Chain Lube vs None

A friend (modernish Triumph rider) does not use any lube at all on his x-ring chain.
His reasoning is that lube picks up dust & grime and turns to a grinding paste, accelerating sprocket (and external roller) wear. The internals of the chain are, of course, looked after. He claims more than 50,000 miles from his sprockets, which don't appear to need changing anytime soon.
I clean and lube my chain (Motul cleaner & C4 lube) every 1000 miles.
Any pearls of wisdom on this issue?
Cheers

robs ss said:

A friend (modernish Triumph rider) does not use any lube at all on his x-ring chain.
His reasoning is that lube picks up dust & grime and turns to a grinding paste, accelerating sprocket (and external roller) wear. The internals of the chain are, of course, looked after. He claims more than 50,000 miles from his sprockets, which don't appear to need changing anytime soon.
I clean and lube my chain (Motul cleaner & C4 lube) every 1000 miles.
Any pearls of wisdom on this issue?
Cheers

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I don't think O-Ring or X-Ring chains need lube, but IMHO, cleaning them is important. There are still side plates and rollers where grit can get in - probably not past the seals, but packed in nonetheless. Nothing fancy, just some WD40 and a rag for me - not mileage based but when it looks dirty or has been in the rain.

Here's all D.I.D says on it: https://www.didchain.com/blogs/news/d-i-d-chain-maintenance

I lube all my chains, heavy duty chain on the Norton, X-chain on my Honda CRF450X dirt bike , and my O ring chain on my 1200 Thruxton, on the X and O ring chains just enough lube to keep the rollers lubed for a smooth run on the sprockets, as soon as I see a bit of shine on the rollers I lightly lube the chain while the chain is still warm from a ride.
The heavy duty chain on the Norton is done the same as soon the rollers see a bit of shine a lube and every year as part of general maintenance I pull the Norton chain off and give is a over night socking in kero, a good clean and free up any tight side plates then a soaking in hot oil on the stove.
I get very long life out of my chains and sprocket even using heavy duty chains on the Norton, after 50 years of riding the Norton I am still on my second rear and front sprockets and about 4 chains in that time, my last chain came from Andy the chainman before he retired still looks great with over 35K miles on it.
My second rear sprocket the outer circlip mount broke away over 3/4 of the outer mount, while waiting for a new drum/sprocket to come from RGM I machined the circlip mount deeper and put 2 size bigger circlip in, that was 15+ years ago the sprocket is still on the bike and the new one is still sitting under my work bench, look after your chains and you will get long life out of them and your sprockets, my Norton has well over 160K+ miles on it was my everyday rider for most of it life, semi retired now just like me.
But everyone have their own opinions on this subject, this is my opinion and will keep doing it, works for me.

Ashley

marshg246 said:

I don't think O-Ring or X-Ring chains need lube, but IMHO, cleaning them is important. There are still side plates and rollers where grit can get in - probably not past the seals, but packed in nonetheless. Nothing fancy, just some WD40 and a rag for me - not mileage based but when it looks dirty or has been in the rain.

Here's all D.I.D says on it: https://www.didchain.com/blogs/news/d-i-d-chain-maintenance

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Thanks for that link Greg. I have emailed D.I.D. asking what products they recommend in this, rather vague, statement:
"For cleaning and lubricating, D.I.D recommends use of exclusive oils that state to be seal-ring safe to properly maintain any drive chain."
That appears to be a cop-out statement if ever I've seen one. I wonder what "exclusive" means in that context?
Cheers

robs ss said:

Thanks for that link Greg. I have emailed D.I.D. asking what products they recommend in this, rather vague, statement:
"For cleaning and lubricating, D.I.D recommends use of exclusive oils that state to be seal-ring safe to properly maintain any drive chain."
That appears to be a cop-out statement if ever I've seen one. I wonder what "exclusive" means in that context?
Cheers

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I think they just mean to use products that state they’re designed to protect the rubber seals as many products will do the opposite and perish / degrade rubber.

Fast Eddie said:

I think they just mean to use products that state they’re designed to protect the rubber seals as many products will do the opposite and perish / degrade rubber.

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I'm sure you're right, but I agree with @ROB ss it's a cop out. First, I'm surprised that D.I.D doesn't have a (rebranded) product of their own. But more importantly, I don't know what the seals are made of so how am I to look for a product - many "rubber" things today contain no rubber?

Looking for cleaners:

Motul Chain Clean says it's safe for all chains, but you need a "chain brush" and if you want lube, a separate Motul product

Trying to figure out if I'm OK using WD40, I find all the WD40 haters/lovers hard at it but little in the facts department: Here's an example: https://www.slashgear.com/1587054/can-you-use-wd-40-to-clean-motorcycle-chain/

I did an experiment years ago. Took a bunch of old Norton and Triumph rubber parts that were hard and discolored. Put half in one plastic bag and half in another. Sprayed until soaking wet with silicone spray in one and WD40 in the other. Sealed the bags and checked back in about a week. the results in both appeared excellent - they were back to their normal color and soft. Wiped the parts clean and left them to sit in open air for a week. The silicone treated parts looked good but were back to hard. The WD40 looked good and lost some of their softness but seemed useable - however, over time as I went to use them, they were back to hard.

So, at least for the "rubber" parts I tested, WD40 did not hurt them as far as I could tell.

marshg246 said:

The WD40 looked good and lost some of their softness but seemed useable - however, over time as I went to use them, they were back to hard.

So, at least for the "rubber" parts I tested, WD40 did not hurt them as far as I could tell.

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Plus, it smell so nice you can use it as perfume!

...on the subject of things that smell nice but are useful...

In the absence of any reply from D.I.D. i have cleaned the chain with Motul chain cleaner (apparently O, X, Z ring friendly) and after drying overnight massaged a coat of ACF-50 (nice smell!) into the chain.
It prevents corrosion, has a tenacious film and somewhat lubricates.

I'll report back in 1000 miles.
Cheers

concours said:

https://powersports.honda.com/pro-honda-oils/chain-lubricants/hp-chain-lube-with-moly

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Is it sticky when "dried"?