5 Easy Ways to Clean Your Motorcycle Chain

The part of the motorcycle that maintains balance and propels the bike forward is the motorcycle chain. Among all bike parts, the chain is the only one that is exposed to the outside and is always active. As a result, the bike chain gets very dirty. Sometimes, something from the road can get stuck and damage the chain. Therefore, it is important to regularly clean the motorcycle chain. Cleaning a motorcycle chain is not a very difficult task. By dedicating an hour carefully once a week during bike cleaning, it's possible to inspect and clean all the intricacies of the chain. This time is crucial because a dirty chain can cause accidents. For example, the chain becoming slippery and coming off, the chain's sprocket bending, or the chain breaking, among other things. And if any of these happen in the middle of the road, it could lead to a major accident. So, to ensure life safety and maintain the bike's quality, we should regularly clean the bike's chain.

In today's article, we will learn how to clean a bike chain in 5 easy ways. Before that, we need to know the aspects we should pay attention to when cleaning and checking a motorcycle chain:

• Whether the chain pins are tight;
• Whether there are any signs of rust or cracking on the chain rollers;
• Whether the chain links are dry or dirty;
• Whether the chain links have ridden over each other or if there is any adjustment issue;
• Whether the chain is loose;
• Whether the sprocket teeth are bent or broken;
• Whether the sprocket nuts are loose;

Essentially, these are the things we need to pay attention to when checking a motorcycle chain. If the chain becomes loose, we need to adjust it. And if dirt appears or it gets dry, we will follow the cleaning steps. What we will need to clean the chain is:

• Motorcycle stand
• Soft brush or chain brush
• Clean cloth
• Kerosene or chain cleaner
• Chain lubricant

Now let's discuss the chain cleaning steps:

1. Prepare

Gather all the necessary tools for chain cleaning. For cleaning, you will need a motorcycle stand, which will keep the bike upright and raise the rear wheel. This will allow you to easily rotate and check the chain. A chain brush will be useful for dust cleaning. A clean cloth to apply the chain cleaner before. And finally, chain lubricant, which will restore the chain's smoothness. Once these are collected, you can proceed to the next step.

2. Place the bike on the stand

The next step in chain cleaning is to raise the rear wheel onto the stand. You will place the stand under the rear sprocket. This will allow you to rotate both the chain and the wheel very easily. Rotate the entire chain and check if there are any defects on its surface. Also, wipe the chain thoroughly once with a dry cloth.

3. Use cleaner

Lightly spray cleaner on the chain and wipe it with a dry cloth. Continue spraying cleaner over the entire chain and wiping with a cloth. This will remove all the dirt adhering to the chain.

4. Dry the water

The next step after using the cleaner is to dry all the water adhering to the chain. Otherwise, the lubricant will not last if applied. For this, after cleaning the chain, you can ride the bike for a short distance. Or you can move the bike back and forth for a while so that all excess water shakes off. Once all the water is off the chain, prepare to apply lubricant.

5. Use lubricant

To apply lubricant, place the bike on the stand as before. Now, you need to spray lubricant on both sides of the chain: the outer side and the inner side. First, lightly spray lubricant on the outer side. This will ensure the lubricant adheres to the outer side plates. Rotate the chain once and apply lubricant this way. Then, to adjust the chain, similarly rotate the chain and apply lubricant between the inner side plates. As a result, the chain will become very smooth. Be careful not to apply excessive lubricant. Otherwise, more dirt will stick to the chain. Finally, to check if the motorcycle chain is adjusted, rotate the entire chain to check its smoothness and then ride the motorcycle after a while. In this way, you can easily check and clean your motorcycle chain in 5 steps.

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