Cleaning the chain

[ceo012384]

Originally Posted by Mudpuppy

thanks for the tips - you the man.. i will try it out tonight or tomorrow..

i am just using an old spray bottle or a dollar store bottle - i like living on the edge..

Good luck

Haha.... yeah that will be fine for the job... I just meant for possible storage, i.e. if you are considering leaving the kero in the bottle for a long time...

[Mudpuppy]

Originally Posted by ceo012384

Good luck

Haha.... yeah that will be fine for the job... I just meant for possible storage, i.e. if you are considering leaving the kero in the bottle for a long time...

i will probably just clean the spray bottle out and leave it next to the kero can.. probably won't store.. i thought about it eating through there, etc. i don't feel like going through the hassle of a special spray bottle - if it eats through it i will toss it in the gutter and go get another..

[Quick281]

Originally Posted by ceo012384

Looks great man, good work. Glad it worked out for you. Amazing all of the SHIT that comes off of there, huh?

Yeah it was amazing to see the crap that came off. Who knew that Kerosene was such a good cleaner?

I think the spray bottle is a great idea. After seeing my chain, a friend of mine used just the brush and the tray to clean his chain while on the bike. He had pretty good results with half the effort. I would imagine a spray bottle would be a great idea and help get the kerosene in areas the brush might not reach.

What do you rinse with before the ride to dry the chain? I toweled down the kerosene and then rode around, but would it hurt to use water? I would assume the onset of rust could be a problem but nothing a quick towel and good ride couldn't fix. It just felt weird to wash with kero and then lube it up.

[Mr Lefty]

so will Kero hurt your paint or the powdercoat on your swing arm? it'd be nice to clean all the road grime off my bike from AK... and degreaser just doesn't seem to cut it... just wondering..

[Quick281]

Originally Posted by Ebbs15

so will Kero hurt your paint or the powdercoat on your swing arm? it'd be nice to clean all the road grime off my bike from AK... and degreaser just doesn't seem to cut it... just wondering..

I don't think so but I can't give you a firm answer. I was pretty messy when I was cleaning my chain, probably splashed the stuff all over the back end. Nothing seems to have been hurt.

Wouldn't be a bad idea to wash the bike sometime after letting the lube settle down.

[Mudpuppy]

Originally Posted by Quick281

I don't think so but I can't give you a firm answer. I was pretty messy when I was cleaning my chain, probably splashed the stuff all over the back end. Nothing seems to have been hurt.

Wouldn't be a bad idea to wash the bike sometime after letting the lube settle down.

what i do is this:

1. Clean the chain with whatever - in this case kero
2. Wash the bike with carwash stuff or dish soap or whatever
3. Dry the bike
4. Ride the bike for 5-15 minutes to warm the chain
5. Lube the chain while it is warm

That way whatever degreaser, wd40, kero, etc. you use to clean the chain is throughly washed of the chain and the bike if some spills over.

If not sure test the kero on an inconspicuous spot like carpet cleaner (always says that on the bottle).

[ceo012384]

Originally Posted by Quick281

What do you rinse with before the ride to dry the chain? I toweled down the kerosene and then rode around, but would it hurt to use water? I would assume the onset of rust could be a problem but nothing a quick towel and good ride couldn't fix. It just felt weird to wash with kero and then lube it up.

Kerosene evaporates very quickly you don't really need to wash the chain in my opinion, just wait a couple minutes and then ride it. The heat and air flow will definitely dry that shit off.

Originally Posted by Ebbs15

so will Kero hurt your paint or the powdercoat on your swing arm? it'd be nice to clean all the road grime off my bike from AK... and degreaser just doesn't seem to cut it... just wondering..

Like I said, I used kero to clean my swingarm. No problems.

Originally Posted by Mudpuppy

what i do is this:

1. Clean the chain with whatever - in this case kero
2. Wash the bike with carwash stuff or dish soap or whatever
3. Dry the bike
4. Ride the bike for 5-15 minutes to warm the chain
5. Lube the chain while it is warm

That way whatever degreaser, wd40, kero, etc. you use to clean the chain is throughly washed of the chain and the bike if some spills over.

If not sure test the kero on an inconspicuous spot like carpet cleaner (always says that on the bottle).

I was able to pick up a 'zep' brand commercial solvent spray bottle at the Depot. Looks like it will be chemically compatible as well as have a very good quality trigger/nozzle because it's meant to be used by prof. cleaners.

As far as the process you described I tend to not like to wet the chain unless the weather does it for me, and then I make sure I give it a good clean and lube. If you get little surface rust pits from the water, the lube can just lay on top of it and the rust remains.

[Mudpuppy]

i have never had an issue with washing the chain with water after cleaning it.. i always dry it when i am done though too.. funny thing though is with my normal "cleaning" method of simple green and brake cleaner before that after i washed the chain with soap and water and went to dry the chain off it would always leave tons of grease on the towel.. with the kero the towel was spotless..

so let me say kero is the way to go for sure.. excellent results.. sprayed on, grunge brush, rinsed off, towel dry, ride and lube.. done and done.. turned out kick ass.. now i am going to have to test the motul chain clean to see how it stacks up..

so how do you wash your bike if you don't get your chain wet?

[Quick281]

Looks good! Glad to see you enjoyed the same results as the rest of us.

[Mudpuppy]

thanks.. yeah i am very happy with the result.. kerosene it is..

i can't believe how dirty it was.. its a new chain less than a month old.. about 650 miles on it.. didn't ride in the rain or anything though.. it was dirty as shit..