i have a Husky 610 with a o ring chain. over the years i have usually removed the chain used a wire brush carefully to remove the heavy crud then soaked it in gasoline to completely clean it. i usually soak it a day or two in 20/50 motor oil to completely lube it up. after hanging it up to drip clean i will apply belray on it. anyone else here have a better suggestion to accomplish a good clean lubed chain ?

O-rings and gas are a no-no.  From what I understand, and use, kerosene will not hurt the o-rings.  I wouldn't use a wire brush but rather a nylon brush.

Dry it off and apply your chain lube.  I use PJ1, others use other brands.  The motor oil is going to fling right off and make a mess.

The take the chain off or leave it on (for cleaning) is up for debate because it feeds directly into the other debate of whether or not to replace your master link every time you remove the chain (clip type that can be re-used).

whats wrong with a nylon brush and a bucket of hot soapy water? When toy hauling and water is at a minimum, I use Motuls "Chain Clean" which is an O-ring safe aerosol based spray solvent. Does the trick, but nothing beats a nylon smalled headed brush and some hot soapy water with a little elbow grease.  Ditto on the no gas soaking stratedgy, bad things will happen to the O-rings that way.

I typically remove the chain, soak it for a few days in used motor oil and then clean it with a nylon kitchen brush.  I let it drip into the pan for a while and then run 90-wt gear oil down it while it's still hanging over the drain pan.  Then let it drip at least overnight.  I reuse my master link.  

Might seem a little excessive for lubing a chain, but my buddy always thinks I bought a new chain every time we ride.  Plus, letting the gear oil drip off the chain overnight, I don't ever seem to have a problem with it flinging onto the bike.  Plus, no overspray all over the swingarm and back of the engine.  And wheels.  And garage floor.  

So far, this has worked well for me.  I have about 1000 miles of singletrack on my TE 250 with no visible sprocket wear and I have yet to need to adjust the chain at all.

My process:
Using a stand that gets the rear wheel of the ground, car wash soap, garden hose, and a Grung Brush.....
Dip brush into the carwash soap solution.
Run thr brush over the chain a couple of times while turning the back wheel.
Rinse off with garden hose and water.
After washing rest of bike, towel dry, fire up the motor, ride up a down the street, around the corner and back.  Put back on stand, then apply some chain wax on the chain.
Now we clean the airfilter.....

I take off the side panels, tank, and seat. Then clean my bike with a high pressure water system, taking care around areas with bearings, seals, etc.

I dry it with paper towels, and let it sit in the sun for 2-3 hours to dry out electrical areas.

Then i spray all metal areas with WD40, especially the chain, which i rotate and spray.

Rubber areas get silicon spray instead of WD40.

Then i put the plastic back on.

I NEVER lube the chain other than some WD40 after cleaning. Highly recommended. Running a dry chain is much better than a wet one. The WD40 doesnt break down the O ring, at least in my experience (others say it does).
The WD40 stops all corrosion-a big plus if you ride or live in salty or humid areas.

Yeah I do the same.  Take off the chain and hang it.  Spray it down with wd-40 and clean it well with a rag.  Then power wash the bike.  Once the chain is back on the bike I lube it. Done.

I only use old motor oil to lube my chain. It always looks clean. It's that fancy spray on crap that makes a mess on the chain. I oil mine at the end of every ride. Then I let it drip off before pushing into the garage. And I park in over cardboard 'cause it'll drip over night.

You guys got it best chain lube period is your drain oil.  Doesn't dry out , get cakey, dirt doesn't stick to it, stays wet for several hundreds of miles. Plus it's free,also you get a star for recycling.  Later George

Nylon tile-grout brush....gettem in the supermarket.

Dry brush the chain a little with same.
Lube the chain BEFORE washing the bike.
Do yer thing with whatever then ride it and relube the chain AFTER it is dry. Lubing while wet may lock in moisture.

A little grunge on the side plates aint no big. Main thing is to get it off the rollers and stuff so the new lube gets in there. Lubing it before ya wash it helps prevent water from getting in.

Relube only- I try and run the bike for a few to get the chain loose and warmed up, then brush it, lube it, wipe it down (new lube acts like a solvent), lightly lube again and let it sit for a couple hours/over night so it really gets a grip. (mostly I just spooge and go though...)

Ekim-Yak said:

Ditto that.  I haven't used anything but either silicone or WD40 to lube an o-ring chaing, and that really is only to keep it from rusting.  They're internally lubed.  A dry chain will not pick up dirt, sand and grit which will wear it and the sprockets.  It will be very easy to clean too.  I've been getting excellent chain and sprocket life doing it this way.

Before washing the bike, I use kerosene from a spray bottle to soak the chain, then hit it with a brush about 3x the size of a toothbrush. Scrub top bottom, and both sides, one section at a time. Spray, scrub, move bike ahead to reveal the next section of grunge, repeat till chain clean. You can hit the sprockets too.

Wash bike, then run it round the block to get the chain warm. Spray with Bel Ray Super Clean lube. It's a dry, wax lube, real nice. Doesn't pick up a lot of dirt and grit.

Kerosene won't dry out the o-rings, and won't flush out factory lube by getting past the o-rings. I'll get flak for this, but I read that WD40 is a solvent, almost guaranteed to get by the rings and flush out lube.

Danceswithtrees said:

I use Bombardier Lube which is a water dispersant similar to WD-40.  I have heard mixed reports as to whether WD-40 will damage O-rings or not.

Greg

GregMatty said:

I've heard the same things but have also read that guys using only WD on 1000cc streetbikes have gotten 20K miles out of a chain. No mud and dirt to contend with but 20K on a 150 hp bike is something.
The key is simply to keep it as clean as possible. Any o-ring chain will out live sprockets and in my house a new chain goes on when sprockets are hooped. It's the cost of having fun.

Danceswithtrees said:

Exactly. It wont get all grunged up. I think the whole chain lube thing is a hold over from before the days of internally lubed o ring/ x ring chains.

No sand or grit means less wear. Ive gotten over 10,000 miles - 4 years (and counting) on the same chain and sprockets this way on my XR650r.

Works great on my Huskys too.

I was wondering how long it would take before we see a thread on "Oiling a Chain" etc. I'm quite surprised it took this long.
Cleaning the chain with a nylon brush and kerosene is good.
  WD is just glorified cooking oil, no more. That's why you can get it for $5 bucks a gallon. It evaporates, isn't much good for the o rings, dilutes any chain lube that's on the chain and flings it all over the bike, but if you're happy using it.
Get some good quality chain lube or chain wax from your local bike shop made for O-ring chains and after cleaning off the chain with the kerosene and letting it dry
Spray the chain. A warm chain is best; helps the lube penetrate into the o-rings.
Just my 2 cents.

GregMatty said:

WD-40 is about 50% kerosene if I remember correctly. I done some research about it a while back.

uptite said:

Damn, and I just spent good money on a can of PJ!
Do you drain oil proponents clean the chain then soak it in the oil or do you dump the dirty chain right in to the tub o' drain oil?  Scrubbing?
=CPW=

HuskyMax said:

Yeah, it's actually a good degreaser.  The only time I use it is if I'm out of silicone spray.

If you never use any heavy oil, wax or sticky chainlube, the dirt never seems to combine with it to make a sludge that needs to be scrubbed off.  With WD40 the dirt usually comes off with water when you wash (good enough anyway).  Blow all the water off and wd40 it again.  I use the leaf blower to dry my bikes post wash, FWIW.   Biggest chain failure I've seen is stiff links from the plate/oring interface getting rust or corrosion. Wd40 seem to do a good job at displacing any water and keeping the links free for me. I've also used cheap-azz supertech spray lubricant, but like wd40 better. Specialty chain lubes are for street bikes IMO.