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is it possible to over lube a chain? i have suzuki brand chain lube(just random pick of the bunch they all seemd the same) and it says to use it sparingly. can you gum the chain up if you use too much? how much is sparingly, the stuff just shoots out lol. is it better to spray the chain itself and rotate it to get all of the chain. or/and spray the sprocket and keep turning it so it gets all of the chain.

also is it a problem to mix lubes. my chain has wax on it now, can i just spray the new stuff on it with no problems or do i really need to clean it totally before putting the new lube on?

I use honda's chain lube myself only cuz it's handy. In a pinch while out touring I bought a heavy wieght oil and it worked just fine. It was just a little harder to put one evenly.

They say 'use spareingly' to keep the mess down. If you hose the chain down too much and figure it will fling everywhere, just wipe the chian down with an old rag after you lube it. The lube on the outside is not helping anyway, it's the stuff that gets down into the plates and rollers that saves your chain. So overlubeing is not a problem, other than the mess it can make if your sloppy.

Mixxing types and brands ain't a big deal, just lube it every 3-500 miles. That's the best thing you can do for it.

BuzZz wrote:They say 'use spareingly' to keep the mess down. If you hose the chain down too much and figure it will fling everywhere, just wipe the chian down with an old rag after you lube it. The lube on the outside is not helping anyway, it's the stuff that gets down into the plates and rollers that saves your chain. So overlubeing is not a problem, other than the mess it can make if your sloppy.

Mixxing types and brands ain't a big deal, just lube it every 3-500 miles. That's the best thing you can do for it.

cool, pretty much what i figured just didnt want to end up screwing up anything without asking the dumb questions first ; )

ive herd people say they lube the chain before Every ride. is that just a waste or being paranoid. i mean the people rode 3-4 times a week and didnt put 500 miles at a time on it.

It ain't gonna hurt anything to lube it every ride. Just a bit more cleaning crud off the sprockets.... but it isn't nessesary to lube it that often. Rain would mean more frequent lubing though.

how much does chain lube cost typically? I am changing from a shaft drive to chain drive. They Hypoid oil was a little costly, but it went a long way.

Randy wrote:how much does chain lube cost typically? I am changing from a shaft drive to chain drive. They Hypoid oil was a little costly, but it went a long way.

the big can of suzuki lube i bought from the dealer was 7 bucks. probally the most expensive place to buy it, i hate buying anything from the dealers but i decided it Really needed it. no idea how long that can will last me though... probally along time as i cant ever be bothered to lube the chain often hehe

Well, as long as I am not paying 20 bucks every 400 miles, that doesn't sound to painful

Randy wrote:Well, as long as I am not paying 20 bucks every 400 miles, that doesn't sound to painful

Well considering that you only lube your chain every 500 miles (well, I do at least) you're only paying $7 for a single application, that beats 20 per 400 right there. On the upshot further yet, though, is that you'll get much more than a single lube-job out of a $7 can.

I have to keep costs down, the old lady goes crazy if I spend more on the bike than on her!