A motorcycle chain is a robust part of a motorcycle that takes a lot of stress and torque. Chains are designed to undergo a lot of stress as well, and hence the reason they’re used on MotoGP bikes as well. However, maintaining them is a simple process that shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes. Here’s a detailed guide on chain maintenance.
Clean the chain
The first and foremost step is to clean the chain. This is a simple process if your motorcycle has a centre stand. If not a paddock stand is required. Once the motorcycle is secure on either of the stands, it’s time to get dirty. You can spray the chain cleaner on the chain while slowly rotating the wheel, but not with the engine running.
Slowly spray the cleaner and let it sit for a few minutes. Once that’s done, use a brush to slowly take away the muck, but remember to be gentle as the brush can cause damage to the O-ring if used harshly. Once that’s done, spray some more cleaner and then wipe it off with a cloth.
To clean the chain, you can use any one of the million products in the market, or go old school with either Kerosine or Diesel. Not petrol, as it can damage the rubber O-rings in the chain. On a personal note, I use kerosine or diesel.
Inspect and adjust
Now, after wiping the chain clean with a cloth, give the chain a few minutes to dry off. Now, inspect the chain to see for any unevenness in the links. If you spot any or see more slack than recommended, the chain needs to be adjusted — a simple task but needs precision. If you can do it yourself following the millions of tutorials, good, if not, move on to the next step.
To adjust the chain, follow the specs mentioned in the manual or on the little sticker on the swing arm that says what the chain sag should be. Now, using a ruler, measure the slack and adjust. To do so, the motorcycle has to be on a stand and wheel nuts have to come loose, along with the adjusters for the chain. Now slowly adjust until you reach the recommended slack, and then torque back all the nuts to specifications.
One good way to see if the chain and wheel are straight is to use the little markers on the swing arm to match both sides. If not, get a measuring tape and measure the centre of the wheel to the swing arm bolt. The measurement on both sides needs to be the same, or there will be tyre wear and chain wear.
And finally lube
Now, it’s time to lube the chain. The process is simple and don’t do this with the engine running. Like spraying the chain cleaner, slowly rotate the wheel with one hand and spray the lube on the inside of the chain and not the outside. Once the chain is lubed, wait for a few minutes and wipe off the excess with a clean rag.
Now, coming to the lube itself. The market can be confusing with all the fancy names and wet condition lubes, dry condition lubes, all-weather lubes, and much more. So pick one that suits you the best and your riding conditions. Also, another hack from the older days is to use gearbox oil to lube the chain, which works magic and is just as good as any canned lube in the market.
