LDR Chain bikes

[timalan]

Those of you who ride trips or LDR on Chain driven bikes. How do you handle Chain Maint. Whilst on a Trip? touring a bit with my son this summer. On the last trip 1700 miles. I took a spray can of the Dupont Wax junk. Hosed it down at 750 miles and then rode it till we got home. Cleaned it and rewaxed. What if the trip is say 4000 miles?

Thanks,

Tim

 

[ionbeam]

The following picture is blatantly ripped off from Warchild, without his knowledge, with no written consent and no fees paid:



This is the ultimate way to deal with a chain, the Pro Oiler on his dash handles all the chain lube duties.

 

[Warchild]

Absolutely. Been running the Pro-Oiler on my LD rally bikes since I swapped over from shaft-drive rally bikes in 2001.

In fact, in this above photo of my Hayabusa, I have the Pro-Oiler control module installed on the triple-tree, but have yet to actually hook it up (install the oil lines, pump, twin-nozzle dispenser, etc), but that's my tasking this weekend. There is no centerstand on the Gen II Busa, so it's important I get this done before my next LD Recon run on Apr 25th.

 

[SockMonkey]

With the exception of chain maintenance (addressed above), I'm assuming that the preference for chain drive vs. shaft drive on your LD rally bikes, WC, is its simplicity; one less thing to worry about underway? (And if someone - not Buell, not HD, would make a decent belt drive bike, one wouldn't need to worry about final drive lubrication at all..!)

 

[Brian R]

The following picture is blatantly ripped off from Warchild, without his knowledge, with no written consent and no fees paid:


This is the ultimate way to deal with a chain, the Pro Oiler on his dash handles all the chain lube duties.

An oiler is the only way to go. I get almost twice the life out of a chain with an oiler (Pro Oiler on Vstrom, Hawke Oiler on CBRXX, and I did use a Scott Oiler years ago on a VFR). Just give up on having a "clean" bike and the oil all over the left rear ofthe bike is a good sign. Of course the installation in this picture will not do any of that for you:

[SIZE=12pt]IT IS NOT HOOKED UP YET![/SIZE] :yahoo: :yahoo:

I also check the chain (and when it was last changed on my records) before leaving for a long ride. If it is getting older I will take it off and replace it, saving the sprockets and chain together for later putting back on the bike for lesser rides. I've had to change on the road before without my shop handy and if you can get a good chain then it is a PITA to change it or $$$$$$$. I've also limped home or finished a rally in less than optimum conditions - but I still made it!

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

With the exception of chain maintenance (addressed above), I'm assuming that the preference for chain drive vs. shaft drive on your LD rally bikes, WC, is its simplicity; one less thing to worry about underway?

Are you trying to make the case for chain-drive being more reliable than shaft-drive...??

(And if someone - not Buell, not HD, would make a decent belt drive bike, one wouldn't need to worry about final drive lubrication at all..!)

But...you sure could worry about reliability -- broken belts happen with regularity.

And don't forget about all the black-spots from all that chain-lube (especially on your designer-duds -- yellow 'Stich, anyone?).

 

[SockMonkey]

With the exception of chain maintenance (addressed above), I'm assuming that the preference for chain drive vs. shaft drive on your LD rally bikes, WC, is its simplicity; one less thing to worry about underway?

Are you trying to make the case for chain-drive being more reliable than shaft-drive...??

Not at all. All I'm saying is that a chain drive is an obviously simpler mechanical drive system than a shaft drive, and I assume that in the types of events that WC rides - and where many of those rides take him, simple is good. K.I.S.S.

(And if someone - not Buell, not HD, would make a decent belt drive bike, one wouldn't need to worry about final drive lubrication at all..!)

But...you sure could worry about reliability -- broken belts happen with regularity.

I don't know if that's indeed the case anymore. Both Buell and BMW (on their F800 series bikes - though not the F800GS), have reportedly had very good success with belts of late. Admittedly, Buell had issues as recently as 2 years ago (they blamed it on their vendor), but there are plenty of people on the Buell boards for instance - particularly the Ulysses riders, that ride the heck out of their bikes without any belt failures whatsoever and subsequently swear by belt drive; "wouldn't ever go back to chain", or so they claim. Time will tell, I suppose...

 

[Warchild]

With the exception of chain maintenance (addressed above), I'm assuming that the preference for chain drive vs. shaft drive on your LD rally bikes, WC, is its simplicity; one less thing to worry about underway?

Well, truthfully, no, that's not really it. I don't really have any problems with shaft-bikes in LD events per day, though I would think differently about that if I suffered from Beemer Kool-Aid Syndrome.

No, the fact of the matter is: with few exceptions, most ultra-performance machines are chain-drive for both the weight savings and the slightly more efficient energy transfer. So if you want the performance of a Blackbird or Hayabusa while rampaging on Endurance rallies, then you gotta be able to deal with the ass-pain that comes with the chain drive (which, for the most part, amounts to just the ongoing oil fling-off. This is simply the nature of the beast, and a necessary evil.)

That said, the Pro-Oiler offers the least fling-off of any automatic oiler on the market, because you can get it "dialed-in" to achieve just the right amount of flow to get the job done, and no more.

 

[SockMonkey]

With the exception of chain maintenance (addressed above), I'm assuming that the preference for chain drive vs. shaft drive on your LD rally bikes, WC, is its simplicity; one less thing to worry about underway?

Well, truthfully, no, that's not really it. I don't really have any problems with shaft-bikes in LD events per day, though I would think differently about that if I suffered from Beemer Kool-Aid Syndrome.

No, the fact of the matter is: with few exceptions, most ultra-performance machines are chain-drive for both the weight savings and the slightly more efficient energy transfer. So if you want the performance of a Blackbird or Hayabusa while rampaging on Endurance rallies, then you gotta be able to deal with the ass-pain that comes with the chain drive (which, for the most part, amounts to just the ongoing oil fling-off. This is simply the nature of the beast, and a necessary evil.)

That said, the Pro-Oiler offers the least fling-off of any automatic oiler on the market, because you can get it "dialed-in" to achieve just the right amount of flow to get the job done, and no more.

Thanks! I knew there had to be a reason..!

 

[RenoJohn]

most ultra-performance machines are chain-drive for both the weight savings and the slightly more efficient energy transfer.

I'm a fan of chain ..I like the simplicity. I don't use an oiler, but do have a simple methodology of maintenance that has worked well for me. FJR is my first shaftie and often I wonder how much better the bike would feel with less pounds and more power to the rear wheel ...if it was chain drive.Now, don't get me wrong, the shaft is nice too and certainly has it's pros, but you give up weight and HP.