Yamaha recommends lubricating and adjusting the chain every 300 miles. Yep. That's right. 300 miles. Based on my experience, a chain will need to be cleaned every other lube interval (although this will depend on where you ride and what kind of riding you do). That is, you should clean your chain about every 600 miles.
A word about safety, before we begin: NEVER, EVER, EVER start the bike, place it in gear and use the engine to turn the chain while you clean it. This is a recipe for disaster and could end with a trip to the emergency room to have fingers reattached. Nothing kills a motorcycle rider's desire to ride like missing fingers!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0orMnqBG8iQ <-Warning, graphic!
So all that being said, here's how I do it:
Tools:
- Diesel or Kerosene in a spray bottle
- Toothbrush (don't think about using your wife's toothbrush for this)
- Dishwashing detergent
- Chain lube
- Several sections of cardboard
I use diesel fuel to clean my chain; specifically, I use old diesel fuel that I drain out of my heater at the end of the winter. Fresh diesel fuel works better as a solvent but old fuel tends to be thicker and hang on a bit better. Either works. Kerosene works too.
Begin by isolating your chain and protecting the ground using cardboard. The goal here is to keep diesel off the driveway and especially, to keep it off your back tire. Diesel and tires don't mix and bad things happen if they do. Lay cardboard under the chain, all the way to the front sprocket and also up along the backside of the chain, between it and the wheel.
Set your spray bottle to emit a stream (not a spray) and carefully and gently squirt diesel onto the chain. Roll the chain around and apply diesel to it's length, making one full revolution of the chain. I use the master link as a reference. Let this diesel soak for a few minutes. While you're spraying, make sure diesel doesn't contact the tire or brake rotor/pads.
After the chain has soaked for a few minutes, use a toothbrush and scrub both sides of the chain and both sides of the rollers. Routinely clean the toothbrush with fresh diesel and scrub the chain through it's revolution.
Once you've scrubbed the chain thoroughly, lightly spray it again with more diesel, rotating it through a few revolutions, to rince out the gunk. Here's mine after a couple scrubings:
Finish cleaning the chain by scrubbing it with dishwashing detergent. This will remove the diesel and any remaining gunk:
Here's the cleaned chain:
Once the chain is cleaned, allow it to dry for a few hours and then apply a liberal coating of lubricant. I prefer to use Maxima's Chain Wax as it doesn't fling and doesn't attract dirt.
I like to apply the chain lube, one roller at a time, to keep it from spraying all over the wheel and tire. Apply the lube to the chain rollers, inside and outside, and to each of the o-ring areas. The intent is to lube the chain where it contacts the sprockets, and to do the same with the sprockets.
Here's the chain, as lubed:
Let the Chain Wax dry at least 15 minutes (and more like an hour) before riding, to prevent it from flinging.
Now that the chain is clean and lubed, check it's tension and adjust as necessary.
Begin by setting the tensioners to the same distance (count the threads or measure the distance from the swingarm pivot bolt to the axle bolt on each side, to set the rear wheel straight.
Once you have the rear wheel straight, turn each tensioner nut 1/2 turn, being certain to move each the same distance, until the chain has about an inch of freeplay. When you have the tension on the chain right, tighten the rear axle nut to 75 ft-lbs and then measure the distance from the pivot bolt to the axle bolt and confirm the wheel is still straight.
Finish by putting a light torque on each tensioner and tightening it's locknut. The light torque will keep the tensioner nut from backing off and the tensioner endplate from lodging itself in the rear sprocket nut (don't ask me how I know this can happen
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