STOP! Clean Your Motorcycles Chain 

Great video. At 5:11 i recommend you that when doing that is safer to turn the wheel in the opposite direction, so if your cloth catches on the chain it does not drag your hands into the sprocket.

I’d spin the wheel the opposite direction. I was doing the exact process as you and the rag got caught in the sprocket, pulling the tip of my pointer finger between the chain and sprocket. The point of the sprocket went through the fingernail, all the way through the other side. Sounds like cracking a walnut when it breaks through the nail. I’ve cleaned it 100 X’s, but this one time got me. Just hoping to save someone from learning the hard/painful way.

My motorcycle is shaft driven. BUT... If I had a chain, this video definitely inspired me to clean it. You have great content Chaos. Keep them coming I can't wait for the next video.

130kms daily and i clean them every 3 days or so. I totally agree chain maintenance is of significant importance

Kerosene is all you need for cleaning, everything else doesn't compare when it comes to cost performance. Was going to mention spinning the wheel the opposite way when rag cleaning, but I think everyone noticed that.

first oil change and chain cleaning done. so excited for riding

Thank you for your time in making these videos. I am a new rider & you have taught me so much in a matter of minutes. I appreciate you and you have a long time subscriber 🫶🏽

After a good cleanup of the chain and a generous coat of chain lube, the motorcycle always feels fresh. It runs freely, you can feel how relaxed the chain is on your throttle and clutch lever.

Well produced and informative video thanks

I have a bike with a belt now, but I actually miss having a chain to clean. I found it was very calming and pleasing to clean it and maintain it.

Thank you bro, merry Christmas 🎄

Cleaned mine about 2 months ago, but I suggest putting a piece of cordboard between chain and wheel when spraying the chain cleaner and chain lube...saves a lot of time having to wipe off the grime that ends up on your rear wheel and rim. Also I rotate tire backwards so that I don't jam anything in the rear sprocket. Motul is great stuff... I've been using it for years without any issues.

Great and interesting Video. Thankfully i got the M Endurance Chain on my S1000RR that is known to be Maintenance Free like all Regina Chains that are also compatible with other Bikes. It is maintenance free because it is coated with Ta-C (Industrial Diamond).

Awesome Video CC! I've had my bike for 6 months and have just been lubing it once every 2 weeks or so, but now that i've watch your video i think i will get some Muck Off chain cleaner as i use all their other products such as disc brake cleaner. I try to only ride the bike in dry weather if I can after learning that riding a sports bike in heavy rain at night, on country roads is a very very bad idea - the bike will be 100% caked in road shite, inside and out, when you wake up the next morning. At the moment I'm going to just have to push the bike up and down the drive to access the chain.

What a coincidence, I literally just finished cleaning/lubing my chain during a wash and 2 months ago I did the full cover removal to clean out the 5kilos of grime from under it. Great video btw!

I have that chain cleaner. It works really well!

Thanks for keeping us informed. 😃👍

This is guy is so great! I thought that he would have much more subscribers 😅

Well done man. Saw you at Hartebeespoortdam today!

Great video, try CleandisC chainguard to avoid lube on the wheel

Well done and informative, thank you. And i like 360‘ too👍

If you don't have paddock stand : *Tight down your front brakes so that they a breaking hard and make the bike immovable. *Put the bike in side stand *Take a correct length piece of strong wood and lift the back wheel by placing it between the right axial and ground. It works

Well actually last couple of days it was -12°C where I'm living so today I did front pads, rear pads and disc and I cleaned my sprockets, sprocket cover and my chain and holy smoke what a difference it makes. Starting from monday I will do oil change along with my filter, air filter, Spark plug and brake fluid cause I didn't have time before christmas dinner. Awesome vid can't wait for the next one 🔥

Great advice awesome vid bro.

5:40 Yes, spray the oil on the tires and the rims.

I am going to clean my chain now🧐......THX to Chaos!

I use my old biodegradable air cleaner solution. Works great

i use total use an oil lubricator drips oil onto the chain when the rear final drive cog rotates. Keeps the chain nice and clean, only need adjusting every 8000 miles.

Nice work! 🤘

This was so helpful. Going to my garage to clean my chain rigth away XD

Fully cleaned, lubed and adjusted my chain today. Every time i adjust, i clean and lube too😌

Nice one mate. 🇬🇧👍👍👍😂👍. Always put this off but afterwards you can see and feel the difference

My Duke 390 is due for service a few days from now.. Will have the chain cleaned and lubed

When wiping the chain (free floating part) with a rag, I really recommend spinning the wheel backwards (opposite to what you did). Just incase something snags on the chain your fingers don't follow and go "squish" between the chain and sproket. That would be a really bad injury.

Nice job

Gr8 vid. Ride safe, god bless u.

I recently got a brand spanking new 2022 Tracer7 (also first bike ever), the dealer told me not to do anything on the chain before its 1000km service, my chain looks all gunked up and as a detailer it is very hard to resist the urge to clean it, not having a paddockstand helps a bit but seeing this vid i'm considering to do the driveway-walk to get it clean(er). Definitely gonna save the vid and subscribe offcourse.

I feel a lot better seeing that after an hour there's still a tiny bit of rust. I just got my first bike a few months ago and the lube that came on it lasted long enough that I forgot chain maintenance was a thing. Before i knew it my chain was starting to rust so i grabbed what i had(silicone oil) and sprayed it, 2 days later it was rusting again. Turns out silicone oil is about the worst chain lube out there. I ordered some real lube and cleaner and after about 20 minutes of scrubbing there is still a little rust but its not spreading anymore yay. Next time i go to the store I'm gonna buy some steel wool and other mild abrasives to get the rest of the rust off.

I would recommend cleaning it every 500km instead of 6 months. 6 months is a major difference between commuter and weekend warrior mileage. Also, kerosene referred to locally is Paraffin and does a great job and is even recommended over chain cleaners by the chain manufacturers. Just wash with warm soapy water afterwards. Lastly, when lubing the chain, it helps to wedge a cardboard between the wheel and chain so your lube doesn't end up on the wheel and then let your bike sit for about 2 or more hours to minimise the amount of lube flung onto your rear wheel

Amazing bro perfect💙🎉

Vidéo motivated me to buy another KTM Duke 390 after selling mine.

There is a product called "Bike Lift" in Turkey, it realliy helps when you dont have a paddock stand and its small and very easy to use. It would be very helpfull if you could get your hands on it. Very nice videos by the way, keep up the good work. You are one of the few bike content creator who makes quality videos.

I have a Tutoro oiler on my chain, keeps it wet with chain oil, so no wax build up. you adjust it so that it isn't wet to point of flicking oil on wheels etc. Tutoro kit is quite pricey, I would opt for a Loobman Chain oiler kit on next bike at fraction of the cost. Other bonus is chain looks constantly clean.

Complete clean, including front sprocket gunk removal, every 2-3 weeks. It drives me crazy to see bikes that have stuck on grime and a matte finish chain. Might be an unpopular opinion but if a chain is neglected, so is the rest of the maintenance...and that says a lot about the owner.

i am a week away from part exchanging my ybr 125 to a xsr 125 and i would like to take a little more care about the chain how oftener would you clean it if i lived in the UK

I lube the chain immediately after a ride, so it's a little warm. I use gloves and rotate the wheel and spray. Then I spray into my cupped gloved hand and rub the lube into the chain. My bike is outside under a cover - no rust - chain is 6 years old with almost 30k km on it - still in good nick.

According to Suzuki user manual, Kerosene is the only cleaning product recommended for chain cleaning and heavy motor oil is the recommended lubricant for it...

THANK SIR ITSGREAT LESSONS

I'm not sure you are right about the chain vs belt issue. But when that's said, cleaning the chain makes a big difference. Try rolling the bike before and after. You can feel the difference. In fact, I had a Honda CB650R, and a bloke in the UK (I think!) tested one of those bikes on a Dyno. First with the original chain. And then with a chain a size smaller. And that alone gained 5bhp on the wheel! He noticed that the 650 had the same size chain as the 1000 cc bike with 150bhp. Which probably is due to production considerations more than whats necessary to cope with the power. So maybe that's another area to look into!

I am MOTIVATED! xD Chain due for deep cleaning in a month or so.

My personal routine.... After every tank fill, 200kms or so, I give the chain a quick clean and lube. My weapons of choice for the past couple of years, simple diesel to clean the dirt and muck off (It has all the good stuff in it too!) and when it comes to lubing, I also use simple Gear Oil! It's cheap and does a fantastic job! Yes, it is a bit messy, but you get used to it! I must be doing something right because I now have over 20000kms on my chain and firstly, it still looks new and gold like the day I bought it, and secondly, I have yet to even retention the chain! No idea why this is, but it is working.... And lastly.... Have an AWESOME Christmas mate! All the best to you and your family! Stay well and stay awesome!

Shell 140 grade axis oil is best for the job, and dirt cheap

god damn i am real early! merry christmas homie🤙

You should use rags or cardboard to catch all the liquids going around. They do not belong on other parts of the bike, or the ground/environment. Collect the stuff and put it into the trash can. I also highly advise against "rinsing": either the cleaner disolves the o-rings (be or slow or quick) or it does not. Use one that does not. By rinsing, you flush harmful chemicals (and the dirt) into the ground, which is really a no-go. Just take a rag and wipe it dry.

i just cleaned my bike chain yesterday and it fells great now

Thank you so much need the info atm 😅😬😂

Yoooo I got a question for you. tell me how this sounds. So my chain kept getting real loose. I tightened it 2x over the past 1.5 months. I tightened again yesterday and realized that I haven't been tightening one of the nuts enough which could be why the chain kept getting loose. After I adjusted the chain and tightened the nuts properly, I saw the red dust. Which might indicate that rust was getting rubbed off the chain. I cleaned and lubed the chain and the red dust stopped appearing. Then I heard a rattle which might indicate the tires arent aligned. But they are... The sprocket looks good. Still spikes. I'm going to go for a 15min ride today and if I continue to hear that rattle I'm going to get a new chain. Does that diagnosis sound about right?

I'm reminding myself to clean my chian for the last year. Don't worry, I'll do it.

Every 400 miles +/- I do a clean and lube. I have yet to pull the front sprocket cover though. Maybe next time.

Cleaning: Diesel Lubing: Gear Oil like 90w or more and it sticks very well and is pretty cheap. 10€ for 10 Years or so.

I own a RE interceptor 650, I live in India where the roads are quite a lot dusty when compared to Europe of North America, thus I clean my bike’s chain twice a month. I don’t know how to remove the sprocket cover.. but I definitely follow rest of the process.

Hi from South African vloggers 💯 🇿🇦 🌍 😁 .

This video motivated me to get a shaft driven bike. Oh wait,.. I've got one already.

I clean my chain every 500 miles or 804 kilometers. I also always spray my products on the chain that is under the engine, so that I don’t spray the wheel as well! However, I have a large ADV Africa Twin, so if I go off road, then it’s time to clean!

what brand you use for wheel/rim cleaner?

Mine is really filthy at the front sprocket area, gotta take that cover off and clean that area. 🤣

I also use Motul on my Duke 200 .2020

I loved the generic chain brush every bike parts shop has in SA. Those small bristles come out the blue mould too easily though

Lube the chain once, when new, with a wax type lube. It will prevent rust. Spray the rollers whenever you remember (once, or twice a year), with some lube that's more fluid. You don't need a stand really (unless you ride a very heavy bike). I use a piece of a broomstick cut at the proper length and I put it under the rear axle nut, opposite the kickstand. Rear wheel stays in the air and you can spin it freely. Spray the chain while spinning the wheel and then kick the stick to set the bike back on it's wheels. Done. 5 minutes. The chain will last as long as those religiously washed, dried and pampered. And from the many hours you save use one every couple years to replace the chain and sprockets. No matter how well you think you maintain it, some links will wear faster than others and the chain will not have the same slack in all positions. You'll feel it especially at slow speed.

Ngl I have neglected doing this for the past year and my chain really needs it now starting to get pretty rusty

I clean every week and oil with gear oil works well.

I've had chains with 30,000 miles on them that looked better than your pre cleaned chain. Do you spray the chain with water every day to make it look like that?

Motul is worse when it comes to Indian roads. Not aware about other countries, but motul sticks to the chain attracting more and more dust leading to wearing off chain sooner.

Me and my brother experimented with it and we found that for us 125cc and 500cc bikers is the best to clean our chains every 700km

2:43 ACTUALLYY!!!! kerosene/paraffin is better and recommended by the chain manufacturers, and won’t dry out o/x/z rings, any cleaner that manages to get past the rings and dries out the lube underneath tho usually means the chain it’s self is dead anyway, the rings shouldn’t fail from cleaners seaping past since they shouldn’t let that happen anyway

I have got the to this every other week. To me all the fun is gone and it feels like a chore. But I ride around about 20.000km per year. I have stopped using spray cans, that got too expensive. Now I'm using liquid cleaner and chain fat.

When did I clean my Dukes chain? 5 days ago.

What about "essence F " for cleaning ?

Yeah. I tried cleaning the chain without bike stands. It's quite tricky

I use a floor jack

What a coincidence. I did mine about the time this video went live

How do I dry the chain if I don’t have access to air compressor?

Every 500-700 miles depending on weather conditions works pretty well

so i have yet to get my A2 license but one of my friends have had his for 3 years now and his dad has had A license for 10 years and i help them change chains twuice a year he says im rather safe then sorry cant wait to go for my license

46 times better :) i see what you did there!

I have never rinsed chain cleaner off before applying lube and I've never had a problem. Most cleaners, especially kerosene, will evaporate and dry before you have time to rinse them off.

I clean my chain every other ride, or after one long ride. It's one small thing I can do to take care of the bike, I might as well just do it

Can anyone tell me how to clean the chain brush after cleaning the motorcycle chain? It's really hard to take off the grease from the brush.

How to remove chain lube from tyre ? I try soap and water and doesn’t remove, the tyre is sticky on the spots

I use diesel to clean my chain. It might sound a little bit ridiculous but this is how I do it: I take out the chain and front sprocket off my bike. Then I put them on a plastic pan/bucket, then I pour diesel over them. After that, I use a toothbrush to agitate the dirt. Then I rinse the chain and front sprocket with some clean diesel. Then I soak them with a piece of cloth. Then I reinstall them on the bike and finally lube the chain. At last, I filter the dirty diesel with filter papers for the next use.

Every single motorbike manufacturer recommends cleaning your chain with kerosene; its in your bike manual. Kerosene is called parafin in South Africa. It's considerably cheaper than chain cleaner. In a pinch you can also clean your chain with Mr Min which will not damage O-rings.

Drive, lube and tension through the season (25k-30k kms), then replace and get ready for new season. Cleaning isn't that necessary. Good luck.

Is that smart to spend around 30€ and slot of time to lube and clean 100€ chain. At beginning I did it, but now I have only 100ml pressol oiler filled with w80 transmission oil and piece from old shirt under my seat. Daily rider, 15-20k per year.

To be honest, i wish manufacturers gave us a much larger choice for drive shafts transmissions From the small bikes to the big bikes

Haha, got it. Punctuation saves lives. Love it, ‘Let’s eat Grandma vs Let’s eat, Grandma.’

Only saw your video title so I guess I’m going to stop cleaning my chain

Fun fact: the 390 will leak oil out of the middle sprocket cover bolt hole if the engine is on and sprocket cover and corresponding bolts are off too. Tis normal. But I found out the hard way.

I actually cleaned and lubed my chain this morning. I need to get a triple brush like that, toothbrush on all sides is tedious. Should probably get a paddock stand too, cleaning 10 links and a time between pushing the bike around is quite time consuming. My process is to clean with a degreaser like Cleen Green using a toothbrush, and rinse it off with water as I go. Then I go at it with WD-40 or equivalent with a different toothbrush to dissolve and clean off any leftover dirty lube and displace water while also taking away any rust on the surface, also giving attention to the exposed sprocket teeth as I go. Drive the bike around the complex a bit to aid in the evaporation of excess wd40 and warm up the chain a bit. Then finally, instead of spraying the lube and getting it everywhere, I use the precision straw to spray it on a 3rd clean toothbrush to apply to the chain, spraying on more than will stick to the chain is just going to splatter everywhere once the chain is significantly moving anyways. And once it's all lubed just give it another drive around to ensure it's all smooth, and whatever splatter there will be can come off before giving the rims and swingarm a quick wipe down.

stick a piece of cardboard between the swingarm and the wheel, that way all the grease will go into the cardboard instead

I want to open front cover sprocket but always got hard time open it :(