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View Full Version : How to clean your chain



FEINT
24th June 2005, 01:26
I just thought I would post up how I clean my chain.

Tools required:

-toothbrush (preferably used) or any other brush. Note: It will get very black and dirty and you won't be able to use it again.
-degreaser / kerosene
-chain oil / wax


You have to remove the front sprocket cover, it varies from bike to bike, but usually it is secured by about 4 - 6 bolts (arrows and circles in the photo). Remove them and then you should be able to remove the cover with ease. If there are any washes, remember to put them back when re-installing it. Keep a note on the lenghts of the bolts as some of them will be different from others. Some bikes will also require you to remove the gear shifter. You have to remove the bolt and that should slide off. Remember where the position is and replace to the same position. Highlighted with the big circles in the photo.

NOTE: Some bikes require fairing removal.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/feintnz/chain01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/feintnz/chain02.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/feintnz/chain04.jpg

After taking it off, you should be able to see your front sprocket. Normally this is covered in tar / dirt / oil / grease / shit....

You take out your toothbrush and degreaser. There are quite a few kinds on the market, I use the can version that you buy off the shelf (Supercheap $2.00+ per can). There are some kinds that are a liquid and you dissolve, I find that these dont have the propellent in the can, thus not as powerful. I haven't used kerosene, but heard it is very good.

Scrub the sprocket and the area behind it, spray degreaser sparginly to remove dirt and grime.

This is after being scrubbed.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/feintnz/chain03.jpg

After you have cleaned out the front sprocket, proceed to the chain and rear sprocket, repeat the above steps. The degreaser should remove most of the dirt / oil and grease, use the brush as well. I rinse with water every so often.


After it is all clean, put the front sprocket back on the same way you took it off. Take your bike for a short ride to heat up the chain. When you come back, oil the chain with your oil / wax.

I usually hold the can horizontal and facing the rear of the bike and spray on the chain where the chain meets the sprocket (the arrows show how I spray it on). Rotate the wheel as you are spraying. This ensures it gets in between the links and not the rollers. I do it on both sides of the rear sprocket. I personally use PJ1 Blue label. It is clear and doesn't flick off. I usually leave it overnight and it is all set the next morning.!

HOpe this helps....... :D

Your chain should be nice silver colour and no longer black!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/feintnz/chain05.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/feintnz/chain067.jpg

Waylander
24th June 2005, 01:45
Pretty much the same as doing a bicycle chain only this requires alot more actuall cleaning and work taking other bits off to get at the chain. Thanks for that man need to clean the chain on the Rebel before it rusts.

John
24th June 2005, 02:03
To make it extra shiny and purty use a clean rag dipped in degresser and rubb the chain furiously, it restores the showroom shine.

btw nice one feint :clap:

justsomeguy
24th June 2005, 02:43
If you have a main stand - just put it in first gear - and do it......

Kerosene is awesome - I use an old laundry powder scoop, fill it with kerosene and dip my brush in it - never thought of cleaning my front sproket though....only did it when I serviced my bike

John
24th June 2005, 02:51
If you have a main stand - just put it in first gear - and do it......

Kerosene is awesome - I use an old laundry powder scoop, fill it with kerosene and dip my brush in it - never thought of cleaning my front sproket though....only did it when I serviced my bike
I love natural selection :)

Waylander
24th June 2005, 03:14
If you have a main stand - just put it in first gear - and do it......

Kerosene is awesome - I use an old laundry powder scoop, fill it with kerosene and dip my brush in it - never thought of cleaning my front sproket though....only did it when I serviced my bike
Do you not enjoy having fingers? I'de rather leave it in neutral and turn the wheel myself with the engine off. Although I supose if I lost the tips of my fingers it would make it that much harder for police forces to identify me...

MacD
24th June 2005, 08:27
If you have a main stand - just put it in first gear - and do it......


Just in case the other posts weren't emphatic enough:

THIS IS A GOOD WAY TO LOSE YOUR FINGERS!

Put the bike in neutral, with the engine off, and turn the wheel by hand.

vifferman
24th June 2005, 08:49
Good write-up, Feint, especially with the pictures.

Just a couple of comments: some degreasers can attack the O-rings in chains - check that they're O-ring safe before using. They also tend to not wash off tyres etc. very well, or else leave an oily film, so be very careful with overspray or run-off.
The chain wax I use says to use it on cold chains only. Read the directions for the one you prefer.

Sometimes if you're going to the hassle of removing the countershaft cover to clean the sprocket, you're better off to loosen the chain off and slip it off the sprocket, to make it easier to clean the sprocket and around it.

Beemer
24th June 2005, 10:25
I don't know if you can still get them, but I bought something called a Grunge Brush (I think that's what it was called) - it is a four-sided brush (there is a gap at the top to slip the chain through) with the bristles on the inside, specifically for cleaning your chain. I must confess I had it for a year and had never used it when I met my husband-to-be and he reckoned it would probably be useless, but he was hooked the first time he tried it. He said it was really easy to use and cleaned the chain well. I think he just used kerosene to clean it, but he may have used proper chain cleaning stuff - he likes to have all the right products!

Another confession - I came home one day to find he'd cleaned my bike. I asked if he had replaced the chain and when he said no, I said "but it was black before and now it's gold" - to which he replied "yes, you stupid cow, I've cleaned it!" Whoops!

So of course the other way to clean it is to find a guy who likes cleaning bikes and hand the job over to him!

sAsLEX
24th June 2005, 10:48
hmm cleaned my chain yesterday but didn't take off the sproket coever, must do that next time, I am sure there a fair bit of gunge and spooge in there

vifferman
24th June 2005, 10:55
I don't know if you can still get them, but I bought something called a Grunge Brush (I think that's what it was called) - it is a four-sided brush (there is a gap at the top to slip the chain through) with the bristles on the inside, specifically for cleaning your chain. I must confess I had it for a year and had never used it when I met my husband-to-be and he reckoned it would probably be useless, but he was hooked the first time he tried it. He said it was really easy to use and cleaned the chain well. I think he just used kerosene to clean it, but he may have used proper chain cleaning stuff - he likes to have all the right products!
Kerosene IS the right product.
I found an old paintbrush worked very well, in combination with my handy-dandy chain cleaning/oiling thingo. :yes:

Another confession - I came home one day to find he'd cleaned my bike. I asked if he had replaced the chain and when he said no, I said "but it was black before and now it's gold" - to which he replied "yes, you stupid cow, I've cleaned it!" Whoops!
Your husband is extremely rude. But it was kind of him to clean your chain.

That's an easy mistake to make - when I bought my VTR, I didn't realise that a nice, shiny gold chain lurked under all the 80/90 gear oil, crud, dirt, coal dust, tyre dust, road spooge, or whatever the accumulated black crud was.

sAsLEX
24th June 2005, 11:10
to assist those who have no idea what viffermans contraption is look here http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=11793&highlight=chain+clean

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10072

FEINT
24th June 2005, 11:25
DO NOT CLEAN THE CHAIN WITH THE ENGINE ON AND IN FIRST GEAR! as MacD already mentioned, if you want to lose your fingers, that is the right way to do it.

Might do another one of these HOW TO post .... :D

Pwalo
24th June 2005, 11:38
Nice work Feint. Nothing better than a nice clean chain on a nice clean bike!

vifferman
24th June 2005, 11:38
to assist those who have no idea what viffermans contraption is look here http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=11793&highlight=chain+clean

Thanx for that.
I was just going to wait for someone to ask, "Wotchoo talkin' about, Veefferman?", then look it up for them.
I used it again last week - man, it saves some mess. :yes:
I used to use a piece of hardboard between the swingarm and tyre, and paper underneath the bike, then just wipe up all the overspray and chuck the newspaper out. Now all I have to do is stick The Doofer (tech term) under the chain, clean and/or spray, and finish off with a quick wipe of the chain while spinning the wheel at 10,000 RPM in sixth gear :whistle:

- just kidding; I spin the wheel by hand - of course! :weird:

Incidentally, there was a guy on one of the US VFR forums a few years back who wiped his chain by idling the bike in gear. His rag caught in the chain, dragged his hand into the sprocket, and did some nasty damage to his fingers. I was too squeamish to look at the pictures he took and posted, but I'd imagine they're still floating around on the web.
A quick Googling turned up several links, but I'm not game to look at them. :no:

Stroker Girl
24th June 2005, 12:01
Thanks for the great write up and the pics Feint :Punk:

It's make these seemingly daunting tasks (for a newbie anyway) appear a lot easier to attempt. I wouldn't have really had a clue how to go about giving my chain a good clean, didn't even know you had to!

Might give it a go this weekend, don't think my chain has been cleaned in it's lifetime.

vifferman
24th June 2005, 12:03
Might give it a go this weekend, don't think my chain has been cleaned in it's lifetime.
Well then it may make a HUGE difference. It'll be quieter, and the gearchanges should be a little slicker. And believe it or not, a dirty drivetrain can rob your bike of a not insignificant amount of horsies.

Firefight
24th June 2005, 12:05
I don't know if you can still get them, but I bought something called a Grunge Brush (I think that's what it was called) - it is a four-sided brush (there is a gap at the top to slip the chain through) with the bristles on the inside

.. yep, still get them, most moto x related bike shops should sell them, thats all I use, I got the first brush years ago for off road riding, brush last for about two years., had about 3 since, also can get some o ring safe cleaner made by same outfit, or just use kero.

F/F :ride:

edit, have taken some pics.

sAsLEX
24th June 2005, 12:07
The Doofer (tech term) under the chain, clean and/or spray, and finish off with a quick wipe of the chain while spinning the wheel at 10,000 RPM in sixth gear :whistle:


must build me one of these doofers, its annoying doing it in the garage as the noise it makes bouncing off the rev limiter is a bit loud

Bonez
24th June 2005, 17:51
Being a tight bastard I normally use deisel instead of kero. Works well.

sAsLEX
24th June 2005, 18:36
Being a tight bastard I normally use deisel instead of kero. Works well.

hell its what, 90 cents odd for a litre of kero from the big red shed last time i got some

Bonez
24th June 2005, 19:03
hell its what, 90 cents odd for a litre of kero from the big red shed last time i got some Local pump is just down the road......

myvice
24th June 2005, 22:45
To make it extra shiny and purty use a clean rag dipped in degresser and rubb the chain furiously, it restores the showroom shine.

btw nice one feint :clap:
Some degressers can eat your O rings, and why not rub it happly?

Firefight
27th June 2005, 15:49
I don't know if you can still get them, but I bought something called a Grunge Brush (I think that's what it was called) - it is a four-sided brush (there is a gap at the top to slip the chain through)



hey Beemer, have added some picys of a grunge brush in my original post.

and I agree, they great and easy to use.

F/F :ride:

NhuanH
27th June 2005, 17:02
hey Beemer, have added some picys of a grunge brush in my original post.
still hyped about your flash new camera / techo thing huh? Careful, someone just might think you're a GEEK now :Pokey: I dun even know how to edit bro!

Firefight
27th June 2005, 17:08
still hyped about your flash new camera / techo thing huh? Careful, someone just might think you're a GEEK now :Pokey: I dun even know how to edit bro!



you got me Bro, closet Geek :rofl:

F/F

John
27th June 2005, 17:12
Some degressers can eat your O rings, and why not rub it happly?
Thats why you do it furiously, I normally use meths :lol:.

FEINT
22nd June 2006, 23:37
Somebody asked for the photos, so I re-uploaded what I thought was suppose to be there.

Dont know if it is correct, but hope it helps.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a252/feint636/chain/chain02.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a252/feint636/chain/chainlinklube.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a252/feint636/chain/chain01.jpg

MattRSK
23rd June 2006, 18:00
Cheers for the photos mate :rockon:

NinjaBoy
23rd June 2006, 21:03
Somebody asked for the photos, so I re-uploaded what I thought was suppose to be there.

Dont know if it is correct, but hope it helps.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a252/feint636/chain/chain02.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a252/feint636/chain/chainlinklube.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a252/feint636/chain/chain01.jpg


Oh... so you've cleaned the front sprocket for me already !! I can cross that off my list of things to do. Thanks

2_SL0
25th June 2006, 20:20
Oh... so you've cleaned the front sprocket for me already !! I can cross that off my list of things to do. Thanks


Did you go to the Nhuan school of cleaning, "Clean it once and it will last a lifetime."
:nya: