Strange chain problem

[jchesshyre]

I recently replaced my chain with a DID heavy-duty X-ring one. I've put 5,000 miles on it. In the past on previous bikes I've had good success (minimum 25,000 miles of life) with frequent lubing with gear oil and occasional cleaning with kerosene. With this chain I decided to use the 'Motorex strong road' lube that came with the chain, but this has meant I've needed to clean with kero every other lubing.

However something (barring a manufacturing fault) has meant that several of the x-rings have torn and one had come off completely and was inside the front sprocket cover.

I only use blue towels with the kerosene to clean the chain and I don't douse it in it and wipe it off afterwards. But then I did notice that DID say not to use kerosene in their literature, even though Honda specify a 'low flash point solvent' for cleaning.

I can't imagine the Motorex lube would be to blame seeing as it says it's o-ring safe and was supplied with the chain!

The x-rings have sort of torn along their length if that makes sense. I first noticed when I saw strands of a couple of them poking out of the inside run of the chain.

I've had to buy a new chain which I'm not that happy about.

The only other explanation I can think of is that the kerosene came from a kind of bargain store and does list '5% unspecified aromatic hydrocarbons' amongst the ingredients. As I say I've used the stuff on previous chains with no problem but haven't cleaned it nearly as frequently as gear oil sort of does this for you most of the time.

Any ideas as to what's caused this? I don't know whether I should bother getting in touch with DID to try and claim on the warranty. Seeing as they specifically mention kerosene as something not to use on their chains I suspect I won't get far...

[bald_pig]

As far as I know, kerosene will trash the x-rings like what has happened here.

[VTRDark]

That will be why there is a warning

But then I did notice that DID say not to use kerosene in their literature

Rather unfortunate you did not spot that too later.

[bigtwinthing]

i use chain cleanser and a tooth brush!!!!. On my chain, then lube with oil. Them wipe access off etc.

[Varastorm]

All I use is WD40.

I apply it after a ride, it let's the solvents evaporate & only leaves the grease/lube on the C&S so no fling.

I am running a 530 DID "x" goldie lookin chain with 44t Supersprox rear & 15t Renthal front & it gets cleaned by applying WD40 all over & wiped down with a cleanish rag.

Done this for years & never had any issues

Sorry to hear what's happened to yours, I'd be gutted

[Cadbury64]

I work in an industry that uses white spirits by the truck load (literally), which is a variant of kerosene. I thought it would be great (and cheap) to liberate a litre from work, and use it for chain maintenance. I ended up with the exact problem of the OP, o-rings randomly exiting an otherwise new chain. No more white spirits or kero for me. WD-40 on the other hand has been perfectly fine.

[Miztaziggy]

I was always told not to use WD40 because it's a penetrating oil. It doesn't just clean the chain, it works its way inside the rollers and dissolves the lube in there.

WD40 is a very light oil and will dry up quickly. When you relube the chain you're just applying lube to the outer parts and not inside the rollers, therefore, leaving them dryer each time you do it.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[Varastorm]

I was under the impression the nitrile "O" or "X" rings never let any oil/lube in or out of the link pivot.

All we really lubricate is the roller to sprocket contact.

I'd of thought that If there was leakage there would be signs of white grease from the mega GeForce's that the chain experiences.

I might be wrong though, just my theory

[tony.mon]

Scottoiler and proprietary chain cleaner, reduce after cleaning with proper motorcycle chain lube, why skimp?
If it breaks it can wreck your engine.
A Scottoiler will pay for itself by doubling chain life.

[jchesshyre]

Cheers for the replies. I think that ultimately Haynes is to blame: see this

Here's a picture of the label of the stuff I was using

Whereas I think possibly what Haynes mean is something along the lines of this

The former reeks of, well, oil refineries, the latter is odourless. Don't know if that means anything.

Either way I'll be using WD40 from now on. On my CB500 I twice got just shy of 30,000 miles out of a chain using only that, so don't really know why I altered my modus operandi.

[VTR Phoenix]

That manual was originally written in the 90's, a lot has been learned since then on what to and what not to use through testing or experience. very rarely are the manuals updated to accommodate such things as chain cleaning and lubing.

[MacV2]

WD40...

See here...http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic ... 49#p429187

[VTRDark]

Bilt Hamber Surfex....fantastic stuff. Then lube it up with whatever your preferred lube is.
http://www.bilthamber.com/car-cleaning- ... /surfex-hd

I have yet to try it but their Ferrosol sounds good and going by past experiences with their products I bet it's fantastic too. But I have a scottoiler so....I would not use it on my chain.
http://www.bilthamber.com/car-cleaning- ... g/ferrosol

I want everyone to try Surfex because it is cheap, eco friendly and unbelievably good at cleaning / degreasing from watered down 90% for carpet cleaner or kitchen work surfaces to watered down 20% as a heavy duty degreasant for inside sprocket cover or where ever there is thick grime or a general purpose spray degreasant watered down about 30 - 40% or even a little more. Once you try it you will never use anything else. No nasty chemicals or smells either. wombles brilliant stuff, I even use it to clean / wash down oil stains on the patio / pavement / bricks. Only ever use it neat in extreme circumstances and be very careful as it is strong. I once used it neat on my generator cover and it left a whiteish run stain that I could not remove.

[sirch345]

Thanks for mentioning this, it could save others from doing the same. I must admit I've used paraffin on some of my motorcycle chains over the years, although a lot of them would have been pre O ring chains

I didn't think chain lube would be getting in past the O rings either, but after fitting a Scott Oiler a tight spot I had on my VTR chain disappeared

Chris.

[jchesshyre]

For goodness' sake. Case not closed/the plot thickens. Despite the leaflet that comes with the DID chain saying don't use kerosene to clean it, look what I've just noticed on the back of the ruddy box (second sentence under 1. Cleaning & Lubrication):


What I didn't, perhaps, do though is 'dry it sufficiently' before applying the extremely sticky Motorex chain lube. Perhaps this is why the X-rings failed? I still find this rather mysterious.
Edit:
Actually, the leaflet with the chain doesn't mention kerosene. It says:
'Never use volatile solvents to clean your chain and never soak your chain to clean it.'
However, here http://www.didchain.com/chainMaintenance.html is an online version of this leaflet which looks similar but is re-worded to say
'If you are cleaning and lubing an O-ring or X-ring chain, you want to avoid chemicals like kerosene and part cleaners; you need to use products that will not damage the rubber seals.'

I mean, whatever these things say, I know I won't be using kerosene again, but I'm still puzzled as to why I've always used it in the past on X-ring chains (put 145,000 and 64,000 miles on two CB500s doing so) and never had a problem until now, and also why DID are supplying conflicting info.

Do you reckon this might give me grounds to claim on the warranty?