. By all means use a 14 tooth sprocket for off road. If you do mostly road riding, a 15 (stock) or 16 tooth sprocket will help extend chain life. What's the best type of chain lube? I won't touch that one with a 106 link length of chain. I use PJ-1 o-ring lube and/or gear oil. Professor A9 Federal Way, Wa. [USA] Below are some useful links that deal with chains, sprockets & chassis alignment. "All about chains" http://motorcycle.com/mo/mcnuts/chain.html "Everything you wanted to know ..." http://hondaex.com/techtips/chain.htm "chassis alignment basics (part 1)" http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcnuts/chassis.html "chassis alignment basics (part 2)" http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcnuts/chassis2.html "chain tension geometry" http://fourps.wharton.upenn.edu/~simon/r1/archives/v06/msg01533.html

[Istvan Szlany]

Hello everybody! I'm running an experiment on my chain: I just wash it at every 3-400 km (tank re-fill) with DIESEL FUEL, and it's very nice and clean, and it's not messy like 90w gear lube or PJ1 or whatever. It also attracts less dirt off-road. So far I have about 1400 km on this method, and seems to work great. Note, that in my case washing the chain it means washing it with a tooth-brush on the bike. This method uses about 250 ml of diesel fuel for every wash. For the future I'm planning to use diesel fuel in a 500ml nalgene bottle to wash off my OEM airfilter's sticky oil, and reuse the diesel fuel for 2 chain cleaning occasions. Comments are welcome. Cheers, istvan+Eh13