The power your bike delivers is through the drive train, which means the chain and sprocket; which needs maintenance. Cleaning and lubricating the motorcycles chain and sprocket will increase the life of the components and make the ride smoother. But cleaning your motorcycles drive train is not always as straight forward it may appear. Let’s take a look at how to clean and lubricate your motorcycles chain and sprocket.
What you need:
-What you’ll need is old socks or cloth, anything that can be disposed off later
-Least expensive engine oil
-Old toothbrush or nailbrush
-Dirt remover solvent (only if the chain is covered in thick dirt which is difficult to remove)
-Paddock stand (if possible, will make your process easier)
-A good quality Chain lubricant
Precautions:
-Make sure there is properly adjusted freeplay of the chain
-Make sure the chain is not too tight or too loose
-Anything that goes on the chain, shouldn’t go on the tyres. Be sure the tyres remain clean
-Most Important: Make sure the motorcycle is not running through the entire process and keep your hands away while rotating the wheel.
How to clean:
-If you have a paddock stand for your motorcycle, put it on the stand and put the transmission to neutral so that you can access the entire length of the chain by turning the rear wheel. If not you’ll have to keep the bike moving forward and backward until the entire length of the chain is serviced.
-Take the old cloth or sock and soak it in the engine oil. Wrap the oily area of the cloth around the exposed part of the chain, begin to wipe and rub off the black gunk on your chain. If your chain has not been cleaned for a while and is difficult to clean, then use the dirt removing solvent and apply to the entire length of the chain.
-Keep rotating the rear wheel and keep wiping the murk off the chain. At the same time clean the chain sprocket as well.
-Be sure to keep your fingers away from the chain and sprocket before turning the rear wheel.
-Don’t stop cleaning until you see metal on all surfaces of the chain and the sprocket.
-Once the chain looks clean, use the toothbrush or the nailbrush to clean between the plates. Make sure there’s no dirt left in between.
How to clean your motorcycle chain and sprocket.
Once fully clean, lubricate the chain with a good quality motorcycle chain lube. Spray it along the full length of the motorcycle chain and sprocket.
-Lastly, make sure there’s nothing greasy left on the tyre. Wipe the tyre off with a different cloth.
If you don’t want the hassle of purchasing lubricant, oil, cloth etc., there are chain cleaning kits available that can be used.