Home made chain lube

[Cardenio327]

I'm from the PNW, we used to save used gear oil and used ATF and mix them 50:50 to make bar & chain oil for old beat up chainsaws.

I've always used aerosol spray lubes for MC chains (Yamalube, Chainwax, Liquid Wrench Ag Chain Lube, &c.), but am tired of sticky greasy filth stuck to everything.

Honda says to only use SAE 80w or 90 gear oil, but I've never tried it. Some people don't even lube their chain at all or use WD40 and still seem to get a decent mileage out of it. I'm convinced that proper rear wheel alignment is much more important than lubrication for sealed chain & sprocket life.

Anyway, I found an unopened quart bag of NGMO 20w-50 SL in my stash and traded it to the parts jobber next door for a quart bag of Roshfrans SAE 140 GL-1. I mixed it 50:50 with Dexron in an oiler and am trying it out.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

hmmm. I lube about every 300 miles, always after a ride while the chains warm.. let it sit overnight, after a short ride wipe off any "fly off" and enjoy the next 300 miles.. once a year i remove the chain and soak and clean with Kerosene. I have never had a chain fail. I replace chains on street bikes around 20,000 miles just to be safe. To actually use a heavy oil on a chain id think even more gunk would stick to it.. I dunno though, never tried.

Let us know how this works out for you.

 

[Chris142]

I only lube when the chain gets in a bind. Any more and dirt just sticks to it and wears out the chain and sprockets.

 

[bosterman]

Try the motul chain paste. For me is the smartest chain lube right now.
No sticky, applies faster, and you will not loose the half of the lube in the air/floor.
And is a great lube...

 

[Robenstein]

Gear oil flings off...trust me. Best I have used is the Dupont chain lube. If you put it on a clean warm change after a ride, by the time you ride again, its good.

 

[dharry]

Originally Posted By: Cardenio327
Honda says to only use SAE 80w or 90 gear oil, but I've never tried it.


...why? It's the best thing for chains, with that you'll see there'll be no need to clean your chain anymore, just apply it every 500 kms. And beside that, it's very cheap

best,

DH

 

[Robenstein]

I used gear oil on my Yamaha XV250 and it coated the wheel in dirty nasty oil, and the chain was filthy. I quickly went away from it.

 

[Cardenio327]

Originally Posted By: dharry
Originally Posted By: Cardenio327
Honda says to only use SAE 80w or 90 gear oil, but I've never tried it.


...why? It's the best thing for chains, with that you'll see there'll be no need to clean your chain anymore, just apply it every 500 kms. And beside that, it's very cheap

best,

DH


I never used 80w or 90 because of GL-5's obnoxious smell. GL-1 on the other hand just smells like oil.

I think I'm already sold on using it. I've only rode home last night and back to work this morning (5.5 miles round trip), but so far so good. No oil drips on our newly paved over front lawn, nice machinery smell with a light whiff of gasoline to the motorcycle now, chain still looks freshly lubricated as if the oil takes some grime with it as it flings off. There are some streaks of oil on the sidewall, but I can live with that, it's a daily rider not a show bike (gets a bath about four times a year). What bothered me most about the spray chain lubes was the Rhino-liner-like residue that won't wash off left behind on the hub, chain guard, &c. when I did finally get around to washing it.

 

[Robenstein]

Best thing to help that residue not stick is a good spray wax. I use Eagle One Nanowax after I get it all cleaned up. Keeps the stuff from biting on it. But I also wash mine every 2 to 4 weeks.

 

[fxrider]

GL4 with a kicker

 

[OtisBlkR1]

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Gear oil flings off...trust me. Best I have used is the Dupont chain lube. If you put it on a clean warm change after a ride, by the time you ride again, its good.


Im currently using this myself, and agree.. very little fly off if you let it set up propper.

 

[rrounds]

With a standard chain(all we had in the 70's) we use to heat paraffin wax, ball joint grease and lots of powdered graphite (combine all three). Put the chain in it and move it around to get into the links then take it off the heat to let it set up a little, then take the chain out and hang it up to let any lube that has not set up drain off back into the lube pan.

We desert raced back in the early 70's and this made our chains last a long time. Kept the dirt and sand out of the links so the chain would not wear out as fast.

I would not do this with a modern o-ringed chain.

ROD