wd-40 ok for chain

[cawkazn]

is it ok to use wd-40 for grease for my chain on my rm?

 

[uts]

Not sure about the wd40. It would be better than nothing. If you don't have proper chain lube, use regular engine oil (if you have any about) Just saturate your chain and sprockets with it. Then when you ride off, the excess oil flicks all over the place and the whole bike is now lubed. And your leg. It's kinda fun :coocoo:
It does work well though.

 

[76GMC1500]

NO! WD40 is not o-ring safe for o-ring chains and it has very poor lubricating properties. WD40 is more of a solvent than it is a lubricant. Would you lube your chain with something like PB Blaster? Sometimes, for my non-o-ring chains, I mix WD40 with motor oil, but a real chain lube is the best lube.

 

[Morvo]

I use some sticky white stuff ;)

 

[BSWIFT]

MX1000. Call Jaybird.

 

[cawkazn]

it would be better than nothign though right?

 

[MikeT]

NO! WD40 is not o-ring safe for o-ring chains

I do not use WD-40 to lube my chain BUT WD-40 will NOT harm O-Rings. I contacted the WD-40 people and this was what they said.


Dear WD-40,

The following submission has been received and entered into the database:


Subject: Technical Question
Comments: PLEASE PLEASE put this issue to rest for us. I am a motorcycle enthusiast and have an O-ring chain on my bike, it is an off road dirt bike. The orings are little rubber rings that hold lubricant in the rollers on the chain. What we normally do is use a cleaner to wash the bike off and then we have a wet chain when we are done. Seeing as it is hard to dry the chain, some people use WD-40 to displace the water and keep the chain from rusting. Here is the problem we are having. Some people say that the WD-40 will dry out the rubber O-rings and cause the lubricant to leak out. Other people say that the WD-40 will actually wash past the orings and wash out the lubricant in the chain. Can you PLEASE put your staff of top notch engineers on this and see if it is true or not. I don't think that the WD-40 causes any harm to the chain but we need a qualified opinion.


WD-40 is a multi-purpose light lubricating oil. The WD-40 will definitely displace and remove the water or moisture from the chain. The "WD" stands for water displacement. It will also act as a rust preventative on any of the metal surfaces. WD-40 will not "dry out" the rubber o-rings. We have found no visible effects on surfaces of rubber, and o-rings. Certain types of rubber will swell under prolonged immersion in WD-40 (this refers to long soaking, and not just a spray). WD-40 is also a cleaner, it will remove grime, dirt, tape, bumper stickers, and oil. It is possible that if there was a special lubricant in the o-rings, the WD-40 could act as a cleaner and remove that oil. The special lubricant would be replaced with WD-40, which is a light lubricating oil. I'm sure their are more superior, heavy duty (and costly) chain lubes on the market. I also know a lot of people that use WD-40 on their chains. Perhaps some experimenting with WD-40 as a water remover and rust preventative, followed by a heavier chain lube, would fit your needs. The bottom line is WD-40 will not harm your o-rings, but it could remove a lubricant that was previously applied to the chain. Any more questions, let me know!

Thanks.. Randy

 

[Morvo]

Makes sense, I've always used WD-40, GT-85 etc... for blasting away dirt and grime and then lubing the required part up properly. The "sticky white stuff" I use is called Putoline Tech Chain Ceramic Wax in a spray can. The other way is to submerge the chain in chain wax which I have been recommended to do by a few friends with superbikes.

 

[MikeT]

I have found that the best readily available stuff is the Honda chain lube in the red and gold can. It goes on wet then dries in about a minute. It is not sticky and does not attract any dirt. Good stuff.

 

[mxrider76]

yamalube is what I use after I clean with wd

 

[IndyMX]

After I wash my bike's I use WD-40 on the chains to remove the water, then I spin dry the chain... Once that is done, I use a good chain lube.

WD-40 alone is not a good thing. It is not "better than nothing". It's way too light to stay on the chain long enough to be effective on a dirty muddy nasty track.

Pony up a few bucks to get a good chain lube.

 

[KDXruss]

I do not use WD-40 to lube my chain BUT WD-40 will NOT harm O-Rings. I contacted the WD-40 people and this was what they said.


Dear WD-40,

The following submission has been received and entered into the database:


Subject: Technical Question
Comments: PLEASE PLEASE put this issue to rest for us. I am a motorcycle enthusiast and have an O-ring chain on my bike, it is an off road dirt bike. The orings are little rubber rings that hold lubricant in the rollers on the chain. What we normally do is use a cleaner to wash the bike off and then we have a wet chain when we are done. Seeing as it is hard to dry the chain, some people use WD-40 to displace the water and keep the chain from rusting. Here is the problem we are having. Some people say that the WD-40 will dry out the rubber O-rings and cause the lubricant to leak out. Other people say that the WD-40 will actually wash past the orings and wash out the lubricant in the chain. Can you PLEASE put your staff of top notch engineers on this and see if it is true or not. I don't think that the WD-40 causes any harm to the chain but we need a qualified opinion.


WD-40 is a multi-purpose light lubricating oil. The WD-40 will definitely displace and remove the water or moisture from the chain. The "WD" stands for water displacement. It will also act as a rust preventative on any of the metal surfaces. WD-40 will not "dry out" the rubber o-rings. We have found no visible effects on surfaces of rubber, and o-rings. Certain types of rubber will swell under prolonged immersion in WD-40 (this refers to long soaking, and not just a spray). WD-40 is also a cleaner, it will remove grime, dirt, tape, bumper stickers, and oil. It is possible that if there was a special lubricant in the o-rings, the WD-40 could act as a cleaner and remove that oil. The special lubricant would be replaced with WD-40, which is a light lubricating oil. I'm sure their are more superior, heavy duty (and costly) chain lubes on the market. I also know a lot of people that use WD-40 on their chains. Perhaps some experimenting with WD-40 as a water remover and rust preventative, followed by a heavier chain lube, would fit your needs. The bottom line is WD-40 will not harm your o-rings, but it could remove a lubricant that was previously applied to the chain. Any more questions, let me know!

Thanks.. Randy

Yeah, good post. I would not use it to lube a non-o ring chain but for an o-ring it works great to clean and prevent rust. I don't put any lube on my chain at all because after all isn't it the o-rings that hold the grease inside?

 

[kawicam250]

i use Golden Spectro on my O-ring, its always worked well for me :nod: .

 

[KX250Dad]

MikeT... thanks for the time taken to get an accurate opinion from the WD40 folks. Eyeryone with a wrench has a can of WD40 and obviously it has its purpose or multi-purpose. Lubricants are like our tools... right tool for the job thing and chain lube is no different.

Thanks to your post even I will be able to respond to the question when at the track with the facts and thanks to the WD40 fellows for taking the time to answer.
Good Job Brother...

 

[cawkazn]

dido, great job

 

[XRpredator]

dido, great job

using www.redformandumbasstoenglishtranslator.com, this is translated as follows:

Ditto, or more properly, I concur. Excellent work old chap

 

[Papakeith]

pred, you are such a turd. Besides, you forgot to punctuate the end of your sentence.

 

[cawkazn]

splendid!