Chain Lubrication

[Troystg]

I have put on 1400 miles in 3 months and FINALLY got around to oiling my chain this morning.  I used the gear oil and a squirt can..  What a mess.

I hope to either get a center stand or build a lift for the next time.

Side note..  For the last 3-4 hundred miles once the bike heated up I could hear a squeaking.  I thought it was the windshield rubbing on the front headlight or the mounts...  Turned out to be the o-rings on the chain.

Not only are the squeaks gone, but the chain just sounds better.

I am hoping to EVENTUALLY make it to a wrench session so others can point out all the stuff to fix/lube/change and learn.

I was hoping to make it to the last one, but my wife has decided to sell the house and build a new one...  Needless to say I have been QUITE busy lately.

Another side note...  Tomorrow I am driving the bike up to the Wichita Wildlife Preserve to do volunteer work this weekend...  I will be strapping a tent, sleeping bag and 2 back packs on the bike.  Any suggestions other than tie them tight?

[Grumpy]

Of the things with have acolytes worshiping constantly, chain lube is one. Oil and tires are others. The mystique of chain lube does attract devotees. Here's what I've found to work best. Modern chains have internal lube sealed in the rollers. The only lube you really do is between the roller and sprockets. I have a container of general purpose grease lithum based with a high percentage of Moly in it. The stuff is black as a terrorist's heart. It sticks like crazy when slathered liberally to the chain while warm/hot and being moved slowly... (I use an old tooth brush) on the inside in large amounts... the stuff is not expensive... After a couple thousand miles, the chain rollers will still make your pinky black if you touch one of them...  I lube the chain every 3,000 miles at oil change time with this stuff... chain runs silently too....   First 500 or so miles some slingoff onto the wheel... Gunk Engine brite cleans the wheel, then forget it until next oil change...
Grumpy

[magnagregcan]

that moly grease seems to be the way to go if it works like you say. I too use the dirty finger trick-if I get no dirt, its time to oil. I do it every 5-600 miles tho which seems quite often in comparison to what you're doing.

[Greg Cothern]

Chain wax is much easier to apply and sticks quite well and works.  I applied ever 1000-1500 miles on my 96.

[Grumpy]

It seemed often to me too. For the last 25 or more years, I've ridden mostly shaft bikes. In 2001, I got a Bandit (chain drive)... I hated the sling off and the seemingly constant attention I had to pay to the silly chain. So, being one who is prone to experiment (some call it: thinking outside the box... others say it simply that I'm not anally retentive), I tried the moly grease... At 500 mi... still greasy... at 1,000 mi, still well lubed, same as 1500, 2000, and 2500... then at oil change I lubed it again although it really didn't need it at the time. I never ride on dirt roads so, there wasn't an inordinate amount of grime to wipe off either.... just that BLACK moly that seemed to cling to the metal of the rollers.....  I'm lazy..., I look for the easy way.

Grumpy

[Greg Cothern]

Could the moly attract dirt and then possibly work to wear on the chain bascially like sandpaper?
The nice thing about the wax is that it is not as sticky wet.  Just a thought to ponder.

[Wayne]

28 thousand miles.
Original chain.
Love the ScottOiler.
Automatic chain oilers make all the difference.  Now I just fill up once every oil change.

Of course, you do get a little sling, as you do with any oil vs. the chain wax.

I hope the 4G magna comes out soon, and it's 800cc and shaft driven.

[DaWood]

So how difficult was it it install the ScottOiler?  I was looking at getting one for my '97.

[Wayne]

It was pretty easy; you can put it in a lot of spots because you have so much drain hose to work with.

Mine is behind the plastic side panel, opposite the toolbox.  It's mounted about 15 deg off horizontal, and the mounts are superglued down.

If I had to do it over, I'd mount it more vertically off a frame bar.  It would be a little harder to fill, but I'm getting some leakage around the adjustment dial.

You can also see the "other" magna forum, they have some suggestions as well.  I saw griping on how hard it was; your mileage may vary.  I used about 2-1/2 feet of hose to loop around and run it to the rear sprocket and didn't think it was hard.

The final 'drip tube" is right above where the chain hits the rear gear.

[magnagregcan]

Wayne, does it have to be hooked up to a vaccuum hose somewhere? That was my initial cause for hesitating to get one. But I agree, if it's not too hard to install, I'd consider getting one. Where & how much?
Thanks.
Greg

[Wayne]

I'm sorry, I missed your post and it's taken me over a year to reply.
See my post here on my mounting:  
http://www.magnaownersoftexas.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5274

It was easy to do.  You do have to tap into a vacuum line, but there's plenty of spots to do that.  I actually found two vacuum lines joined by a straight connector.  I removed it and put a supplied t-connection on it.  Very easy.

I purchased mine from here:
http://www.riderstation.com/oiler.php

I've got 30,000 miles and I'm on the same chain with life left to go.  Constant lubrication saved me from replacing the chain.  I fill it up the chain oil reservoir when I change the oil; I save a lot of time over the clean-lube-clean-lube eveyr 300 miles crowd.  (Sorry guys!).  Consider all that when you look at the price.

I also purchased supplementary parts from them; if you see my above post you probably won't need the supplementary parts.  Just 'ruggedize' the one rubber piece and it won't be a problem.

[lragan]

Hey, Wayne

I have been following this thread.  I started with 90W oil (got lots of it on my little ranch for mowers, tractors, etc.), then, on advice from Honda dealer in New Braunfels (great guys, by the way, but another story ) switched to wax.  

Last bike I owned, sold in 1966, was Harley '74.  Chain was oiled from crankcase.  If you rode it more than a block or two, it dribbled oil wherever it was parked, BUT I never worried about it being lubed.

So, does the oiler you reference cause the bike to dribble on the pavement?  Does it sling onto the wheels, fenders, etc?

Thanks
Lawrence

[MagnaMan]

The beauty (and expense) of the Scott oiler is that it's vacuum operated. So it only runs when the engine is running. You have to set the drip rate to suit your riding style, but I'm sure Wayne can fill you in on that more.

Alternatively you can go for the really cheap version called the Loobman http://www.chainoiler.co.uk/

It's pretty ugly and manual. I haven't figured out a good place to mount it on my bike. Otherwise I'd consider it.

[Magnum Magna]

I saw the Loobman design some time back.  It is real simple and many sites evaluate the concept.   I have ended up temporarily using a metal braded tube routed to the arm and pointing at the sprocket.  I use my lift to lift the bike. (One day to have a center stand) Put the plastic tube from my compressed chain wax into the metal braded tube and spray while rotating the tire.  I don't have to aim and try to hit the chain and sprocket or get my hands dirty anymore.  I have been doing this for about a month.  I oil every other tank of gas, which is every weekend, and sometimes a mid week oiling.  In a pinch I can even oil with out the lift by backing down the driveway while spraying the wax.

[magnacrazy]

I happened to notice that the Honda owner site recommends 80w-90 oil as the stuff to lube the chain. I tried it and was not too happy with the way it seemed to sling off. Well, I have used spray on "Chain Wax" and noticed that the overspray on the cardboard I used to catch what missed the chain was dry, sticky, glue-like stuff. That didn't look so good. Now I am on Gunk's chain lube and like the appearance of it and it seems to stay in place fairly well, if given overnight to soak in. What do you chain lube experts have to say on the subject? Thanks, Mike

I like Bel Ray Super Clean Chain Lube, No sling off and stays on great.