rusty chain

I see the archived general advice for any hint of rust on yer chain is
*replace it!* But I thought I'd open the question again for fresh opinion.

I'm sure there are lots of people in my situation, having ridden in the
grimy salt over the winter, without indoors storage, and failing to wash
the bike down thoroughly after every trip. My chain *looks* horrible,
with a lot of rust on it. But I think it may be just surface rust on
the outsides of the links. I'm always totally anal about lubing the
chain after 350 miles, and I've been doing that more regularly over winter.

On the other hand, the thought of the chain breaking fills me with
horror. What's your take?

The bike's done 15,500 in the last 2.5-3 years. How long do
well-maintained chains last?

cheers
Biz

 

Really? How strange.

Good - any excuse for a 'what to oil your chain with' thread.

No indoor storage? You need uk.rec.motorcycles.pikeys

Depends on the bike & how you ride it. Chains on my Tiger last well
over 30k miles with zero maintenance other than refilling the
Scottoiler every few thousand miles. If you ride year-round a
Scottoiler is the only sensible answer - or a shaftie.

If I were you I'd give the sideplates a poke with a bit of emery. If it
is just surface rust, don't worry about it.

 

Did I put "anal" and "lubing" in the same sentence??

 

IME about 15,500 miles.................

 

Scottoilers do look like a good investment. I'll probably invest in one
when I upgrade this year.

Yep - seems like a plan. When I free off the rear drum so it'll spin
smoothly, I'll be able to check how free the chain is...

 

Andy Wegg wrote

I have slightly more experience about the anal bit and loads less with
regard to chains "letting go".

I'd say check the chain for obvious mal adjustments and nasty bits. If
there is nothing then get out riding while the sun still shines.

 

Andy Wegg wrote

That must piss Cane right off, knowing he has a rival.

 

What happens? Is it as exciting as everyone tells me? I knew a guy a
looong time ago who had an MZ. The chain managed to entangle itself in
the back wheel somehow. But then he was used to a bit of excitement on
that bike.

Aye there is that. Now the salt's clearing, and spring's on its way
it's looking good.

Biz

 

I love autmoatic oilers. I hate oiling chains.
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 2.0 TS (Badly bent)
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

Mine's done 29k, with the odd spray of lube, when I felt guilty (not often).
I decided to put a snotoiler on at the last service. Despite growing to
dislike them a few years ago, I decided to give them another shot... ok, so
far.
--

Cheers!
Fr Jack
96 Tiger.
FRJACKUKRM AT GMAIL DOT COM
skype: fr.jack (without the dot)

 

Are any of the links stiff or "frozen"?

Look along the bottom run for any kinks in what should be a smooth shallow
curve, as you slowly turn the wheel.

If all's well then the rust is just cosmetic, if not then it's time to
exercise the plastic.

 

Biz wrote

How the **** would I know, it has never happened to me? The nearest I
have come to it is a belt going on my 305 and that just sort of unwound
itself and laid down in the road as I entered the Cruise Phase.

Much underrated machines are MZs. Any self respecting hooligan ought to
have a story associated with one.

 

It's only happened to me once, and all that happened was a bang and no
power. It did knock a small chunk off the LH engine cover.

Damage can vary from almost nothing as in my case to broken clutch
pushrods and even wrecked engine casings. The remains could also fly
off the back sprocket at speed.

Another test you can do is try to pull the links away from the back
sprocket at the rearmost point of the sprocket. Try this a several
points by turning the wheel - chains rarely wear evenly. If you can
lift it more than about half a tooth's height then it's knackered.

 

Bollocks.

 

Biz says...

Scottoiler

HTH

 

Do they have good lube properties?

Excellent! Be glad to try it some time.

Biz

 

I actually like sorting my drive-chain out. I find the bike's a little
more smooth and quieter.

 

Biz says...

With an automatic oiler it never gets rough or noisy.

 

*ding*

And neither do *I*.
<fx: flounces off with soft clean hands>
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 2.0 TS (Badly bent) 155 TS
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

MZ chains are fully enclosed and don't suffer the same levels of wear and
exposure to the elements as other bikes which is a *very* good thing.

The problem this brings is dim people don't realise it still needs the
very occasional bit of adjustment and lubrication.

Also worth bearing in mind is if you turn the rear wheel with the chain
in situ but with the spring link removed it backs up and breaks the
casing.