Using chain wax

[Greybeard]

When I bought my new chain I also bought a can of Putoline Chain Wax. I've never used this stuff before so I took some pictures and a couple of video clips:

Guess who was out for a few hours?

On the stove: https://youtu.be/2aHWiNnmbfc

I heated it slowly until it was all melted. There was no smoke or even a smell, that I could detect.

Drip-dry: https://youtu.be/Qm3fkqMDF9Y

The chain did not drip when it was hung up to cool.

I did manage to splash a little wax onto the worktop and cooker but white-spirit immediately removed it.

The chain was not overly greased; it looked just the same as when I bought it; I had feared the chain would be horribly greasy and mucky to fit onto the bike. I imagine that the chain manufacturers use similar wax before the chain is packed for sale.

Altogether an easy process.

[Butch (cb)]

On my ZRX it has an O ring chain fitted. I don’t spend much time worrying about this. I’ve probably had the bike about 10 years and maybe done 10k miles on it. Maybe adjusted the chain once or twice in that time. The bike is fitted with a Scottoiler that I cannot get on with at all. It either seems to dispense nothing or drains off the entire reservoir in around 30 miles or so. And Scottoiler oil is thin and p155y stuff – maybe it cleans as it lubes?

My dirt bike – the SP, I take more care over. That looks to have a non O ring type and of course runs in some pretty horrible conditions. I remove that after a weekend riding on the rough stuff and give it a good scrub in the small parts washer, then refit and give a long hard squirt of aerosol chain goo. Even so I don’t imagine this lasting very long.

Chain on the A10 gets an occasional squirt and that’s about it. Rarely needs adjusting but rarely gets ridden – 3k miles in 10 years.

I was surprised that you could still get boil in the bag chain grease. I can’t imagine there are many folks who would go to the trouble these days. I’d certainly be keeping a close eye on it brewing up in the kitchen. I’m still on starters orders after roasting a gearbox casing in the main oven (bearings dropped out a treat).   

[Greybeard]

I can’t imagine there are many folks who would go to the trouble these days

Well the new chain cost twice the price of the old one. To misquote a TV advert; 'It's worth it'

[Duncan R]

Have they changed the formula ? I used this stuff a long time ago when I was a dispatch rider and my bike used to eat chains. Found it to be no better than spray lube plus all the hassle of taking the chain off- thank heavens for O ring chains, I got nearly 25000 miles out of the last chain on my Kawasaki ZZR 1100. I would fit one to the BSA but the clearance is tight with the chain guard.

[Greybeard]

Duncan,
Getting an old chain off and on again is not tricky for my bike that has just a top guard. I tighten the brake adjuster so the rear sprocket doesn't spin then just couple an old chain to the one on the bike and pull it through.

I don't know if the formula of chain wax has changed; I've never used it. I thought it was not available these days. When the Chain Man asked if I'd like to buy some chain wax I thought, why not take the opportunity.

[bsa-bill]

I've got a tin of it, had it for yonks although it's not the stuff I used in the 60s, that was called "Linklife" IIRC, contained graphite I think
 

[Greybeard]

Yes Bill, should see out my riding days.

[berger]

still a bit left in this old faithfull

[Duncan R]

Hi Neil,

I think it works well on our A10/7 s as they are not likely to be used in bad weather all the time. when I used it at the time it  seemed to get washed out quite quickly when it was rainy. I imagine with a full chain case it works really well.

[Black Sheep]

I was banned from using Linklyfe after tripping on the carpet with a tin full of the melted stuff on my way back out to the shed. I then used a small gas stove to heat it up until one day inevitably knocking it over.
Now I either pour EP90 on with a 60 ml syringe or (rather better) use some self-levelling grease. It's thixotropic - liquefies when subject to movement and gels when stationary. Means it penetrates the links when you are on the move but doesn't drip when parked.

[BSA_54A10]

When I bought my new chain I also bought a can of Putoline Chain Wax. I've never used this stuff before so I took some pictures and a couple of video clips:

Guess who was out for a few hours?

On the stove: https://youtu.be/2aHWiNnmbfc

I heated it slowly until it was all melted. There was no smoke or even a smell, that I could detect.

Drip-dry: https://youtu.be/Qm3fkqMDF9Y

The chain did not drip when it was hung up to cool.

I did manage to splash a little wax onto the worktop and cooker but white-spirit immediately removed it.

The chain was not overly greased; it looked just the same as when I bought it; I had feared the chain would be horribly greasy and mucky to fit onto the bike. I imagine that the chain manufacturers use similar wax before the chain is packed for sale.

Altogether an easy process.

So now she who was not home is and you are looking for temporay accomodation ?
Been using this method for better than 50 years .
The only method that actually gets lubricant into the bushes.
Working out exactly when to turn off the heat is the trick.
As you use it more, it will start to smell more.
Also be very careful doing it on a gas cooker because if the melted wax tips onto a flame, she definately will know what you were up to in the kitchen.
I do mine outside on a portable gas burner.
I also use multiple chains so I only have to cook them once in a while .
After the wax has gone hard, the can is a perfect place to store the pregreased chain ready to go on.
I like to clean my chains in kerro ( parrafin to some ) then hang the chains overnight to drain before I cook them.

[BSA_54A10]

Have they changed the formula ? I used this stuff a long time ago when I was a dispatch rider and my bike used to eat chains. Found it to be no better than spray lube plus all the hassle of taking the chain off- thank heavens for O ring chains, I got nearly 25000 miles out of the last chain on my Kawasaki ZZR 1100. I would fit one to the BSA but the clearance is tight with the chain guard.

ZZR 1100 for dispatch riding.
You obviously like doing things the hard way.
I did the same job in the Sydney CBD on a SR500 with the A65L as back up .
Both bikes had a 200 litre combined pannier top box fitted into which I could jamb 300kg of airfreight satchels.
As for fitting the chains, that is why you use multiple chains.
Just link them together and pull the new one in with the old one.
I used to buy my chains by the roll .
Once a chain has reached the end of the adjustment on your rear wheel the sprockets have significant wear.
The trick is to run several chains so all of them wear with the sprockets.
Putting anew chain on a set of worn sprockets will kill the chain in no time flat.
When we were in the mountains I was knocking up a touch over 150,000km / year and was doing a roll of Hitachi industrial high speed chain ( 100 ft ) about every year.
The M20 has not gone through it's 5 chains that I bought back in 1994 and that is well over 500,000 miles ago .
It has gone through more pistons & clutches than chains

[a10 gf]

Once a chain has reached the end of the adjustment on your rear wheel the sprockets have significant wear.
The trick is to run several chains so all of them wear with the sprockets.
Putting anew chain on a set of worn sprockets will kill the chain in no time flat.

That is good info

[Butch (cb)]

When I used to use a CB250RS for work I was doing about a 1000 miles a month. The chain and sprockets would last only 6 months – I think maybe on std gearing the sprockets weren’t a great size for longevity (whatever I mean by that?), plus the single cylinder pulsing took its toll. Running the bike on a shoe string, when I got to the end of adjustment I’d swap the gearbox sprocket out for one I had that was one tooth bigger and get another fortnight out of the chain. Of course eventually I had it let go on me by doing that.

[Duncan R]

Have they changed the formula ? I used this stuff a long time ago when I was a dispatch rider and my bike used to eat chains. Found it to be no better than spray lube plus all the hassle of taking the chain off- thank heavens for O ring chains, I got nearly 25000 miles out of the last chain on my Kawasaki ZZR 1100. I would fit one to the BSA but the clearance is tight with the chain guard.

ZZR 1100 for dispatch riding.
You obviously like doing things the hard way.
I did the same job in the Sydney CBD on a SR500 with the A65L as back up .
Both bikes had a 200 litre combined pannier top box fitted into which I could jamb 300kg of airfreight satchels.
As for fitting the chains, that is why you use multiple chains.
Just link them together and pull the new one in with the old one.
I used to buy my chains by the roll .
Once a chain has reached the end of the adjustment on your rear wheel the sprockets have significant wear.
The trick is to run several chains so all of them wear with the sprockets.
Putting anew chain on a set of worn sprockets will kill the chain in no time flat.
When we were in the mountains I was knocking up a touch over 150,000km / year and was doing a roll of Hitachi industrial high speed chain ( 100 ft ) about every year.
The M20 has not gone through it's 5 chains that I bought back in 1994 and that is well over 500,000 miles ago .
It has gone through more pistons & clutches than chains

I didn't have the ZZR at the time. Worst on chain and sprockets was a Honda CB 250 N. The bigger bikes seemed better with the O ring chains. In its heyday in London despatchers used all sorts of bikes from step thrus to top of the range sports bikes, plenty of money around then, by the mid 90's it wasn't worth doing anymore.