jd724 Posted March 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 That is so true Tonik! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAC Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 I use Pro Honda HP chain lube. Its a blend of moly and teflon. Spray on and let dry for 20 mins. Its a dry film type. Near zero sling off. Hate chain waxes -dirt magnets... I use the Honda stuff only I use the Graphite type instead of moly. I clean once or twice a season. Still have the original chain on the VFR at over 28k miles and it seems to be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 It doesn't really seem to matter which product you use as long as you use it...with one exception: liquid wrench chain lube is absolutely worthless. It flings off no matter what and needs to be used almost daily. A friend of mine used it exclusively on his katana with a brand new chain and sprocket set and it lasted less than 2000 miles before the chain was completely whipped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBWalker Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 i use WD40 to clean. PJ1 blue label for lube. works ok for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschaf Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 Pro Honda Chain Lube with Moly is what I use & it has served me well. I got 26,000 miles out of the stock chain on my 1000rr. I replaced the stock DID 530 (9,220 lb tensile strength) with an EK 520zzz (9,400 lb tensile strength), so I could be cool too, lol. I only ever clean my chain with a rag as more aggressive cleaning rituals do more harm than good. By the way, chain "stretch" is a misnomer. The chain pins & side plates wear on each other & the total cumulative wear gives the illusion of stretch. No stock or near stock motorcycle is going to come anywhere close to exceeding the elastic limit of the chain alloy & permanently stretch the chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd724 Posted March 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 OK so what does one take from all this feedback? Basically, clean your chain at reasonable intervals and use a brand name lube of some kind and you should get acceptable chain life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschaf Posted March 9, 2014 Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 Proper tension (refer to your owners manual, usually around 1 1/4" freeplay mid chain) is also pretty important for a long chain life. Also, a bit too loose is better than a bit too tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 ^that. Too tight can put too much stress on the counter shaft seal and bearings and it will leak oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zx3vfr Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 I clean twice a year with the Swedish chain cleaner stuff. Once in the middle of summer and when it gets out away for the year. I use chain wax and usually once a week I give it a light coat after a commute home. 10k miles and only 3 adjustments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smccrory Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 I can't believe I avoided chain-driven motorcycles for my first year in the hobby because I heard folks complain about maintenance. It's really no biggie, especially if you already take pride in vehicle upkeep anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Well shaft drive is kind of awesome in that you pretty much never have to do anything to it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2talltim Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Well shaft drive is kind of awesome in that you pretty much never have to do anything to it.Gots to change the earl in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smccrory Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Well shaft drive is kind of awesome in that you pretty much never have to do anything to it. Oh yea, don't get me wrong, I loved my V-Star 1100 and CB700SC's shaft drives, and I also enjoyed the S40's belt drive too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Yeah tim but seriously, how often do you have to change the hypoid gear oil? The stuff lasts forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smccrory Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Yeah tim but seriously, how often do you have to change the hypoid gear oil? The stuff lasts forever. Isn't 12,000-18,000 miles a typical factory recommended interval? Takes all of 30 minutes to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Idk, never had a shade drive bike long enough to find out. Sure it's factory recommended but the stuff really doesn't break down, it never gets very hot and it never gets contaminated with all the stuff engine oil comes into contact with. Comes out looking the same as brand new unless it's been sitting outside for 3 seasons in the elements and has major moisture issues. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokey Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Idk, never had a shade drive bike long enough to find out. Sure it's factory recommended but the stuff really doesn't break down, it never gets very hot and it never gets contaminated with all the stuff engine oil comes into contact with. Comes out looking the same as brand new unless it's been sitting outside for 3 seasons in the elements and has major moisture issues. That was BMW's thoughts as well, and may have had something to do with their final drives melting and locking up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Was it a service interval issue or a mechanical defect? Hypoid gear oil is the concrete donkey of lubricants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokey Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Was it a service interval issue or a mechanical defect? Hypoid gear oil is the concrete donkey of lubricants. I believe much if not all had to do with a design change, but they did not have a drain plug installed so the lube could be changed either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonik Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 How often does everyone change the rear axle oil in their rear wheel drive cars? Or their brake fluid. Don't get me wrong, I do all that shit on my bike. But I think a lot of us are very anal retentive about what we do to our bikes. A lot of it is more because we enjoy it, it makes us proud of our machines rather than real need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Z. Heimer Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Was it a service interval issue or a mechanical defect? Hypoid gear oil is the concrete donkey of lubricants.It could be either one depending on whether it was an internal (oil bathed) or external (hub splines or drive shaft splines). With BMW it seems to be more of a design issue with it being internal failures. On a Honda Gold Wing it is more of an external failure. That is the splines on the wheel hub and final drive tear each other apart till they finally strip. As far as oil change interval it is every 24K on my Wing. I'm ahead of the game as I change it every tire change which is just shy of 20K. The splines are a different story. I think the spline lube interval was 12K. In my opinion failures are caused by lubing the splines with the wrong stuff. Honda calls for a moly 60 paste. That means 60% moly content. Not the 5 or so percent in a chassis grease. Who sells it..Honda. Is it pricey for what you get..yes. But it works. It is also to be used on the drive shaft to universal joint splines. I am willing to bet that most tire changing places outside a Honda shop will not be using this stuff. So as you can see using the wrong stuff with an extended service interval is a recipe for failure. I am comfortable with my interval as at tear down time the splines are still coated and not dry. Had a couple buds approaching 200k with never an issue. As far as hypoid gear oil is concerned...tough stuff. I if it is where it is supposed to be and you have a failure it would be hard to blame the oil. We run trucks up to a million 200k miles and no failures in transmissions or diffs and the oil is never changed. https://www.google.com/search?q=bmw+final+drive+failure&client=safari&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=tmQkU6-HAsPlyAHgxYBw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAA&biw=1024&bih=672https://www.google.com/search?q=honda+final+drive+failure&client=safari&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=BGUkU5j7GMT4yQGKkoCICA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAA&biw=1024&bih=672 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Z. Heimer Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 How often does everyone change the rear axle oil in their rear wheel drive cars? Or their brake fluid. Don't get me wrong, I do all that shit on my bike. But I think a lot of us are very anal retentive about what we do to our bikes. A lot of it is more because we enjoy it, it makes us proud of our machines rather than real need.As far as changing the diff oil if you want to be anal you could change it around 5K. Break in should be done and a drain will remove all the little wear bits. Necessary? No. Brake fluid is a different Animal. It is hydroscopic . It absorbs moisture. With today's abs and traction control systems it could be an issue and turn into a very expensive repair. Very few change it and we get away with it. My cars are at least 10 years old when we ditch them and never had an issue. I have seen what can happen on a bike with old brake/clutch fluid. Clutches that will not release when stuck in a traffic jam. Brakes that faded when we were down south in the mountains. Fluid gets so hot that the moisture in it boils and creates a vapor as such. Just like having air in the system. All goes back to normal after cool down. Until the next event. Preventing internal corrosion is the major factor in changing fluid. Synthetic fluid is a different game. Don't ever mix the two. I am as guilty as you. Every 2 years on the bike and never on cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Interesting stuff Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smccrory Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Interesting stuff Al.No doubt - a good read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smccrory Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 I'll take the moment to promote "Moto Minder" for the iPhone. There are similar apps for Android, and I've found is a GREAT way to stay on top of maintenance for all my vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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