This thread is inspired by the chain lube one. I had lots of additional questions but didn't want to mess up that thread. 1) How often would you recommend clean and lube of chain? On my mountain bike i would do it every ride. 2) On my mountain bike i had a 'magic link' which made it easy to remove the chain. Do you get those for motorbikes too? 3) How do you measure for chain stretch? Manual says "Have chain tension adjusted by a Ducati Dealer or authorised Service Centre." Surely you can do that yourself? Manual shows 31-33mm of slack half way down the chain. Is there a better way to measure, using a tool perhaps? I don't fancy my chances of measuring this accurately, especially with me sat on the bike which i hear is necessary.
Hi Dubcat, as with you, my MTB gets a quick clean/lube every ride due to the crud that gets in there. my road pushbike only gets one when I use it in the rain (dusty/sandy crud form the road tends to get in there in rainy conditions). Generally, I check my chain after each ride on the Duc, and as I am a low-use/fair-weather rider, then the conditions the chain is subject to are generally clean and dry. on that basis, mine is cleaned with a toothbrush and wd40 soaked rag every 100 miles or so, then a bit of lube applied. quick release links are great for getting chains on/off, but are considered to be much weaker than rivet links, as such they are frowned upon for use on higher power/torque motorbikes. if you have a paddock stand, then you can get an idea of the tight spot for your chain to refer to for measuring. it is helpful to have somebody to help when measuring by holding the bike upright for you while you measure at this tight spot. hope this helps. Pete
Thanks Pete, 100 miles would be every ride. Can't bring myself to put the bike away sooner than that Do you just drop a single drop of oil on every roller and then wipe the chain clean after oiling?
I tend to get the bike on the rear paddock stand and spin the wheel manually while either cleaning with brush/rag, or when applying lube (currently using 3-in-1 white lithium from a spray can, then wiping excess off with a rag).
