Chain lube

[the Ferret]

When I got my 14 DLX I was determined not to "over lube" the chain. As a matter of fact I started out just spraying chain lube on a rag, wrapping the rag around the chain on the bottom track and rolling the wheel by hand to get a light film of lube on the chain. That lasted probably 8 or 10,000 miles before I got lazy and poured the chain lube on with a spray nozzle..both inside interface and outside interface. Now it's a greasy mess along with my hub, rim etc lol

Old habits are hard to break even if you know better lol

I have put more than 38,000mi on a '05 VFR chain without ever having to adjust it, let alone replace it. The stock sprockets and chain both look clean and new. The darn thing may last forever. The secret? Every 500mi it gets cleaned and lube as the manual specifies.

I clean the chain with Honda chain cleaner (or brake & contact cleaner) until it looks completely clean. This done on the center stand, doing about 12 links at a time, spraying lightly and wiping, then rotating the wheel by hand. I place the cleaning rag I'm using behind the chain so the cleaner doesn't overspray.

Once clean, I put the bike in first and let it idle to spin the rear wheel (make darn sure it's not going to touch the ground while spinning before trying this). I lightly spray on Honda chain lube on the links & o-rings while holding an old cereal box or piece of cardboard behind the chain to catch overspray. It takes only a few revolutions to get enough on.

A can of lube lasts virtually forever. The cleaner is good for about a dozen sessions.

I've only got 2,000mi on the CB1100 but I suspect the results will be the same over time.

Joe, that's incredible. Can you remove the rear wheel on the VFR for a rear tire change without removing the chain from the rear sprocket? My chain on my CB gets re-adjusted when the wheel is removed for a new rear tire, but hasn't required any adjustments between tire changes that I can remember. These new chains are simply amazing.