Best Chain Lube?

[eric]

Wondering if anyone has found a chain lube works good and isn't messy. Maxima makes a "Crystal Clear Chain Guard" and Champion a "white lithium spray grease" anyone tried those? The one I currently use seems to stick to the quad and is hard to clean off.

[Old_School]

Me personally I every once and awhile I use any white lithium grease but after I ride I clean the bike then spray wd40 on the chain and roll the bike back and forth a few times and put the bike up. It gets the left over water out and if there's some left it gets diluted(sp?) with the wd40.  -Mark

[stump66]

I use PJ's I think is the brand but it does sling all over but I pressure wash after every ride and do the chain area well so its fresh the next time without all the sand and buildup.

[Mars]

Bell-Ray "super clean" chain lube.

[Da_Mtg_Man]

Bell-Ray "super clean" chain lube.

What he said

[jaxraptor]

WD40!!!  Use it on all my bike, motorcyle and ATV.  Can't live without it!  "It does not harm the o-rings in the chain!

[VForce700]

WD40!!!  Use it on all my bike, motorcyle and ATV.  Can't live without it!  "It does not harm the o-rings in the chain!

same here. I use wd40 on the race bikes when I help out a friend of mine. we never use any chain lube. I use marval mystery oil for the cables as well after washing to make sure all is good when ready

[dreth]

i prefer maxima chain wax. it sticks to the chain well .

[eric]

Here is an interesting article http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcdirt/trailrider/toolbox8.html

"Naturally, the best way to avoid chain and chain related failures is through regular inspection, adjustment and maintenance. Water, mud, and the like play havoc on equipment, and chain is no exception. The steady diet of mud and water that we typically see stresses the drive chain considerably more that those bikes ridden in controlled and/or dry climates. No doubt things are better than ever with the advent of o-ring chains, significantly reducing adjustment and maintenance needs. However, not all riders opt for o-ring chains, and even o-ring chains will last longer when treated right. Chain maintenance basically boils down to cleaning, lubricating, tightening, alignment and replacement. Accumulated dirt, old lube, crud and corrosion on your chain not only sows the seeds of wear but causes more power robbing friction as well. The best way to rid your chain of these contaminants is a thorough cleaning. The most thorough method of cleaning is accomplished by removing the chain from the bike and soaking it in solvent, like kerosene or diesel fuel. This works wonders for non o-ring chains, but for o-rings, watch out. After a long soak, the solvents can get inside of the o-rings and destroy whatever lubricant remains, while the o-rings can confound your attempts to re-lubricate the chain. Best to just brush off an o-ring chain with a stiff bristle brush, or at most wipe it down with a solvent-soaked rag.

If your chain wasn't too dirty and you opt for cleaning while washing the rest of your bike, be sure to lube your chain before the washing. Washing an unlubed chain allows water to creep and settle in between the various rollers, bushings and pins. If you lube your chain afterward, the lube has the tendency to "seal in" the water, further promoting corrosion. Speaking of lubrication, the only thorough way to lubricate a chain is through immersion. Before o-ring chains, astute riders used to remove their chain after every ride and soak it in a pan of oil for several days. This allowed the oil lubricant to completely flow in between the chain rollers, pins, and bushings. With the advent of o-ring chains, a couple of things happened. First, many o-ring chain manufacturers used to claim that they never needed lubrication. This just isn't true. While the o-rings seal the pin/bushing junction, they do nothing for the chain rollers. O-ring chain rollers still require regular lubrication for this reason, and to ward off corrosion as well. Another rub with o-ring chains is that not only do they seal in whatever lubricant was applied at the factory, but seal out any attempts to relubricate the bearing surfaces afterward. In spite of this, the immersion process will still provide superior lubricant coverage between the chain rollers and bushings, and perhaps seep past more than a few loose o-rings as well.

Spray on lubricants are by far the most popular these days, offering several distinctly different options. They include silicon based sprays, WD40-type cleaners/lubricants, traditional oil based chain lubes, and the new spray on chain wax marketed by Maxima. Opinions regarding the merit of any of these lubes vary greatly, however, we've tried them all and offer the following insight based upon those experiences. Silicon based sprays, TFF, WD40 and CRC type cleaners/lubricants became popular with the advent of o-ring chains. The theory went that since the o-ring chains are lubed at the factory, all that was really needed was a coating to repel dirt and impede corrosion. Silicon base sprays are good at that, providing some lubrication for the o-rings themselves as well. Problem is though that while o-rings seal the pin/bushing junction, the chain rollers themselves remain unsealed and thus require lubrication. The other sprays like WD40 and CRC perform along the same lines, except that these sprays have solvents as well as lubricants and can be helpful removing dirt and old lubricants. The bottom line, however is that chain lubed with these space-age sprays has the tendency to wear out chain rollers, as the rollers never get sufficient lubrication.

Traditional chain lubes are essentially oils with additives to make them stickier, preventing the lubricant from flying off during use. They can provide excellent lubrication of all chain moving components for both standard and o-ring chains. The catch with traditional chain lubes is that not only do they stick to the chains moving parts, but succeed in picking up and capturing dirt, dust and sand at an alarming rate. This turns your chain lube into an abrasive mixture of chain lube and crud not unlike valve grinding compound. Regular chain cleaning can combat this scenario, however removing dried chain lube can be among the toughest bike cleaning tasks. The newest and perhaps most innovative chain lubrication is chain wax. Chain waxes provide a thick water and corrosion blocking coating on the chain and within the various moving parts. The kick with chain waxes is that once dry (after a few minutes) they're non-sticky to the touch and therefore don't attract dirt like traditional chain lubes. To give you some idea of our preferences, I typically use traditional chain lubes on our test bikes and save the coveted chain wax for my personal scoots. Enough said."

[dreth]

geuss i use the right thing

[PerformanceATV]

Maxima chain wax, but you must follow the directions  clean chain ,warm up chain, spray on and let dry for 15 min. won't fling off . Works great try it

[big-daddy]

Maxima chain wax, but you must follow the directions  clean chain ,warm up chain, spray on and let dry for 15 min. won't fling off . Works great try it

I second that. read direction on the can. Maxima chain wax on a clean chain.

[YFZ450AndyH]

What is the best way to clean the chain before waxing it?

[eric]

What is the best way to clean the chain before waxing it?

Kerosene is what my owners manual recommends but I guess you would have to take it off to do that. You going to Scrub Saturday Andy?

[YFZ450AndyH]

Hey Eric, Im working this weekend.  So the only scrub I will see is people I have to deal with, lol.  I cant wait to get the quad out for a real ride.  

[Axo]

WD40 and then Maxima chain wax  

[HUGGYJD]

I have always used Maxima chain wax with good results.

[CAOSPOP]

Pressure wash then daus(sp?) with WD 40

[400exRacer77]

WD40 every time i stop ridin, have had my chain and sprokets for a year on a MX BIKE!!!! ..... if you do it the right way nothin will ever mess up

[Yamaha72]

Maxima Chain wax here or PJ1 Bluelabel chainlube.

[bigsteve]

You have to be careful cleaning your chain with high pressure it can force dirt pass O-Ring seals into the pins and have premature wear.Rub down with A well soaked rag with karo. or disael fuel.To remove old lub.Then put new lub on.

Just my 2cents.

[Teej]

Has anyone used "White Lightening" or "Prims Lube Gel"?

Thanks Teej

[felix_z-4]

Maxima chain wax, very good product..