From another thread:
the factory lube is between the solid pins and the hollow pins.... This is sealed in by the o rings. There is also factory lube between the rollers and the outside of the hollow pins....this is not sealed in by anything and needs relube when you lube the chain. Also the side plates to prevent rust. Harsh solvents like brake cleaner wash lube out from under the rollers where it is hard to get lube back in because side play of the roller is small....and washes lube off the orings and can wash lube out from between the o ring and side plates which is almost impossible to get lube back in between there cause the rings flatten out....then the orings wear against the side plates. So lube the side plates for rust, the area between where the orings are, the rollers and at the edges of the rollers so that some of it can get somewhat under the rollers.
(12-04-2013, 01:19 AM)Deanohh_imp Wrote: [ -> ]From another thread:
the factory lube is between the solid pins and the hollow pins.... This is sealed in by the o rings. There is also factory lube between the rollers and the outside of the hollow pins....this is not sealed in by anything and needs relube when you lube the chain. Also the side plates to prevent rust. Harsh solvents like brake cleaner wash lube out from under the rollers where it is hard to get lube back in because side play of the roller is small....and washes lube off the orings and can wash lube out from between the o ring and side plates which is almost impossible to get lube back in between there cause the rings flatten out....then the orings wear against the side plates. So lube the side plates for rust, the area between where the orings are, the rollers and at the edges of the rollers so that some of it can get somewhat under the rollers.
That's correct. O-rings did not eliminate the need to lube a chain. They just sealed in lube where it is harder to get to. The bonus is that you don't have to drench the chain with a heavy, sticky lube anymore (which also helps keep it clean).
I shoot a bit of silicone/teflon lube (which doesn't attract much dirt) every few weeks and it works for me. My last 3 o-ring chains made it to the mid 20K mi. range. Optimally, you want to direct the lube onto the right and left edge of the rollers for proper coverage of the spots that don't have sealed lubrication.
Anytime metal meets metal you need lubrication. Yes these chains are lubed but the sprockets that they run on are not, therefore the chain needs lubrication. I do agree some of these chain lubes attract dirt and can do more harm than good if not maintained properly. I use DuPont Teflon Chain Saver which does not attract dirt. I have not cleaned my chain and I'm at 2700 miles. I set trip B for chain maintenance and lube every 400-500 miles, you can hear how quiet the chain gets after lube which means less wear.
Ah! I use the same DuPont lube on my dirt bike (I succumbed to the dark side and bought chain lube for the two CB's) on the advice from riders over on Thumper Talk. About 2500 hard earned miles on the 650L and the chain is just fine so way too early to have an opinion one way or the other. I've had to dial back my dirt riding so I bet the chain will out live me now, but dust embedded in lube makes for a nice abrasive.
I tell friends about the sprockets needing lube at the sprocket chain interface so I suffered a major brain fart on this topic here.
Thanks for the reminder.
(12-04-2013, 10:06 PM)CIP57_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Anytime metal meets metal you need lubrication. Yes these chains are lubed but the sprockets that they run on are not, therefore the chain needs lubrication. I do agree some of these chain lubes attract dirt and can do more harm than good if not maintained properly. I use DuPont Teflon Chain Saver which does not attract dirt. I have not cleaned my chain and I'm at 2700 miles. I set trip B for chain maintenance and lube every 400-500 miles, you can hear how quiet the chain gets after lube which means less wear.
Agree. Was going to mention this myself. I hope everyone is also checking their sprockets when they clean/lube their chains.
I actually use Honda's chain lube. It doesn't fling, and it doesn't attract much dirt (any kind of lubricant is going to attract some amount of dirt).
I use Gear oil as per the manual. Yeah I'm boring but I've experimented with everything, including wd40 and find gear oil is cheap and effective. At the end of the day as long as you're doing something it's probably better than doing nothing. Nothing wrong with a scottoiler either!