Re: How fast do you drive with your motorcycle on the freeway? 70?

> 90 - 110, with bursts at flat out of 120

> Alexey wrote:
>>> Alexey wrote:
>>>>> Alexey wrote:
>>>>>>> Alexey wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Alexey wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> On Nov 18, 11:52 am, use...@dikkebrommer.nl (Mike Schenk)
>>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>> rec.motorcycles.racing, alt.motorcycle.sportbike:
>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Chains only need to lubricated if they have no O- or X-rings,
>>>>>>>>>>>> which
>>>>>>>>>>>> tend to be for racing applications only these days.  If the
>>>>>>>>>>>> chain
>>>>>>>>>>>> has some kind of gasket setup (O-ring or X-ring), pins have
>>>>>>>>>>>> their
>>>>>>>>>>>> lubricant and if the rings go, you have to replace the chain,
>>>>>>>>>>>> not
>>>>>>>>>>>> lubricate it.  If you attempt to lubricate such a chain, the
>>>>>>>>>>>> lubricant
>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> That's bullshit, a chain with X/O rings still needs to be
>>>>>>>>>>> lubricated.
>>>>>>>>>>> Not like in the old days, by taking the chain off the bike and
>>>>>>>>>>> soaking
>>>>>>>>>>> it in warm oil for a time, because the internals of the links
>>>>>>>>>>> themselves
>>>>>>>>>>> are taken care of by the X/O rings. But still, the chain rolls
>>>>>>>>>>> are
>>>>>>>>>>> in
>>>>>>>>>>> contact with the sprockets and that needs lubricating too
>>>>>>>>>>> otherwise
>>>>>>>>>>> it
>>>>>>>>>>> will wear out faster than necessary.
>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Why does it need lubrication?  Chain rolls are not subjected to
>>>>>>>>>> friction.
>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> It's not as critical as it used to be, but it is still
>>>>>>>>>>> important
>>>>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>>>>> lubricate a chain. The easiest to do that is by using a spray,
>>>>>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>>>>> make
>>>>>>>>>>> sure to spray it on the inside of the chain.
>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I'm not gonna get into a religious debate about proper chain
>>>>>>>>>> maintenance, but suffice it to say that the concept of O- and
>>>>>>>>>> X-ring
>>>>>>>>>> chains not needing external lubricants was first communicated
>>>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>>>> me
>>>>>>>>>> by
>>>>>>>>>> a guy teaching a bike maintenance course, who used to be a
>>>>>>>>>> mechanic
>>>>>>>>>> for several BMW road race teams.  Nowadays I dabble in racing
>>>>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>>>> I've
>>>>>>>>>> been running X-ring chains, primarily out of laziness.  I never
>>>>>>>>>> lubricated them, only cleaned them.  When I was in California
>>>>>>>>>> racing
>>>>>>>>>> a
>>>>>>>>>> 600 on fast tracks, a 420 DID chain would go a season and a
>>>>>>>>>> half
>>>>>>>>>> with
>>>>>>>>>> no stretching or other issues whatsoever.  After that, it would
>>>>>>>>>> usually develop slight tightness in some links and I would
>>>>>>>>>> replace
>>>>>>>>>> it
>>>>>>>>>> for performance reasons, though it would still be perfectly
>>>>>>>>>> fine
>>>>>>>>>> for
>>>>>>>>>> a
>>>>>>>>>> street application.
>>>
>>>>>>>>> So how many _miles_ have you gotten on a chain treated in the
>>>>>>>>> manner
>>>>>>>>> you recommend?
>>>
>>>>>>>> That's a misleading question.  Firstly, because track miles are
>>>>>>>> quite
>>>>>>>> a bit different from street miles, and secondly because, as I
>>>>>>>> mentioned, I was replacing those chains for performance reasons,
>>>>>>>> not
>>>>>>>> because they were unsafe or unfit for riding in general.
>>>
>>>>>>> Then what relevance does it have to street riding?
>>>
>>>>>> The relevance is that it can be seen as a kind of stress test for
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> chain.  If you go to a track, you'll quickly see a number of
>>>>>> components on your bike deteriorate or break at a much accelerated
>>>>>> rate.  To continue with the chain example, I used to ride with
>>>>>> master
>>>>>> links on the street without problems.  When I tried using them on
>>>>>> my
>>>>>> F3, it worked fine on the east coast tracks, where the speeds are
>>>>>> lower and the flow is a bit more uniform, but as soon as I started
>>>>>> racing in Cali, master link clips started coming off until I
>>>>>> switched
>>>>>> to using riveted links.  And if you think a track bike doesn't get
>>>>>> dirty, that's not true.  Firstly, I did have a number of run-offs
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> crashes during that time, which gets grit and dust absolutely
>>>>>> everywhere it can go.  And additionally, rubber components, such as
>>>>>> seals, tend to suffer most from lack of use (dry rot), which a
>>>>>> track
>>>>>> bike sees a lot of as it sits between events.
>>>
>>>>> So how many chains have you worn out on the race track?  Or is it
>>>>> your contention that the primary reason for replacing chains on
>>>>> street bikes is something other than wear?
>>>
>>>> I'm not sure what you mean by "worn out" in the context of what I
>>>> said
>>>> about my reasons for replacing chains on track bikes.  If you want to
>>>> know how many I've replaced, it's probably around 4 or 5 since I
>>>> started racing in late 2000.
>>>
>>> Worn to the point that standard published maintenance procedures
>>> specify replacement.
>>
>> In that case, the answer is none.
>
> So how do you know that your recommendation to not lubricate the chain
> will not shorten its life?

> I've ridden for literally 100s of miles at over 100 and the last thing
> I was worried about was busting the chani!.