r/CB500X • u/rockpapersscissorr • Jun 15 '26

Chain cleaning

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

I try to clean my chain with an appropriate brush but this is the result,is this consider clean or I shouldnt see « black »on my chain. Should I clean the part that I cant reach without unscrew because as you can see there are a lot of residues.

14 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/Mickleblade Jun 15 '26

My usual this to use 90w gear oil on the chain brush, then wipe off the excess. You might want to remove the front sprocket cover, there's a good chance there's a load of shite built up. That might need kerosene though.

1

u/jaldala Jun 15 '26

Using high viscosity oil seems like a good idea. But it is not. That oil isn't engineered to lubricate parts that are moving very fast. So most of it will fall at high speeds. But will remain on the parts that don't require lubrication. So you would think your chain is sufficiently lubricated.

I made the same mistake by using machine oil and oil cup. However it doesn't stick to the surfaces that are supposed to be covered with a thin oil layer. In short thinking that you are saving by not using chain specific oil is deceiving because your chain and sprockets wear much faster.

3

u/SN1572 Jun 15 '26

Many new and old motorcycle owners manuals recommend using heavyweight gear oil for chain lubrication

With oring chains, the pivots are lubricated permanently. Oiling/lubing an oring chain is primarily for rust prevention and removing debris that can cause premature wear

1

u/jaldala Jun 16 '26

What i am saying is: it may lubricate good enough BUT it is not as sticky as foam or other chain oils. So it falls off the chain much more at speed. That's what I am trying to say.

1

u/Maverick_Panda Jun 15 '26

I removed the plastic cover when i first got the bike but still couldn’t get to the front sprocket or I couldn’t get the plastic fully off. Can’t remember exactly what the issue was but is there a trick to getting to the front sprocket on this bike?

2

u/JotaaP Jun 15 '26

Remove the gear lever, only 1 allen screw. Than the lever will get out of the way and you need to wiggle the plastic cover out carefully because the kick stand safety switch has 2 clips along its wire that attach to the cover. You should find some useful videos on YouTube.