If you ride a big twin Harley-Davidson or a BMW, you are familiar with
belt- or shaft-drive motorcycles. These drive systems are quiet, clean, and
require hardly any maintenance at all. But chain drive is still king in the
motorcycle universe. It's simple, efficient, cheap to build, and lightweight.
Better yet it allows you to easily change your gearing to suit your needs. But
chains require simple routine maintenance. Sadly, most of them rarely see it!
We think most riders would actually enjoy doing their own chain
maintenance, if they only knew how. It's not complicated and it doesn't require
a million dollars worth of special tools. When your drive chain is properly
serviced, your riding will be more enjoyable, your bike will be more reliable,
and you'll spend a lot less money on replacing chains and sprockets well before
their time. We routinely get well over 20,000 street bike miles from a chain
and sprocket kit. Motorcycles that spend time wallowing in mud, sand, and water
are much harder on chains, so they should be serviced more frequently and
logically expect shorter service lives.
OK, where to start? All
you need to know is: C-L-A.
What's that you say? It's CLEAN, LUBE, and ADJUST. When your
chain is properly cleaned, lubricated, and adjusted your drive system is
working exactly as designed and you'll actually feel the difference in your
riding. Your parts will last much longer too. Check your chain condition at
least every 600 miles. Most often it will only need to be lubed. Other times
maybe it will need to be cleaned and lubed. Much less frequently it will need a
full, CLEAN, LUBE, and ADJUST. Here's how to do it all.
- CLEAN
This is the part that puts off most riders. Look at all that nasty
goo! What are you supposed to do with that? Clean it! That's what! First, if
your bike has a center stand, get your bike up on it. It's much easier to work
on your chain when the bike is vertical and twice as easy if it's vertical and
the rear tire is off the ground. If you don't have a center stand, consider
getting one or a Condor Pit
Stop-Trailer Stop to hold your bike safely in the upright
position. As an alternative, the Big Boy Wheel
Jockey is a great product that allows you to turn your rear
wheel fairly easily with the bike parked on its side stand. At this point it's
a very good idea to have a piece of scrap cardboard under the entire length of
the drive chain to catch any greasy bits or dripping cleaners and lubricants.
Old pizza boxes are perfect according to Mark Zimmerman, author of one of our
most popular books, The Essential
Guide to Motorcycle Maintenance. He's right!
Next, you will want to remove the chain guard. Often they're secured
to the bike with just two or three easy-to-reach fasteners. Make a note of
which screws go in which holes, as they might not be the same. Be sure to use
the right tool for the job. We don't want to see anyone trying to remove a #3
Phillips screw with a #2 Phillips screwdriver, OK? When the chain guard is
removed you will have access to the upper "run" of chain. With Park Tool
mechanic's gloves to protect your hands and with eye protection
on your face, bunch up some clean rags
under the chain and then spray cleaner onto your chain. We like Motorex Chain
Cleaner extremely well but in a pinch you can also use kerosene
in a heavy-duty spray bottle. Try hard to keep any cleaner from going anywhere
but on the chain and rags. Watch the grime melt away! Cool, huh? Gently brush
with your Grunge Brush
which is adjustable for different chain sizes, then repeat the spray, brush,
and wipe process until you're happy with the results. Give that section of the
chain a final wipe with a clean rag.
Then, rotate the chain to
bring a still-grungy section into easy reach and repeat the process. If you
have a center stand, you can easily turn the rear wheel to rotate the chain. If
you don't, you'll probably need to roll the bike a short distance. Before long
you've got the entire length of the chain equally clean. At this point, the
more anal-retentive among us will usually wipe the entire chain down, one more
time with a final clean rag while blowing it off with some low-pressure
compressed air. This isn't completely necessary but it makes us feel better!
- LUBE
Most modern drive chains have special grease sealed inside the
rollers. This grease is kept inside, where it belongs by rubber O-rings,
X-rings, and other letter-shaped rings. The O-rings also keep water and
abrasive dirt out and that's why modern drive chains last so very long. If any
of the rubber rings become damaged, or worse, fall off completely, the chain
will be toast in short order, so keep an eye on them. While the lion's share of
chain lubrication is built right in, there's a bit more that needs to be done
on the outside.
Grab a can of a
high-quality chain lube like Motorex
Racing Chain Lube with PTFE. Shake the can vigorously for 60
seconds after you start to hear the rattle of the mixing ball inside. Playing
some Steve Miller Band on the
iPod sound dock helps with this process immensely in our experience. With the
little plastic hose or "straw" inserted in the spray nozzle, apply
chain lube directly onto the lower run of chain where the rollers meet the rear
sprocket. It's vital to use the straw to get the lube where you need it and not
where you don't. You don't want
to lube your tires or brakes. Also spray the point where the inner and outer
links meet on both sides of the chain. Rotating the wheel will assist with
lubricant penetration. Gently wipe off any obviously excess lubricant that is
trying to drip off the chain. Then, allow the chain to dry for 10 minutes or
more. Your chain should be looking very happy at this point. As a rule of thumb
for street bikes you may want to reapply lube to your chain every 500 to 600
miles. Depending on the conditions in which you ride that could be more or less
often.
- ADJUST
As the rear suspension moves up and down, the chain tension changes as
well, so it's essential the chain slack be set correctly for your comfort,
control, and safety. Every motorcycle has a specified range of proper chain
slack, which can be found in the owner's manual. Sometimes a sticker near the
swingarm might also list this vital data. A chain that is too tight will ruin
wheel bearings, itself, and who knows what else. A chain that is too loose
could jump the sprockets, locking the rear wheel, or it could even punch a hole
in your engine. That's never a good thing.
With the motorcycle on its side stand or center stand, locate a point
on the bottom run of chain roughly halfway between the front and rear
sprockets. Some of us have a piece of tape on our swingarm at this exact spot
for reference. Pull down gently on the chain and with a tape measure held
against the floor or swingarm, see how far the chain moves from the lowest to
the highest point you can achieve. If that number is in range with your owner's
manual spec, you're done! Clean up your tools, properly dispose of the dirty
rags, and go for a ride. You probably won't need to do another thing to your
chain for 500 miles or more.
If, instead, your chain tension is out of range with your owner's
manual specs, no worries. Let's get 'er fixed up. You will need tools to loosen
the rear axle, to adjust the chain tension adjusters on both sides of the
swingarm, and a way to properly tighten the rear axle. It's a good idea to have
a torque wrench so you know the rear axle is tightened correctly. If your rear
axle nut uses a cotter pin, you should have a few spares of the correct size on
hand at all times. It's never wise to reuse an old cotter pin. Once you
familiarize yourself with exactly which tools are needed to adjust chain
tension and where you keep those tools, it's a breeze to do. Our chief garage
rat has green electrical tape on the two sockets he uses for most chain
adjustments. That way he can grab them off his socket storage rail quickly
without even needing his glasses!
The specific procedure for adjusting chain tension on your bike should
be found in your owner's manual. It probably reads something like this... With
the motorcycle safely supported on its stand or in the Condor Pit
Stop-Trailer Stop, loosen the rear
axle just a bit. Loosen it only enough so the chain tension adjusters can
easily move the rear axle. Then only a tiny bit at a time move one chain
adjuster and then the other on the opposite side the same amount. Moving the
axle toward the rear of your bike tightens the chain. Check your chain tension.
Repeat as needed. When you're in range, perhaps slightly to the tighter end of
the correct range, you're good. Be sure your chain tensioners are evenly
adjusted and locked (if they have lock nuts). Finally, tighten your rear axle
to the proper torque setting and install a new cotter pin if your axle uses
one. Look carefully to be sure the adjusters did not move as you were
tightening the axle. As a final check, on your center stand or Big Boy Wheel
Jockey watch your chain roll over
the trailing end of the rear sprocket. It should track down the center of the
sprocket and not track to one side or the other.
With your chain CLEAN,
LUBED, and ADJUSTED, your bike will respond to throttle inputs correctly, it
will be much easier to ride, and you'll save a lot of money on prematurely worn
chains and sprockets. The quality time you spend massaging your bike during
chain and other types of maintenance is a wise investment in safe, dependable
performance. Plus you have the priceless satisfaction of knowing you did it
yourself.
