Maintenance is essential for drive chains to reduce friction loss and prevent rust. When cleaning and lubricating the chain with chain oil, care must be taken to prevent it from splashing onto the rear tire, but newspaper or cardboard can effectively guard against this.
I want to spray plenty of chain cleaner and chain oil.
Since chain cleaners use spray pressure to blow off the cleaning ingredients after they have penetrated the chain, it is inevitable that the cleaner ingredients will be dispersed to the other side of the chain. Wiping a wheel or tire covered in cleaner with a rag is a hassle, but a sheet of old newspaper inserted into the back of the chain provides good protection.
Dirt on the chain surface can be removed by spray pressure alone, but if past chain oil has accumulated and become highly viscous and mixed with the dirt, it may not be easily removed. Some chain cleaners are slow-drying products, so allow them to penetrate for a while.
There are two types of drive chains: the non-seal type, which is installed mainly on small-displacement moped-class vehicles, and the seal type, which is filled with grease for lubrication.
The seal-type grease fills the gap between the pins that connect the links of the chain and the bushings through which the pins pass, reducing the frictional force between the pins and bushings, which rub against each other with strong force due to riding force and back-torque.
Chain manufacturers specify maintenance after about 500 km or after riding in the rain or on rough roads. Non-seal chains have no lubricant in this area and must be periodically lubricated with chain oil. On the other hand, sealed chains are not maintenance-free either, since the rubber O-rings that seal the grease and the roller parts that contact the sprockets are not lubricated. As you can see from the chain after riding in the rain, the chain and sprockets are coated with gravel, which will become abrasive if the chain and sprockets continue to run.
Chains and sprockets are much harder metals than gravel, but it is not good for them to rotate with foreign matter trapped in them.
Chain manufacturers recommend regular maintenance in consideration of various riding conditions. Some riders do not perform maintenance because they do not ride in the rain, or because the chain oil will be dispersed even if they lubricate the chain, but there is no doubt that lubrication is necessary as long as the chain is subjected to large forces while metal contacts each other. When maintaining a chain, it is important to clean it with a cleaner before lubricating it. Lubricating the chain oil on top of the adhered gravel may push dirt between the pin and bushing in the case of a non-seal chain, or may cause dirt to adhere to the contact surface between the plate and the seal and damage the seal in the case of a sealed chain.
Chain cleaners and chain oils are generally spray types that are easy to use, and it is necessary to spray them in sufficient quantities to maximize their effectiveness. If only a small amount is used because of concerns about splashing on the wheels and tires, the dirt will not be removed and the oil will not be distributed well.