New 600RR - Chain Question... *Update*

My new '07 600RR came delivered with a very waxy, cream colored coating all over the chain that is tacky to the touch, and it stays put like there is no tomorrow.  The coating is keeping the chain pretty clean as far as I can tell.

My question(s) is/are, when it comes time to lube the chain, do I lube it with the waxy stuff on, or should I be trying to clean the coating off and then do I lube it?  If I shouldn't remove the coating, is there ever a time when you want to "recoat" the chain.  Is the coating the "chain wax" that some manufactures put out?  A small amount of the coating is on  the front surface of the rear wheel spokes, what would be good to dissolve it and clean it off the spokes?

Thanks in advance

Dave

You should clean it first. That stuff will attract dirt and crap like anyhing ever invented. Most will tell you to use kerosene and a brush or rag to clean chains. You can also get a grunge brush from the dealer that works well. What I do is to spray the hell out of them with WD-40 (and may will say not to) and then use a brush and rag to clean it. I then wipe it down as much as I can and ride for 10 minutes or so to dry it and warm the chain. While the chain is warm, spray the chain lube and let sit to penetrate.
 
I am not rear othodox when it comes to chains, but I do have a couple hundred thousand miles on bikes. Only rarely will I use an actual chain lube and mostly I use ONLY WD-40.

    WD40  is not a lube it is a penetrant. it is too thin to be used as a lube.  the white stuff on the chain is wax. ride the bike to get the chain hot and then use WD40, kerosene, chain cleaner, simple green whatever to clean the chain and then lube with gear oil, chain lube, chain wax whatever.

It has also been said that the WD40 will eat away the O rings in the chain.
check post #33 on this thread by an aircraft mechanic on what WD40 did to a few grease packed bearings
http://www.1000rr.net/vb/showthread.php?t=27794&page=4&highlight=WD40+chain

IT'S NOT WAX. Stop calling it wax... it's a highly viscous lubricant that also acts as a protectorate. you clean the old lubricant off with either kerosene or another rubber o-ring safe petroleum solvent. There are many manufactures around that sell such chemicals and the can all be found at your dealership. they will also have the correct lubricant for you to reapply to the chain. Honda has both of these as a part of their Honda Pro Chemicals lineup. One is a Brake and Contact cleaner, the other is a chain lubricant featuring white lithium. if you wish to purchase a cheaper alternative solvent, you can buy a non-chlorinated brake cleaner. Do not use these solvents on blacktop or asphalt or it's owner will be very upset that it's melting away. it's pretty toxic stuff so be conscious of what you are doing.

haha, yeah its not wax... but that stuff called 'chain wax' is awsome bcuz it doesnt get all grimy and stays clean for long periods of time.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hatebreed

haha, yeah its not wax... but that stuff called 'chain wax' is awsome bcuz it doesnt get all grimy and stays clean for long periods of time.

started to say the can says chain wax. i can call it wax if i use that product right?

thats wut i call it. i am really impressed with this stuff, wont get anything else.

Thanks for the input everyone.  I'm on it!!

Dave

Yep. Get a good quality "Chain Wax" and DO NOT USE WD-40! I recently had to have my chain replaced prematurely because the penetrants in the WD-40 were eating away at the o-rings and destroyed a couple. Now I stick to Simple Green and a tire-scrubbing brush, and it works exactly the same (and it's bio-degradable and non-toxic too.). Then when you are done making sure that chain is perfectly clean, ride the bike up and down the block once to warm up the chain. After the chain is warm, get out your chain wax and spray on a nice coating (don't be stingy with it.) If you want, wipe off the front of the chain so it doesn't look like a bird took a massive s**t on it, and you should be good.

If you want my opinion, dont clean it at all with any solvent. Taking the lube out from in between the o-rings is definitely not good, and I dont see a way a high viscous chain lube would make it back in.
 
I'd just stick some 80 or 90 weight gear oil on a rag and rub that all over the chain. That'll take off any dirt and most of that white stuff and it'll also not degrade anythign or get in behind those o-rings.

All I can say is that since switching to WD40 ONLY, my chains last longer and I have YET to see a missing o-ring. Most will not agree with me. No worries here, since it is not going to change the way I do things.
 
That being said.... the best way is gear oil....

quote:

ORIGINAL: meanstrk

You should clean it first. That stuff will attract dirt and crap like anyhing ever invented. Most will tell you to use kerosene and a brush or rag to clean chains. You can also get a grunge brush from the dealer that works well. What I do is to spray the hell out of them with WD-40 (and may will say not to) and then use a brush and rag to clean it. I then wipe it down as much as I can and ride for 10 minutes or so to dry it and warm the chain. While the chain is warm, spray the chain lube and let sit to penetrate.

I am not rear othodox when it comes to chains, but I do have a couple hundred thousand miles on bikes. Only rarely will I use an actual chain lube and mostly I use ONLY WD-40.

not to question your experiance with bikes, but in my opinion that is horrible advice, WD-40 is not a lubricant, what it will do is strip your chain of lubricants and leave it exposed to the elements, causeing it to rust. that "chain wax" stuff is there to lubricate the chain and protect from rust. a dry chain may stay cleaner but it will rust quicker.

Why would you use WD40? It is not the equivilent of gear oil or the cleaners/lubes Honda recommends. Why chance it?

I use Motul chain cleaners to clean it and PJ1 Blue to lube it every 300-500 miles...I've used numerous stuff but this is by far the best combo for me...

Thanks again for all of the input guys.  I have to mention that where I live in Virginia, there has been a severe drought the last few months, and washing vehicles with a hose is prohibited right now.  So I had to clean this chain up without being able to wash the bike down after I was done.  For this reason I wanted to keep the mess to a minimum, so here is what I ended up doing:

1. I got myself a old terry towel, dampened it up a little bit with some motor oil, and wiped the chain down to get all of the coating off.  It took a while, and it was tough to get between the links, but I finally got practically all of the coating off of my chain.

2. Went to Autozone and bought some Valvoline 80W90 gear lube and a small, thumb operated, refillable oil dropper with a nice five inch long flexible hose and a brass nozzle that has a small little delivery hole.

3. I individually oiled every link on the chain by putting a small drop of oil on eash side of the link and the roller.

4. I let it sit, and then wiped down the chain a couple of times to remove the excess oil.  I then took the bike for a five mile ride and kept the speed down.  I stopped once to see how bad the throw off was, and there was practically none.  When I got home, I wiped the chain down again with the towel. 

The towel looks worse for wear, but the chain looks pretty darn good.

Dave

kudos for making a decision. I believe that gear oil is the best way, but the only downside i've found with it is that it tends to need it done more often. other than that, a bottle of gear oil (which is what the 03-04 manual actually called for, not sure about the 07) will last a loong time and works like a charm.

-Adam

quote:

ORIGINAL: isolated1523

kudos for making a decision. I believe that gear oil is the best way, but the only downside i've found with it is that it tends to need it done more often. other than that, a bottle of gear oil (which is what the 03-04 manual actually called for, not sure about the 07) will last a loong time and works like a charm.

-Adam

'07 manual calls for gear oil too, so I went with it.  I tend to give the chain a lot of attention anyway, so we will see how this works out.

Dave

Best way to do it!