Chain lube, food for thought.

[MarkCR750]

https://youtu.be/VnPYdcbcAe0

[Moorey]

I will stick with chainsaw chain oil it's cheaper than gear oil and has the anti fling  in it. A 5ltr bottle lasts a long long time. 

[MarkCR750]

Sounds good, which brand do you use Moore’s and where from please?

[Johnwebley]

  I am sure the chains he was testing were O ring or X chains,these are effectively sealed .

 I think most of the chains on the sohc range are basic chains,

 so ideally a grease/oil mixture,that will creep into the links,and remain for as long as possible.

 I use spray ,either Morris or Wurth ,both seem good,
very rarely I will remove the chain and immerse it in Duckhams chainlube,

  anyone remember those large round tins


 PS, a Peter Furlong enclosed chaincase does help to keep it clean

[Moorey]

  I am sure the chains he was testing were O ring or X chains,these are effectively sealed .

 I think most of the chains on the sohc range are basic chains,

 so ideally a grease/oil mixture,that will creep into the links,and remain for as long as possible.

 I use spray ,either Morris or Wurth ,both seem good,
very rarely I will remove the chain and immerse it in Duckhams chainlube,

  anyone remember those large round tins


 PS, a Peter Furlong enclosed chaincase does help to keep it clean

I still have a tin of linklife somewhere.

[Spitfire]

What was that stuff that used to be used for chains, a wax like substance that was melted and the chain dunked into it.
I can remember going down to Silverstone on the K1 and had to pull into the services as the chain was very lumpy, I had to buy a tin of oil and used a rag to soak the chain to get all the kinks out of it.

Cheers

Dennis

[Moorey]

Sounds good, which brand do you use Moore’s and where from please?

The cheapest you can find on eBay will be fine. Looks good to me. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-litres-EXTRA-TACKY-CHAINSAW-OIL-Chain-Oil-Guide-Bar-for-all-Saws-100Cst-5L/292557494372?epid=9031281335&hash=item441dc91864:g:Lc0AAOSw5cNYMwAz

[Moorey]

What was that stuff that used to be used for chains, a wax like substance that was melted and the chain dunked into it.
I can remember going down to Silverstone on the K1 and had to pull into the services as the chain was very lumpy, I had to buy a tin of oil and used a rag to soak the chain to get all the kinks out of it.

Cheers

Dennis

Linklife.

[MarkCR750]

Sounds good, which brand do you use Moore’s and where from please?

The cheapest you can find on eBay will be fine. Looks good to me. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-litres-EXTRA-TACKY-CHAINSAW-OIL-Chain-Oil-Guide-Bar-for-all-Saws-100Cst-5L/292557494372?epid=9031281335&hash=item441dc91864:g:Lc0AAOSw5cNYMwAz

Thanks.

[mike the bike]

That Linklife is a lot of mucking about, taking the chain off and dunking in a tin of hot oil.  Ideally you'd need a spare chain to pull it through.

[Green1]

I use linklife on the 550 chain as it lasts ages and my dad still had a tin from the 70's. Seemed a shame to just let it sit there for ever more. I occasionally top it up with spray lube. The 750 has an O ring chain and it looks after its self and has not needed to be adjusted in the last 7 years.
The 750 also has the advantage of flinging engine oil out of the auto chain oiller protecting the chain and left hand side of the bike from the elements

[Green1]

I bet that was fun picking that up
I tend to forget how much it stinks when warmed up. Stunk the house out more then once when I'v left the back door open.

[Allington (Steve)]

  I am sure the chains he was testing were O ring or X chains,these are effectively sealed .

 I think most of the chains on the sohc range are basic chains,

 so ideally a grease/oil mixture,that will creep into the links,and remain for as long as possible.

 I use spray ,either Morris or Wurth ,both seem good,
very rarely I will remove the chain and immerse it in Duckhams chainlube,

  anyone remember those large round tins


 PS, a Peter Furlong enclosed chaincase does help to keep it clean

Just brought the smell of that stuff back to me after a 40 year break. Thanks

[K2-K6]

The presentation raises some points that appear valid, namely sealed chains being mostly unaffected for internal lubrication by products applied to the exterior.

I don't see his assessment and testing holds up for rotation test though. Chain links don't rotate continously,  just angle and return as chain passes sprocket diameter.  For that application you can use a heavyweight supportive lubricant to prevent wear that will fail on criteria of continuous rotation at any significant speed.  That's exactly what they seal inside ringed chains to give longevity.

Rotating bearings, like wheel bearings, specifically use grease like light lithium to control friction and prevent heat build up from viscosity causing friction.
A good comparison is within car wheel bearings,  as above, but in the same assembly you can have a constant velocity joint in the drive shaft.  This part behaves like a chain with low speed movement through limited angles,  as such it needs a high viscosity,  high load bearing grease.  Usually it makes use of molybdenum disulphide to prevent surface wear and doesn't have to cope with much speed across components.
Both of these will cover thousands of the very same mileage,  but have very different in use characteristics to suit their design.

If you don't lubricate the outside of sealed link chains they seem to heat up with friction during use,  this may lead to the internal lubrication exiting the bearings. Something definitely happens as they can get stiff links that give problems. This doesn't seem to happen with chainlube or alternative in my experience.

[K2-K6]

In essence he doesn't cover many things that we would ordinarily consider the reasons for lubrication of a chain,  heat build up,  wear of bearings over duty cycle (elongation of chain) which is how most are judged because we have to adjust them, or any defects arising from siezed links (like trying to exceed the front sprocket diameter) which are particularly interesting for bikes in general but certainly of significant importance on these engines.