Quick question gents/ladies... I always seem to struggle with this, and probably spend more time trying to do this carefully than cleaning the rest of the bike...surely I'm doing something wrong?? How do you clean your wheels/chains without getting the residual grease onto your tyres??? I normally have the bike up on a stand...spray some mild wheel cleaner and then (scrub) rinse off...but I can see and feel the grease just trickling down onto the tyre?...am I missing a 'top tip' or 'trade secret' on how to do this without greasing the tyres up??
No rocket science for me. I just hold a piece of old cardboard behind the chain when spraying to stop overspray getting onto the wheel/tyre (make sure you cover the floor too). Let it soak then wipe it off with a rag and oil/wax the chain in the same way. For cleaning sticky residue off wheels I spray onto a cloth and not onto the wheel, then wipe.
I use parafin to cleanoff chain lube.This is first job,then clean the rest of the bike as normal,with a mild shampoo/soap.
i use old pizza boxes to protect the garage floor and the wheel. `must add that to the non tool thread
Old tea towel in one hand held behind the chain. The other hand a stiff toothbrush. Spray brake and chain cleaner in to top of can lid. Dip brush in and then go to work on each link until it comes up sparkling clean. Wipe residual cleaner using cloth. Once the whole chain is done i get to work on the rear and front sprocket. Finish with a Silkolene Race chain oil. Takes about 2 hours to get a proper finish.
Clean the wheel after the chain ? I use GT-85 which doesn't drip as it mists onto the wheel. My rear brake is probably completely useless... but I don't use it anyway
WD40 is good for cleaning the wheel - but I spray in onto a cloth first rather than directly onto the wheel. And I've taken to applying a little EP90 gear oil with a brush to the chain, rather than using spray on lube. Some still gets thrown onto the rim though.
Yes, the obvious answer is to clean the chain off first, then the wheels, then the rest of the bike. I practise it's quicker though. I normally spray some wheel cleaner on the wheels and chain before I do anything else, then go get a bucket of soapy water, so by the time you start washing the wheels have already had a bit of a soak. Clean from the top down to the wheels, then do what you're gonna do to the chain. Normally just throwing the last of the soapy water is enough to get rid of what's come off the chain. Then it's polish and lube time.
Parafin, was told by the dealership where i bought my bike from thats what they use all the time for cleaning.
Yep i use paraffin & a old tooth-brush. Need to get myself one of these devices for applying chain-lube Tech Info
Personally I take the rear wheel off so that I can clean the hard to reach areas of swing arm and clean & re-lube chain in the same sitting. takes 5 minutes to get the rear wheel off using an Abba stand. Plus point nothing gets near the rear wheel or tyre.
Ride bike and then while bike/final drive is warm from use I put on stand and lube chain (by spraying the chain and rotating the wheel by hand - starting the engine and putting bike in gear to automate the process cost me a finger when I was 17... don't do this! :Facepalm: ). When chain is lubed I put WD-40 on a clean cloth and then starting with the hub I clean the wheel by rubbing the dirt away (lube spattered onto the rim wipes right away) and finish with another clean cloth. Front wheel the same, only without the chain bit... obviously. Give the bike an hour before riding it and any residual WD-40 seems to be gone. GT-85 is ace but doesn't seem to be quite as solvent as WD-40 so lingers for longer. I use GT-85 in the hard to reach areas as corrosion protection. That's my method. Your mileage may vary!
WD40 on my favourite wanking sock, cleans the chain and wheel and also reduction friction burns when on the vinegar stroke . Double wammy
