nhchris Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Hi all, I've been pondering the role of after market chain oilers on our street-only bikes. Do they provide any measurable benefit? My understanding is that in a modern O-ring chain, bearing surfaces are sealed from outside contamination by the o-rings. So it seems external oil cannot get past O-rings to lube moving parts of the chain. Given that, what benefit does spraying oil on the external chain provide? 1968 Triumph Bonneville 650 1971 Norton Commando Roadster 2002 Harley 1200 Sportster 2003 Honda ST 1300 2016 FJ 09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member superfist Posted January 15, 2019 Premium Member Share Posted January 15, 2019 I don't currently have one, but I find they generally help to ease cleaning since it's easier to clean an oiled chain than one that's gotten caked and dry. It will also keep the surface between your chain and sprockets lubricated which extends the life of your sprockets by reducing friction. It's also helpful for people that don't want to lube their chain every 300-500 miles and it's less to carry in a bag if you're touring long distances on a regular basis. The lubrication keeps the O-Rings, X-rings, etc... from drying out, cracking and failing to keep particles out of the chain, extending life. So, while the internal chain bits stay sealed and lubricated, the external contact surfaces and the seals themselves benefit from external lubrication from either regular maintenance or a chain oiler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member micah2074 Posted January 15, 2019 Premium Member Share Posted January 15, 2019 What superfist said. Let’s go Brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Good quote from motorcyclists-online: MC: If an O-ring chain lube doesn't need to get lubricant past the O-rings and inside the chain, what does it do for the chain then?PJH: It keeps the chain from rusting, it lubricates the O-ring itself and it does provide some cushion effect between the chain roller and the sprocket, which reduces wear on the sprockets and increases the chain's life. Red 2015 Tracer, UK spec (well, it was until I started messing with it...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted January 15, 2019 Supporting Member Share Posted January 15, 2019 7 hours ago, nhchris said: Hi all, I've been pondering the role of after market chain oilers on our street-only bikes. Do they provide any measurable benefit? My understanding is that in a modern O-ring chain, bearing surfaces are sealed from outside contamination by the o-rings. So it seems external oil cannot get past O-rings to lube moving parts of the chain. Given that, what benefit does spraying oil on the external chain provide? Chain maintenance is so easy, I don know why there is a need for extra gizmos and gadgets to oil he chain. While the bike is on the center stand, I run it in first gear to keep the chain rotating. I spray the outside and inside, wipe the excess off with a rag and -done. Repeat in 500 miles. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member fddriver2 Posted January 15, 2019 Premium Member Share Posted January 15, 2019 I don't know. But it probably doesn't hurt. I will leave you with a post from July 2017. As always YMMV "Not to long ago I was on AdvRider reading a ride report from a guy on a Triumph Tiger who rode from New Mexico (I think) to Prudhoe Bay and back. It was close to 10,000 miles when he was done. He never touched the chain. Never oiled it cleaned it or anything. He bought some tires about halfway through and the shop cleaned and oiled it for him. This was the only "chain maintenance" performed on the trip. On some of the worst roads in North America. Guess what? Nothing happened. I have no doubt that the chain was toast when he got home. So what. A chain is a "consumable" just like oil, tires, brake pads. Even if I took meticulous care of my chain on a trip like that over those roads I would change it out before my next "Epic" trip. Because that's the way I do things. I don't want to deal with it possibly failing on the road. On this forum I've read about people getting 30,000 miles out of a chain and less than 10,000 miles out of a chain. My point is chain life is extremely variable. Pull a lot of wheelies? Do a lot of track days? Ride hard? Or do you ride like "Miss Daisy"? Clean it, oil it, adjust it when you can. Replace it when it's time. Quit obsessing, and go ride..... " "It doesn't matter who walks in, you know the joke is still the same" Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhchris Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 9 hours ago, superfist said: I don't currently have one, but I find they generally help to ease cleaning since it's easier to clean an oiled chain than one that's gotten caked and dry. It will also keep the surface between your chain and sprockets lubricated which extends the life of your sprockets by reducing friction. It's also helpful for people that don't want to lube their chain every 300-500 miles So, while the internal chain bits stay sealed and lubricated, the external contact surfaces and the seals themselves benefit from external lubrication from either regular maintenance or a chain oiler. OK, I guess I get that. I use chain wax, which I apply after cleaning the chain with a heavy soaking of WD 40 and flushing the crud off with water. Then I wipe off the excess wax and let the wax set for a while before riding. To me this seems a much cleaner solution than oil constantly dripping on the chain and acting like a dirt magnet. I'm still on my first chain so we'll see how the sprockets look when replacement time arrives. cb 1968 Triumph Bonneville 650 1971 Norton Commando Roadster 2002 Harley 1200 Sportster 2003 Honda ST 1300 2016 FJ 09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockinsv Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 I use the DuPont Chain Saver and not only does it lube it, but it does a pretty darn good job of cleaning the chain while you're at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member keithu Posted January 16, 2019 Premium Member Share Posted January 16, 2019 I'm pretty lazy about chain maintenance. I just brush on some 80w gear oil once in a while. It has served me for years. I was shocked to find my chain covered in surface rust last week. This chain was new last summer, maybe 5k miles ago. I had a few rainy rides and hadn't touched the chain in a couple of weeks, so I'm guessing this did it. Fortunately the rust scrubbed off with some WD-40 and a rag. But it's a good reminder how a little oil can protect a modern chain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugie Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 2 hours ago, keithu said: I'm pretty lazy about chain maintenance. I just brush on some 80w gear oil once in a while. It has served me for years. I was shocked to find my chain covered in surface rust last week. This chain was new last summer, maybe 5k miles ago. I had a few rainy rides and hadn't touched the chain in a couple of weeks, so I'm guessing this did it. Fortunately the rust scrubbed off with some WD-40 and a rag. But it's a good reminder how a little oil can protect a modern chain. Surface rust is normal in high humidity areas and will just go away with use once you spray it with some chain lube. The term of "lasting a long time" could be open to interpretation. "Has never snapped", "has not gotten way too loud", "has not yet reached the maximum adjustment capability of the bike". None of those are really an actual sign of a chain "lasting". For a chain to "last" it needs to still be within manufacturer tolerances, not rusted through and not have seized links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member keithu Posted January 16, 2019 Premium Member Share Posted January 16, 2019 I'm not a fan of commercial chain lubes. I've never tried one that didn't create a sticky mess. Gear oil (which is what's used in auto-lubers like ScottOiler, etc.) provides corrosion protection but nothing sticks to it. And since nothing sticks too it, I never need to "clean" my chain. Well, except for my aformentioned neglect-induced rust incident that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member whistler Posted January 17, 2019 Supporting Member Share Posted January 17, 2019 On 1/15/2019 at 10:28 PM, rockinsv said: I use the DuPont Chain Saver and not only does it lube it, but it does a pretty darn good job of cleaning the chain while you're at it. Major fan of this stuff, too. Works really, really well. No mess and nothing sticks to it. I use it every 300-400 miles on top of the previous application. Got amazing life out of my 1st V-Strom and my Bandit chains; using it on my current V-Strom and my GT. Damned good stuff. Just my 2 cents. 2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT (Annabelle) 2013 Suzuki V-Strom DL650 (Juliette) 2013 Yamaha FJR 1300 (Rachel) 2008 Suzuki Bandit 1250S (Fiona) 2006 Honda VFR800 (Jenny) 2005 Suzuki V-Strom DL650 (Hannah) 2003 Honda Shadow Sabre VT1100 (Veronica) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colnagorider Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 I got my '16 in dec '17 with 3300 miles on it. a month ago it had 20000. I lube it with belray super clean every 500 miles or so, and every so often I go to a self car wash to clean it. spray chain cleaner on it and use the tire brush in first gear. about a month before I hit the 20000 mile mark the bike started having a problem. it felt like I was running over bots dots, or something like that. I was very concerned that it could be a crank problem. it wasn't through the entire rpm range, just at certain ones, particularly 5200 at 80. mechanic couldn't figure it out, at two shops. finally left it there for them to start digging in and they noticed the chain was kinking and needed to be replaced. they did it and the problem solved. so now I'm wondering what I have to do to keep it running smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted January 17, 2019 Supporting Member Share Posted January 17, 2019 20 minutes ago, colnagorider said: about a month before I hit the 20000 mile mark the bike started having a problem. it felt like I was running over bots dots, or something like that. finally left it there for them to start digging in and they noticed the chain was kinking and needed to be replaced. they did it and the problem solved. so now I'm wondering what I have to do to keep it running smooth. Its not uncommon to have to replace a chain at or before 20k miles, that seems totally normal. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesmer460 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Some of the chain manufacturer say to use WD40 on O-Ring/X-Ring chains to keep the Rings soft. If you don't use something on the chain it will make noise. My brother and I have tried numerous chain lubes and chain waxes. The one we like the best is Liquid Wrench Chain Lube. Spray on and it dries in an hour. No fly off and the chain is silent. $3.99 at Kroger/Fred Meyers stores. That said I have used WD40 on the motocross bikes for years, but it needs to be applied before every ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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