My Motorcycle's Chain Keeps Rusting- Let's Fix It 

Am I the only one who think that the old blue and orange logo was much better than this one?

Throwback to FortNine's video on chain lubricants - I found the Maxima Chain Wax to be the best at preventing chain rust, and this was one of his findings in his video as well. Cleaning the chain well is one thing, but a lubricant suited to your environment is another. I live in a rainy city near the ocean, and find it suits me well here. Others in dryer climates may benefit from other products. Maybe you will have better luck trying a few chain lubes out!

I live in a tropical country with an average rainfall of about 3000mm(in my region) and have my bike parked outside but I've almost never had rusty chains. I use WD-40 to clean the chain once a month and then lube it with ep90 gear oil it's cheap and works so well! Maybe you should try gear oil on your bike's chain for some time and see if it improves the rust situation.

2:00 you should put some cardboard behind the chain to cover tire, a bit of that lube oil gonna be on rear tire, can be slippery easy... Like the video otherwise... Ride safe ✌️

Never water blast your chain. Clean chain about twice a year with Kero. I use heavy duty gearbox oil. In garage, no rust.

I religiously lube my chain almost every week I use a dry chain lube with PTFE 2 years of ownership, there is no rust spot, and my chain still looks brand new Though the cans of chain lube I consumed, I could have bought 3 sets of chains lol but where's the fun in that

Use gear oil after cleaning. You will be amazed.

I've tried multiple chain lubes to stop rusting, and for me I find that giving the chain a quick once over after a ride with GT85 on a rag is working the best for stopping rust, 14000 miles and 6 years old and the chain still looks brand new

According to Kawasaki user manual, chain should be cleaned with kerosene (I use a microfiber rag), then oiled with 10W40 transmission oil (here another rag for thoroughly coating it). Takes a bit of time, but it's inexpensive and probably the most effective. I honestly cringe at all the sparkling fancy chain cleaner and lube, and the brush you showed is really good at spraying dirt around but less so in cleaning. My bike sits outside, we have a lot less rain, but I left the chain unattended for months. Recently I saw it rusty and cleaned it as explained, came out as shiny as before. Everyone, stop wasting money on the most expensive/marketed stuff, cleaning a piece of metal is no rocket science.

You should have just asked Chatgpt for more ideas.. - Use a toothbrush and toothpaste to scrub away the rust from your motorcycle chain. This will also leave your chain minty fresh and cavity-free. - Soak your chain in a bucket of cola overnight. The acid in the cola will dissolve the rust and give your chain a nice caramel color. Bonus: you can drink the leftover cola for a caffeine boost. - Spray WD-40 on your chain and then light it on fire. The flames will burn off the rust and leave your chain shiny and smooth. Warning: do not try this at home or near flammable objects. - Rub a banana peel on your chain. The potassium in the banana peel will react with the rust and loosen it from the metal. Plus, you can eat the banana for a healthy snack. - Wrap your chain in aluminum foil and then microwave it for 10 minutes. The foil will create an electric current that will zap away the rust. Caution: this may damage your microwave and cause sparks or explosions.

Gearbox oil painted onto the chain... yes it's high fling, and needs toping back up regularly, but works wonders. Alternatively a properly set up scotoiller system. If ur riding regularly enough the coating will stay topped up and the moisture will stay away.

My 09 also sits outside under a cover and I recently switched to gear oil on the chain which kept the rust off even with all that rain we had. Brits love that shiyt on their chains. I use a small paint brush to get the whole chain coated well in a thin layer of oil.

get a D.I.D Gold Chain or an RK Gold Chain next time. It has a plating that doesn't allow build rust up easily

Using kerosene to clean chain & both sprockets and gear oil to lube is my way to go....

Hey man, you never use WD40 on an Oring chain as it will seep behind the rubber Orings & make the inner grease turn to liquid which will seep back out of the Orings. I recently sold my 2016 MT07 & after 8 years of continued use my chain remained practical like new! How I managed that, considering I never wiped, brushed, sprayed or cleaned it, was by fitting a Vacuum Scotoiler system to the bike. These things work brilliantly, but they are expensive these days. So my new bike is going to be fitted with a Nero 2 manual chain oiler which works in the exact same way, but they make less mess to the rear wheel & they are much cheaper to buy. I'll still use the Scotoiler oil in the Nero 2 as that's what kept my MT07 chain in perfect condition for the 8 years I had it, from new!

Take your chain off. Get 16oz of gasoline. Mix 4oz of grease into gasoline. Put chain in gas/grease mix. Remove chain after 5 minutes. Let dry the repeat 3 times. Install chain on bike. Job done, o-rings will be just fine.

As I understand bike covers make things worse. A steam cloud formed under it after any rain and all metal parts get rusted much faster because of it. It's like my personal experience. After a month of staying outside under bike cover my chain rusted very heavily. It's actually good for dry climate or for a garage storage. It prevents all the dust for covering your bike. But outside will not cover my bike with anything any more 🙅‍♂

My *R7* chain is exactly the same after 1,800 miles from new. I’ve upgraded to. DID chain now ⛓️

I have a recommendation for people with the same problem, use lube from Motul the c4 factory line because it leaves a layer that is sticky that keeps away dirt and water( don't be afraid to use a good amount, obviously don't use too much but aply a decent layer don't be cheap with it )+ if you have the possibility to buy a new chain or when you are forced to buy a new one get a brass plated one because brass doesn't rust . Hope it helps

80 90 gear oil

another EXCELLENT VIDEO.! I am watching from Canada We have Winter for 6 months a year, I take my whole chain off and keep it in a pale of oil I put a length-wise cut rubber hose over the exposed chain to help protect from the rain

Coca cola eats rust, not sure about the rings...

i just took some WD40 and a standard chain brush to it and had a completely rust ridden chain look brand new in like 10minutes

My bike lives outside too. Use gear oil instead of chain spray... Get an oiler, even small plastic flasks with a nozzle will do. One drop per link every 300kms on the MT-09 (or install a chain oiler). Less grime, little to zero rust, less chain noise.

So I know you are a huge Harley fan ... but I clean my HD's belt with a squirt of water when I wash her :P

If you keep the chain covered in dirt and grime and grease the chain won't get a chance to go rusty.

If you leave your bike in rain, you need to lube every week. Rust is just oxidation. Lube prevents oxidation. Lube is like paint, a barrier. Water is a sovent. Lube is the rain coat.

Use gear oil after cleaning it every week in Two weeks you’ll see the difference

Always apply a coat of ACF-50 before lube, no more rust.

My bike is 10 years old guess what I use ? Engine oil everytime it gets dry never rusted

Use gear oil for lubrifiant for the chain

The problem is purely cosmetic. After cleaning and rust removal, you need to add new rust protection as the original one is worn off. Oil don't last long. Etch primer and a layer of paint might last a bit longer. Other rust treatments could also work. It might be both cheaper and easier to just replace the chain though 😊

Here in India I use Diesel and it cleans up the rust pretty nicely. Plus the motul c2 is not recommended for monsoon and tropical weather i once read the label on the back. Motul if I am not wrong recommend c3 for that. I personally use gear oil to lube and it always works.

Diesel is the solution and very safe in the o-ring chain.

Thank you so much for this honest video. Much more helpful than these videos of people cleaning an already clean chain!!!

5:02 needs to be wd40 rust removal version

I suspect you need a different chain lube. One of the main purposes of that is to prevent rust and even if your bike is outside it should do a better job than that.

Welcome from Ireland.Clean it once a week and oil it twice(once after cleaning),and the rivets still rust🤣.Rockoil or Liquimoly is heavier/stickier and work a lot better in the rain then the Motul stuff.I wipe it on the side with an oily rag(instead of spraying the side)so it doesn't piss on the back wheel/swingarm/f*ckin everywhere👌.Then dry for the night.It didn't look too bad(after cleaning),remember what people rode in the Uk(Ireland the same)🤣👍

Wet chain lube, designed for wet weather

steel wool is fine but use Autosol instead of WD-40

There is a rust remover called Break Free that works like magic. I use it on my tools, and it melts all the rust away instantly.

How is it possible to clean a chain that many times and still have a dirty sprocket? (it never ends).

Used gear oil and a weekly wipe down with WD40 for years, the spray on lubricants in a can are a waste of money, they also attract a lot of dirt. You don’t need a lot of oil or lubricants with modern chains unless you enjoy cleaning wheels and tyres😉

I have a lot of experience for rain riding and parking a bike outside without a cover. My advice is to use a thick oil. I personally use gear oil but there are other options that are cleaner.

Dont they make stainless chains?

Lube the damn thing and it will not rust.

I've found that white lithium grease spray works great as a chain lube over longer periods. It seems to be closer to the lubricant that comes on the chain originally but cleanup requires some extra work.

try some water based rust converter

Hilarious 😂 bro great Job u got me laughing and that's hard 😭😭😭

A brass wire wheel on an angle grinder would clean the sides of this chain up real quick and at least makes the whole surface more uniform!

Vinegar works like a charm.

Might be crazy but hear me out - what if you brush on some rust converter? might not look the best, but then again, dark-blue spots look better than rusty brown, no?

I have used gearbox oil for over 40 years, and never had a problem!

I cant belive hes washing the chain with a hose and pressure washer and keeps his head scrathing why it rusts. We never touch out bikes with anything other than kerosine to clean it and a chain lube to lube it. You can also pust some 80 or 90W oil on a rag and squeeze a rag over the chain to protect it. If you look up in the official manual of the motorcycle it says to coat the chain with a light coat of heavy weight oil like 90W . We use spray cans , because its easy and it does not fling arround as much.. And stop washing your bike with a pressure washer. geesh.

In the user manual that came with my motorcycle, it says to lubricate the chain with 80w90 oil ... once my chain picked up a little rust and since I lubricated it with the oil and stopped using sprays, the rust has never appeared again.

Arnt u washing it to often?

it wouldnt rust if you keep it oiled save you on buying new chains and sprockets to and alot of gas

I used a dremel with a little wire brush attachment. No more rust!

Once the anti rust coating is damaged, there is nothing you can do anymore. The only way is to add the coating back which means new chain. You can try some darker color chain grease like Maxima Chain Wax which will hide the rust a bit better. Ultimately, if your bike sits outside, I would make sure you coat the whole chain in chain grease, not just the rollers.

The mt09 rust alooooooot

In the Winter I'd oiled my chain but today it was really rusty again. Just a few rides out, the UK roads get filthy with mud, salt grit and slush. Found some gear oil, gave it a good oiling and rubbed all sides with a toothbrush.

Green scourer also works instead of wire wool. I've been lubricating my chain with gear oil and that works fine. But for that much rain, perhaps a chain wax would be better at stopping the water from contacting the metal.

All 3 of my bikes live outside and I have learnt that to prevent rust I apply a thin coating of ACF50 after washing and drying the chain. Then apply chain wax/lube to it like normal. The ACF50 won't damage the O rings but it will prevent rust. I apply ACF50 to my shocks and other bare metal components and they look brand new even after years.

Phosphoric acid? Used the first method: the brush to get the bulk off and chemically neutralise the remainder. Problem solved.

I have never had a chain rust in 40 years of daily street riding; street long distance touring (weeks at a time) where is would be parked outside at a hotel, motel over night rain or dry; off-road riding and racing motorcycles. Motorcycle manufacturers have been stating in their manuals for 40 years to use kerosene as a chain cleaner (which is what commercial spray chain cleaners are with a scent modifier added). Kerosene cleans, lubes and is safe on O & X rings. If the chain is dry and not full of mud a dry spray teflon type lube will protect the chain from water and thus rust; and will not attract dirt, road grim,...nor fling off. I know many off-road riders, myself included that use this as our lube for off-road bikes as the sticky lubes just turn into a grindng compound with the accumulated dirt, sand,...and add to wearing the chain and sprockets. Remember the rust you see on the outside of the outer plate is only a % of the rust on the chain when you consider the inner side of that plate & the other plate (with 2 sides) on the other side of the chain. After a ride I will dry the chain with a rag or let the bike idle in gear for a minute or so with the rear wheel off the ground so centrifugal force of the wheel and chain going in their circles drives out the water and moisture. Then I immediately apply some sort of coating, a spray lube or gear oil.

Scotch brite works a treat

hehe... I am in the EXACT same situation and have been defeated left and right by Rusty but..... we'll keep on fighting.... 🙂

MINES REALLY BAD..... Regrettably the guy id bought it from left it like that......

Use evaporust

Good video but I'd recommend better shampoo first for whole bike eg. Bilt Lambert. Then decent cleaner - kerosene. No need for WD-40 which just gets in everywhere and does not allow chain lube to stay. Bilt Lambert does some wicked rust removers too and I think product called Surfex HD for stubborn dirt wash. Last but not least - ACF50 for whole bike rust protection.

Why don't they make them out of stainless steel?

I've lived in FL and now live in Dallas, so the weather here should be comparable. My bikes have lived inside and outside of garages. To avoid your chain rusting simply use chain cleaner (I use Motul) and the same plastic brush you had in the video (or use one that looks like a ring, I can't remember what it's called but they sell it @Revzilla here in the US), use it every time you're going to lube the chain, I clean and lube my chain every other wash, and apply some lube after (I use the same Motul you have, but the Honda stuff is also very good).

WD40 on the chain should be fine. But in the way how you sprayed it on your chain at 4:48 your brake disk also caught a fair bit of WD40. Did you notice a performance difference in your rear brake?

Try petrol in a pressure spray bottle. Use alot of at it at first to soak the chain from all angels. Then use the regular plastic chain brush. Go multiple rounds and add petrol every while and then. Try not introduce water after that step. If you have to, then spray petrol all over the chain after drying it from water.... Take a towl and dry the chain from petrol as possible then use chain lube at the end. This method work well for me.

I used a rotary wire brush in power drill. Gets it super clean and shiny. You could also wipe on some rust converter (if you want to). Just use a nice white lithium lube; and ride it like you stole it (safely) !!!. Enjoy.

Man I just love the information and story-telling of this channel. You can make a relatively small topic fun, and interesting to watch!

Since all your bikes get the same treatment, more than likely, the material that your chain is made of is poor quality. Take the chain off and clean it well then soak it in rust remover or 50/50 vinegar & water for a few days (it will NOT hurt the O-rings in the chain). Then clean and dry. Then before reinstall, coat it well with chain WAX, not any oil. Your 2 problem chains will require more frequent cleaning and waxing. Our you could just spring for a new, good chain and avoid all that extra effort.

Jfc… protect your tire and your rim.. my god 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

Only ever cleaned a chain once, it was a filthy operation. So I just keep it well lubed with Motul and I get about 30-35,000 k's out of a chain.

Step 1: get a dedicated chain cleaner Step 2: brush affected chain Step 3: lube chain Step 4: ride your damn bike and stop worrying about unimportant surface rust! Step 5: get a gold plated chain next time

Not a bad video but the conclusion is kind of missing as you haven't solved or really done anything about your particular issue which is rust forming on your chain due to the bike living outside. As rust can form on your chain almost over night after rain you will never stay on top of it with the removal approach. Prevention is key here and this is where Most videos I have watched fail... including F9's. Lubes do just that, they lubricate. What we are looking for is corrosion protection, especially on the most visible parts of the chain. So I clean my chain, I very lightly lube my chain but only from the top... I then soak a microfibre cloth with some ACF (XCP works too) and with that wet cloth I gently grasp the sides of the chain between my fingers and spin the wheel to run the chain through. Seems to work better than anything else I've tried and my bike lives under a cover outside in London.

I`ve been through multiple brands of chain lube, all of which i find rubbish and dirty. Midas 80W90 HP gearbox oil and an old toothbrush. Lube every 2nd tank of petrol and i`ve only replaced my first chain after 53K km on me trustworthy 2012 NC 700 X.

Don't waste your time and money on expensive chain cleaners and lubricants. I know a simple, cheap and fast way. What you need: 1: toothbrush. 2: oil gear. 3: ACF-50. 4: rag. 5: Use gear oil to clean and lubricate the chain at the same time. 6: wipe the chain with a rag. 7: take ACF-50 and spray on a new clean rag, wipe only the sides of the chain. For the best results the chain should be warm.

You just dus everything to destroy a chain and then wonder why yr chain is messed up. You use motul lube, why not use motul chain cleaner? And then, this is crucial, DO NOT RINSE WITH WATER! Just spray with motul C1, let it sit for 5 minuten, clean with chain brush, wipe it down good with a rag, and lube it with motul c2 or c2+.

Clean your chain with GT85 and a chain brush, (plastic) Then put ACF 50 on the chain and rub it in. Then, use a chain lube. I would recommend on your bike castrol sports bike lube. ( less fling) The ACF 50 will remove some rust and also prevent more long term. The Chain lube locks all of the ACF50 underneath. This formula has worked for me for 10yrs.. plus don't use chain cleaners or wire brushes. Chain cleaner can remove to much, cleaning with GT 85 will not only clean the chain, but it gets into all the areas you can't see.

700 Milles old chain and I have exactly the same problem:(

My dirtbike chain was rusting a lot. I was using all sorts of moto rust preventing chain lubes and some did make a difference, but not by much. Only after I saw in an old italian TE510 workshop manual that Husqvarna recommend SAE 75 (* any gear oil would work) and tried that. No rust since then

I use 80w90 gear oil. very affordable and not wash-off if I ride in the rain (I live in malaysia, we get raining atleast once a week). different with motorcycle oil. motorcycle oil get wash-off in the rain, even you just parked your motorcycle. i has been tried before. my chain get rusty. before this, my chain plate like zig zag (maybe o-ring stuck or too dry. i use white lithium grease and normal chainlube bought from hardware store before). I clean the chain then apply gear oil every 50km. now my chain look good, no more zig zag chain plate. now I just need to lube my chain every 500km but before I lube my chain, I clean my chain from old lube with kitchen towel or old rags. very easy to clean compared if I use chainlube. every 2000km, I clean my chain with kerosene and soap before rinse with water.

Since I bought a shaft drive motorcycle, I don't think I'll ever buy a chain drive again! Just the fact that I can finally have white wall tires, not to mention the lack of maintenance required, is enough to outweigh the power it eats away.

I use engine degreaser to clean the chain. Works wonders.

I just never clean the chain on my Moto Guzzi V7, perhaps you are just cleaning it too much. I had a mate who religiously, every month, took off the chain from his Laverda 1000, and boiled in in a tin of Duckhams Chain oil. Yes, this is what we used to do in the 1970’s and 1990’s. Duck-hams sold a large round tin, like a Danish Cookie tin, in which you placed your rolled into a coil chain into the muck and put it on the stove. After about 15 minutes of gentle simmering it was ready to take out, hang from a height and let it cool down. Then of course while it was cooling , other essential maintenance chores were done, like greasing the swing arm, oiling control cables, checking tyre pressures, checking wheel bearing play, etc. yes, this was really what it was like in the recent past. Then somebody invented O-ring chains and we believed their hype and stopped doing maintenance. Now we have rusty chains. It’s a shame as this monthly ritual usually involved mates and beer, another social experience gone.

Just Yamaha stock chains being crap, get a pair of DID ZVMXs or Tsubaki XRGs and you're sorted, zinc plating will prevent almost all rust.

Use autoglym metal polish with GM 3000 grit sponge sandpaper to get rid of the stain after the wire wool and WD-40 and it will be back to new again.

Muchos Gracias for this here video, i genuinely needed it😅

Does a regular iron remover for cars help to these problem? Usually used to remover rust particles that comes from breaking.

Bro… I sent my bike to $30 bike spa and they cleaned my chain using diesel (claimed hard on rust, gentle on rubber) and some nylon bristle 2” paintbrush… looks exactly like your final condition after WD-40 + steel wool

Washing bikes… highly overrated haha. Seriously, though, my bikes all live outside under covers-and I hardly ever wash them. I do avoid riding on salted roads. I have found brushing gear lube on with a toothbrush to be a very quick and effective way to keep the chain rust from getting out of hand. If I forget to wipe it on the next ride after oiling it, it’s a bit of a mess, but I really don’t care. I hate spray lube because it ends up on everything eventually. Brushing on gear oil is very clean and quick. Most of the time I don’t have to clean the chain, just wipe it off and re-oil. 5 minutes-maybe. But I do have to re-oil very often. And some rust is inevitable. Maybe try a Scott oiler if they’re still around. Just applied Motul chain paste on one of the bikes today as a test. Fortunately, I’m not in a dusty area. I’m sure it’s going to turn grey/ black eventually-I really don’t like the white chain look. But, I bought it, so I’m going to use the whole tube, which should give me a nice, long time to review it.

More videos please. Less time in between each video. I love your editing, the best in moto RU-vid world and it's getting better! But I'd swap it for more content😮

Therapy classes are available mate, mechanical aptitude lacking,, buy new chain mate simple, when rusty chain snaps and takes out motor casting or your leg,spend afew bucks and keep your motor c lean,that my boy is how we roll

WD 40 is not an oil, it vaporises like e.g gas or diesel. What is the steel wool made of? Steel. What happens when you scrubb your chain? You‘re rubbing of little tiny steel particels from that wool, pushing them into all the small dents of your chain. In a nutshell: you get nice results at first, but you‘re setting the scene for getting back to start (or worse) even quicker than before.