chain cleaning? be careful

[akira700]

Man,

I just read on another bulletin board about a guy
who had to get his thumb amputated after an accident
while cleaning his chain. I've had close calls and such
but man this is really bad.

Be careful !

[Degsy]

1. Put bike on rear stand in neutral.
2. Remove rear wheel.
3. Put a painters tray under the chain so the chain hangs down into it.
4. Fill painters tray with kerosene.
5. Using a nylon brush (not a metal one) brush the chain clean and rotate the chain through the kerosene as you go. The dirt/grime will fall off with Kerosene.
6. Dry the chain thoroughly and give it a light coat of chain lube.
7. Reinstall rear wheel and adjust chain tension.
8. Take the bike for a 10 minute ride to heat the chain up.
9. Put bike back on rear stand and Lube chain properly (spinning the rear tire backwads and lubing bottom row of chain so as not to trap your fingers in the sprocket) and let sit for an hour or so for the lube to dry.

10. RIDE!

[sxlova07]

Man,

I just read on another bulletin board about a guy
who had to get his thumb amputated after an accident
while cleaning his chain. I've had close calls and such
but man this is really bad.

Be careful !

Heard about that too...the guy was on r6mn. I've had my bike on when cleaning and lubing my chain, but tend to be a lil paranoid and watch myself. Even though it jus takes one lil slip-up.

[OreoGaborio]

Yeah some other kid on sb.net and ex-500 riders took the last section of his pinkey right off, too. Posted some awesome pics of it

[Currently]

Why someone would even think of cleaning and lubing a chain with the bike running .... *shudder*

I do it Degsy's way about every month or two.
But every weekend, I do it without taking the wheel off.

This little tool has made it a trivial task to clean the chain with kerosene.

[DucDave]

Why someone would even think of cleaning and lubing a chain with the bike running .... *shudder*

Good question. If you ever meet me ask to see the pointer finger on my left hand...then ask me why its 1/2 inch shorter than the one on my right hand...and ask me how it happened! (even as I was doing it I was thinking, shit...this is dangerous as hell be caref##@,,,,FAK!)

[Currently]

I watched a friend of mine reach into a grain auger to retrieve a tape measure he dropped into the hopper.

I had to drive him to the hospital ... he lost the tips of two fingers and half of another one. (uggghhh! not pretty.)

[sxlova07]

Why someone would even think of cleaning and lubing a chain with the bike running .... *shudder*

I do it Degsy's way about every month or two.
But every weekend, I do it without taking the wheel off.

This little tool has made it a trivial task to clean the chain with kerosene.

how much did that run you? might have to break down and get one. and the reason I do it with the bike running, is that I seem to do it much faster.

[Punjistick]

Finish Line Grunge Brush Chain Cleaner at Price Point This is where I got mine. It's pretty cheap.

[akira700]

+1 on the Finish Line brush
Just make sure you get the motorcycle one.
I have one for a bicycle too and it dont work on
a motorcycle chain !

[sxlova07]

^^ doh!

[The Magician]

i put it on the stand, in neutral, spray the motorex chain cleaner on it once, wipe off, spray it on again just to make sure, wipe clean. run the bike for a few minutes on the stand in high gear to get the speed up. shut bike off. neutral. apply chain wax. done. poor guy

[Currently]

Most bike shops now have them.

RJ's in Nashua has them.

Motomarket may be too elite to stock them ...

[duey]

geez by the time you "save" money buying that thing online + shipping costs you mind as well buy it from a local dealer for 11bucks. Some dealers i've seen have been keeping those instock.

[xrocket21]

On a similar note, my left foot slipped under a lawn mower when I was 12ish and cut all the way through my left big toe (still attached by a piece of skin though) It was disgusting. 2 steel pins, couple hundred stiches, cast above my knee for 4 months and it was re attached!!!!

Reading these stores makes me want to puke.

My pitbull stand and 15/41 520 conversion kit are on the way though

[catch2otwo]

a guy on 600rr.net posted how he lost part of his thumb too. i dont even have a rear stand i just roll the bike up and down the driveway as i clean it haha. im poooooooor, but still got all my fingers

[The Snowman]

I just keep my hands toward the front portion of the chain and away from the rear sprocket.

[Kham]

i put it on the stand, in neutral, spray the motorex chain cleaner on it once, wipe off, spray it on again just to make sure, wipe clean. run the bike for a few minutes on the stand in high gear to get the speed up. shut bike off. neutral. apply chain wax. done. poor guy

ditto.. but i use WD40 with nylon brush. keep going round and round until it look clean.

[hqp921]

I'm sorry... how does this happen?

If I am cleaning or lubing, bike's in neutral, it's off, and on a centerstand...

[sarcasm]Maybe I is doing it wrong. If I keep it running in 1st, I can just hold a brush there while someone cranks the throttle - chain cleaned in a few seconds, right?[/sarcasm]

[DucDave]

ditto.. but i use WD40 with nylon brush. keep going round and round until it look clean.

I have seen a whole thread about how bad WD40 is to use on ANYTHING on a motorcycle. I'm not an engineer so I can just read the stuff and go, huh...who would have thought that!

I no longer put the bike on the center stand and run it in 1st gear. I do however, use Motil Chain Cleaner and follow that with Motil Chain Lube.

[akira700]

You dont need to have the engine running for this
to be dangerous. Just the inertia of the wheel free
wheeling is enough to pull your squishy little digits right into
the sprocket if you spin in the direction travel.

Try it with a piece of cardboard. Its pretty gnarly.

Degsy suggestion about spinning opposite direction of travel
and cleaning on the bottom is good advise.

Anyway here is the person's words himself (from 600rr.net)

"hey guys. been sleeping about 2 hrs at a time...how long it takes for the vicodin to start wearing off.
common sense is right. completely stupid mistake. rag i was using caught in the rear sprocket, pulled my thumb through with it.
please learn from my mistake. it could def be worse, but im having a hard time coping. settling in that i will be disfigured for the rest of my life. i'd take it back in a heartbeat.
be careful guys. think everything through. i dont want to see this same mistake played out again on this forum. it was a dumbass d*ck move..."

[hqp921]

You dont need to have the engine running for this
to be dangerous. Just the inertia of the wheel free
wheeling is enough to pull your squishy little digits right into
the sprocket if you spin in the direction travel.

Ah, okay, I see.

I don't get that close to the sprocket, nor do I spin the wheel that fast that I'd get caught up in there.

Guess I suck at this whole biking thing.

[Kham]

I have seen a whole thread about how bad WD40 is to use on ANYTHING on a motorcycle. I'm not an engineer so I can just read the stuff and go, huh...who would have thought that!

yea... so have i and i have done it few times. i don't think it's worse than kerosene. at the end i use engine cleaner and hose it off, go ride a round till it's dry, then lube. done!

[Cheese]

Google "motorcycle chain scrubber". Fill it with kerosene, clamp it on the chain and then hand spin the wheel (Squids: spin the wheel using the rubber part of the tire, not the sprocket). It'll rinse and brush the chain pretty good. All you have to do is wipe it dry, warm it and wax it.

[breakdirt916]

the first time I've seen a chain lubed was w' a friend in his garage, and he had the bike in gear, engine running, with a rag and a spray to clean the chain

I admit to having done it a few times, using him as a model, until I'd heard horror stories, and watching a rag get caught in the sprocket and get mangled up.

Now it's bike on stand, engine off, wheel STATIONARY, and I just clean or lube every 10-15 links or so with a piece of cardboard behind the chain to protect the tires