Chain cleaning

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jetson495
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2008 7:55 pm
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Location: arlington

Chain cleaning

Post by jetson495 » Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:02 pm

I spent the morning at Cycle Gear and found a few really good deals. I finally got a Vortex rear stand that I feel comfortable using. On the way home I got inspired to clean my chain. I stopped at Wally World, got some Kerosene and some foam craft brushes and headed home for some maintenance.
I put her on the stand and brushed the chain liberally with the Kerosene while rolling the wheel backward. Do not soak the chain as it will take much longer than you think for it to dry! I was shocked at how dirty my chain and sprockets were. After getting all the links visually clean, I held a shop towel around it while turning the wheel, changing towels as they got dirty. About 5 towels later it was sparkling clean so I used the blow dryer on hot and slowly turned the wheel while keeping the dryer aimed at the chain.
I then took it for a 10 to 15 minute ride around the neighborhood to warm the chain up and then immediately put her back on the stand and lubed the chain, then let her set for 30 to 45 minutes. During this time I noticed the oil could use a change and several other little chores needed to be done on her, so I allowed mission creep to set in.
Anyhow, after cleaning and lubing the chain I took her for a test ride after the rain and OMG! She felt as smooth as the day I rode her off the showroom floor! I remember thinking on the way home from the dealership how unbelievably smooth this bike is, no vibes anywhere, just lots of haul ass!
I recommend this for any bike that hasn't had the chain cleaned in a while, you may just fall in love again! :cool:
go fast or go home

2007 ZX14
2006 CRF450R

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Blizzard_1708
Posts: 6738
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2006 1:38 pm

Re: Chain cleaning

Post by Blizzard_1708 » Sun Oct 24, 2010 5:20 pm

guess you now have some time to scrub all the nooks and crannies.