Motorcycle Chain

I use my motorcycle daily, and not always have time for maintenance. I do not own a garage which makes maintenance even harder but I try to lubricate the chain once a week. I do not know if this is enough for daily use and for the distance I do each day but usually it works to keep the chain in working conditions.

Lately I noticed that the chain was slacking almost each day, and by now that I and writing this post it touched the swinging arm. At this point I will need to loosen the tire bolt and move the cams in order to tighten the chain.

After doing some research I may have discovered the cause of why it happened. A lot of articles and forums like Ninja 250 Riders Club (2017) and Anandu M Das (2015) suggest to lubricate the chain from a range of 500 to 600 Miles (approximately 800 to 960 km) and to clean regularly. But something I noticed while reading these articles are that they all mention that It depends on weather and road condition.

An interesting post I found written by Pete Guest (2001) on Sport Bike World is that for him, the best it worked was to lubricate the chain every 300 Miles and clean every 600 Miles. Then he also specifically mentions that he would do this more frequently if he drove in rain or dusty roads.

At this point it was clear why the chain got damaged faster than usual. During my way to school there are road works that now had lasted for months and still are in progress. Also, a lot of rain has fallen this month and I drove from high levels of water since the streets where flooded. This made the chain loose more lubrication and got dirtier than normal which led to a faster degradation.

For future rides in bad weather or terrain I will make an effort in inspecting, cleaning and lubricating the chain more often.

References

Das, A. M., 2015. How often should you lube a motorcycle chain?. [Online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/How-often-should-you-lube-a-motorcycle-chain [Accessed 22 january 2017].

Guest, P., 2001. How often should I lube/oil my chain?. [Online] Available at: http://www.sportbikeworld.com/forums/12-honda/10287-how-often-should-i-lube-oil-my-chain.html [Accessed 22 January 2017].

Ninja 250 riders club, 2017. How often should I lube the chain; what should I use to do so?. [Online] Available at: http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_often_should_I_lube_the_chain;_what_should_I_use_to_do_so%3F [Accessed 22 January 2017].