Weather and commitments have kept me off the bike for much longer than I ever anticipated. Salt covered roads will keep me off until the next really good rain and the appearance of a large number of pot holes promises to make that first return ride interesting.
I have a couple of winter maintenance / mods to do and while I am at it I want to give my chain a good cleaning. Since I learned so much in a relatively brief thread about leaving the petcock set to on (don't do it) I thought I would ask about lubricating a chain.
I had read that chain lubrication is best done after a ride. I am wondering about the method to that madness. I'll probably clean and lubricate my chain without having ridden the bike and wonder if that would be wrong or merely a violation of best practice.
Alabusa Senior Member
254 Posts
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
USA Suzuki
Extreme
Posted - 02/16/2013 : 11:35 PM
No Sir, there is nothing wrong with doing it "cold". It is easier to clean a warm, just been ridden, chain than a cold one.
JanK Junior Member
91 Posts
Ljubljana, Ljubljana
Slovenia BMW
R1200R
Posted - 02/17/2013 : 6:52 AM
From what I've heard the main reason for lubing a warm chain is that the oil is less viscous at higher temperatures, thus more of it will penetrate the spaces between links and less will remain on the surface, to be flung out when you first ride.
Chain Lubrication
Moderator
Posted - 02/16/2013 : 10:07 PM
