Clean and maintain motorcycle chains

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Clean and maintain motorcycle chains
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Clean and maintain motorcycle chains

Advice: chain maintenance
How do I properly care for the chain on my motorcycle??

Your motorcycle’s drive chain is feeling uncomfortable and you don’t know what to do about it? Then read the following pages with the recipe for the correct tensioning, cleaning and lubrication of multi-link motorcycle chains.

Holger Hertneck

07/03/2000

All owners of cardan motorcycles can safely turn over the following pages – the information is of no importance to them. Or they read on and gleefully enjoy how complex maintenance and care work for motorcycle chains can be.

There is no doubt that drive chains are one of the most heavily stressed components on motorcycles. Sooner or later they all wear out. With appropriate care, however, their death can be delayed considerably. The average lifespan of motorcycle chains is around 20,000 kilometers, while neglected specimens barely reach the 10,000 mark. Those who regularly take care of the multi-part secondary drive and its correct tension, meticulously clean it and properly lubricate it, will be rewarded with the wearing part with a mileage of well over 50,000 kilometers – depending on the vehicle type and driving style.

In all work on the subject of drive chains, motorcycles with a main stand prove to be extremely beneficial. So the rear wheel can be turned freely and all chain links are easily accessible. Assembly stands help with two-wheelers that only have a side stand. Another option is BL-Pflege Fix from the Balke und Lehmann motorcycle store, phone 05241/688560, for 129 marks. The rear wheel is placed on the pad equipped with two rollers, the enclosed plastic puck is placed under the side stand, and you can take care of the chain extensively.

But even with the best care, the wear limit is reached at some point and replacement is essential. Now it’s time to choose a suitable chain from the huge range of accessories. The range extends from standard chains to O-ring, X-ring, XW-ring and quad-ring chains. For example, the prices for a 530 motorcycle chain range from around 80 marks for a standard version to over 500 marks for the most expensive racing chain from Tagasako (Difi).


Clean and maintain motorcycle chains


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Eccentric: In the simplest version, an eccentric disc with notches serves as an adjustment option.

Only very few motorcycles – almost all of them classic cars – are equipped with standard chains. All others use sealed chains with permanent grease filling, so-called O-ring chains. Here, the friction surfaces between the bolts and the sleeves are provided with lubricant and sealed with O-rings (regardless of the design) from the outside. Chains of this type have lower friction losses and last considerably longer than the standard versions – but they still want to be lubricated. Above all, the contact surfaces between the chain wheel / pinion and the individual chain links require externally applied, wear-reducing lubrication.

If all the maintenance work seems to be too big, you only have to switch to a motorcycle with cardan drive. Then the “body aches” will come to an end, and you can enjoy the next story about chain maintenance in MOTORRAD completely relaxed and uninvolved.

But one thing you shouldn’t forget: chain drives have many advantages. For example, the friction losses are significantly lower than with the technically very complex and therefore expensive cardan drive, the power transmission is more direct, and by the way it is child’s play to change the gear ratio for the racetrack.

To clean


Clean and maintain motorcycle chains


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Cheer up: Apply cleaning agent by spray or brush, brush off and wipe off.

Chain cleaning is one of the less popular maintenance measures on the motorcycle. Many two-wheeler owners believe that it is sufficient to lubricate the chain regularly and leave it to the rain to clean it. They don’t think about the fact that thick sticky crusts form on the plates and between the chain links. While the dirt pads on the outer flaps have hardly any effect on the service life and function, the dirt and sand particles sitting between the flaps sand the O-rings flat and the permanent grease fillings go flat. In addition, dirt on the rollers and between the outer and inner tabs increases friction. Even the layman recognizes badly baked chain links by the fact that the chain runs stiffly and forms kinks because the links no longer move properly.

Then it is usually too late for a meaningful chain cleaning. Special cleaning agents (see “Tried and tested” on the right) should be used around every 2000 kilometers, and much more frequently for vehicles moving off-road – harsh cleaning agents or even petrol can destroy the O-rings.

The use of chain cleaners is very simple: apply the agent, rework with a paintbrush or brush, let it work and then wipe it off or, if necessary, spray it off. Chain grease is only used after the chain is completely dry.

Chain cleaner


Clean and maintain motorcycle chains


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All eleven chain cleaners each had to try their hand at a used motorcycle chain and show what they could do. Numerous candidates were waiting in the yard of the used specialist Motorcity.

A few years ago they led a wallflower existence: chain cleaners. Only very few providers had them on offer. In the meantime, almost every lubricant manufacturer offers dirt-dissolving agents for motorcycle chains. MOTORRAD tried eleven candidates at the used motorcycle dealer Motorcity in Albershausen on used vehicles that had not yet been released for sale. Except for the Putoline product, which can be applied with a brush, all manufacturers use spray cans. They have the advantage of being easy to use, but some active ingredient always misses the object. It is also advisable to use a brush or a paintbrush to support the cleaning effect of the spray. Two-wheelers willing to clean should take at least half an hour to clean and have plenty of newspaper or cardboard underlay. After a short exposure time, wipe the chain with a cloth to remove excess cleaning agent and dirt that has not dripped off or spray the chain with a jet of water (it is essential to visit a washing facility with a dirt separator). Caution: steam jets endanger the O-rings.

However, according to the manufacturer, all chain cleaners are O-ring compatible. The cleaning results achieved cannot be compared due to the agents that have been tried on differently soiled chains. Only one thing became clear: Lightly soiled chains get clean – if you try to clean an ancient, sticky and caked chain, you are out of luck. None of the remedies can work miracles.

Lubricate


Clean and maintain motorcycle chains


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Application: spray abundantly on the inside, moderate on the outside.

All motorcycle chains require a portion of lubricant from time to time in order not to wear out prematurely. The spraying of chain spray is certainly one of the most frequently used maintenance measures, which is not least due to the simple procedure and the low expenditure of time. If you don’t act very clumsily, you won’t even get your fingers dirty. The spraying itself takes less than a minute, the reaction time is up to 15 minutes depending on the product. Basically: it is better to apply frequently and sparingly than rarely and thickly. Too much chain grease flies away in no time and sticks to the chain and sprocket boxes, rims and tires. Unnecessary smears caused by incorrect use can be avoided during application: do not spray too sideways against the chain links and never against the tire. As can be seen in the picture on the right, spray the chain links inside with the chain turning slowly so that the jet cannot hit the rear tire. A thin touch of lubricant is sufficient for the chain from the outside.

In the last big chain spray test, two of 12 candidates received the MOTORRAD verdict as very good: the white Castrol O-R chain spray and the white S 100 chain spray from Dr. Wack. In the meantime, the range has grown and the mixes have been further improved.

If you don’t want to pick up a chain spray every few hundred kilometers, you can get the fully automatic Scottoiler chain lubrication system for 249 marks. This is permanently installed on the motorcycle and ensures constant lubrication.

Tighten


Clean and maintain motorcycle chains


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Finger exercise: it is essential to check the chain tension when the vehicle is loaded. There must still be play in the chain.

A broken chain is one of the most uncomfortable defects in motorcycling. The author can sing a song about it, after all, during the last chain test one of the test copies broke in two on the autobahn at almost 200 km / h and caused 10,000 marks in damage in a fraction of a second. The reason for the chain break could not be determined because the chain link that caused it could not be found.

In principle, there are very different reasons for a chain to fail, some of which cannot be prevented. The motorcyclist is just as unsafe against a faulty chain riveting as against a pebble thrown between the chain and the sprocket. On the other hand, he can avoid the sources of error chain tension, wear and lubrication. Ungreased chains overheat easily and wear out faster, the risk of a crack increases almost as well as incorrect chain tension. It hardly matters whether the chain is set too loose or too tight. Chains that are too loose (mostly old, excessively worn copies) can slip off the chainrings / sprockets, jam and tear off. Chains that are tensioned too tightly cannot withstand the extremely high loads, especially when the vehicle is deflected, and burst. In addition, the gearbox output bearings suffer from overly tight chains, which in extreme cases can lead to leaks and gearbox damage. Therefore: Check the chain tension regularly, adjust if necessary and replace old, worn chains in good time – better buy a new chain set for a few hundred marks than for thousands of dollars Mark have spare parts and repair costs on their hands. A chain is ready for the garbage at the latest when it can be lifted up to the tooth tips of the chainring or so-called shark teeth have formed. Incidentally, always replace the chain, pinion and sprocket together, otherwise the new parts will wear out much faster and short-term savings will turn out to be a failure. How the chain tension is correctly adjusted and how much play there must be is in every vehicle manual. Enduros with a lot of suspension travel usually require a lot more play in the drive train than sport bikes. As a rule of thumb, however, the following always applies: When fully compressed, there must still be minimal play, then nothing can go wrong.

It does not matter whether the adjustment is made by eccentric or slide, the setting values ​​must be identical on both sides of the rocker so that the wheel is not tilted. Scales on both sides of the rocker arm and the eccentrics or slides make this task easier.

After the adjustment, all screws should be tightened and the chain tension checked – in several places (turn the wheel), as the chain slack can occasionally vary. This is either due to differently worn chain sections or to chainrings that are not completely centered. It is important that the chain sag is based on the minimum clearance.

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