Chain cleaning - WD40 good or bad?

Deep down, you must want to be a red neck from Alberta dont you.

 

I'll ride in the cold, and will ride in the wet if it just so happens that's what it does on route after it was looking good. but won't go out in it asking for trouble, that's no fun...:vader:

 

I used to spray WD-40 directly on the chain to clean it. Not any longer.

Now I spray it on a rag and wipe down the chain thoroughly, wipe it down again with clean, dry rag, allow it to dry (or ride it a few miles drying and warming chain), then apply lube (DuPont teflon).

My current method seems to lengthen time between chain/sprocket replacement.

I find it easier to use WD-40 in place of kerosene, as it's easier to find and store (apt. dweller here).

 

You may or may not know that kerosene and lamp oil are the same thing. You may find it in the camping/ outdoors shops. Mind you buying it there is probably more expenseve, but hell, we wouldn't need that much.

 

Didn't even think of lamp oil.

Cost isn't the issue, it's the storage. Don't like storing flammable liquids inside, no place to store it outdoors away from apt.

At least WD-40 is in a metal sealed container, and is less flammable than kerosene.

 

This is true. WD40 in a can is about as safe as it gets for flammable liquids. But you may wish to know that kerosene does have a very low flash point, You damned near need to touch a flame to it for it to ignite. I used to have oil lamps mope as decoration than anything else. I kept the lamp oil in it's bottle beneath the sink. I think it was pretty safe there. They do come in handy though. Here in the PNW, we do get winter storms that blow our big beautiful trees down onto our hydro wires regularly.

Any of you firefighters, please jump in. You know more about this aspect than I do.

 

Call me crazy but I use nothing but WD40 to both clean and lube my chain.

My previous bike was a 1993 Nighthawk 750. I sold it this spring with 30K miles on it, and it was still on the original chain and sprockets. I used nothing but WD40 for the entire 30K miles. Okay I tried chain wax once and didn't like the mess, so I scrubbed it off with electrical cleaning spray and went back to WD40.

The new owner of the Nighthawk is a friend of mine and he's still riding on the original chain and sprockets. The rear axle is just about at the "Replace Chain" mark on the swingarm, but the chain has no rust, no tight spots, no missing O rings, or any problem like that. I haven't looked at the front sprocket, but the rear one looks great with no noticeable tooth wear. The chain has simply become noisy from loosening up.

Since buying my 5th gen this spring with 5,500 miles on it, I have put about 6K miles on it. Over 6k miles I have used nothing but WD40. The chain is in fine shape and I've only had to adjust it twice. I will have to see see how long this chain lasts on my VFR.

The power delivery of a VFR800 is going to stress a chain a little more than a Nighthawk 750, so I don't expect 30K miles out of my current chain. But, I'll be happily surprised if it happened. I'm currently at about 11.5K miles and the chain looks great, so I'll have to hurry up and put on some miles to wear this thing out. :smile:

I know this goes against everyone's chain care beliefs and most people who read this will think I'm either crazy, or that I'm BS-ing you. But in 36,000 miles of riding, I'm thus far very happy with WD40.

 

My 2cents... But then again you asked.

1. WD-40 is not HELL on O rings. It is however hell on the Lubricant that is captured behind them. WD-40 can seep past the O rings and disolve the captured lubricant.

2. Kerosene does not cause this issue but is a bit messy.

3. WD-40 Does clean better because it is a penitrant.

I use WD-40 but I do not spray it directly on the chain. I purchase a bag-O-rags and spray a light amount of WD-40 on the rag and wipe the gunk off the chain. Not enough WD on the chain or on it long enough to do damage.

Then I apply my spray lube. Belray now was Honda lube. I do not clean that often.

Now one thing I noticed is the Honda lube itself can be used as a light cleaner. If you wipe off while wet.

 

The link posted by Action above, (post #11) makes for some interesting reading. I would recommend you all take a read then make your decision. This of course is one point of view.

 

I just noticed. Somewhere along the line I passed the 1,000 post mark. I gotta get a life!:ncb:

 

This IS your life, young Skywalker. It is your... destiny...

 

I have posted this link from webbikeworld here before.


Motorcycle Chain Lube - webBikeWorld