How To Chain Lube Motorcycle

Chain maintenance for motorcycles is usually neglected in India and sometimes, even the official motorcycle service centers don’t perform this crucial maintenance process in the correct manner. It’s a major issue, as it’s the chain that literally transfers energy to the rear wheels of the bike and a dirty or dirty chain can seriously impact the performance. The good thing is that it’s not difficult to tackle yourself if you’re willing to wash your hands dirty, and dusty. Keep in mind that this must be performed at least every 500km.

Tools needed:

  • A paddock stand (if your motorcycle doesn’t have a main stand).
  • Toothbrush/chain cleaning brush.
  • A rag.
  • WD-40 multi-use product spray/chain cleaner.
  • Chain lubricant.
  • And gloves (if you don’t want to get your hands dirty).

1. Jack up your motorcycle

Find a smooth, clean area to set your bike onto the paddock stand or the main stand. Clean surfaces are always an ideal place to start with so that you do not end up contaminating the motorcycle or yourself. But, remember that you must clean the area following your ride because it’s about to become dirty. Because we’ll likely be using water in the future, make sure to see that there is adequate drainage. It is an ideal time to organize and put your equipment on the top of the ladder or out of the chain’s surface.

2. Wash the chain

Chains for motorcycles are filthy and even more so in countries similar to ours where roads aren’t maintained regularly. Chains that are exposed are magnets to dust and dirt due to their oily surface as well as their position on the bike. This is the main reason that the majority of commuter motorcycles in India have enclosed chains that have covers. But with the rise of more athletic commuters as well as new sportbikes, open chains have become an everyday sight. Chains open to elements can get very dirty. The first thing they require is a thorough wash. The water will help remove the most surface dirt off the chain as it can; it also helps loosen any remaining sludge left on the chain.

3. Clean the chain

As with all things, preparation is essential, and washing the chain isn’t enough. It requires thorough cleaning first spraying it with a chain cleaner or with WD-40’s multi-use spray. The latter is found in a lot of hardware stores. While WD-40 is not widely accepted in some circles, it is believed that it could cause harm to the O-rings that are delicately attached to chains over a prolonged time. Be sure to turn the wheel when spraying to ensure that it covers each link of the chain. Then, allow it to sit for some time to absorb and then begin to work with the cleaner brush for the chain. Clean the brush every time. Then, wipe the entire chain using a cloth and check that the chain has shed its black sludgy look and returned to its original shiny metallic color.

4. Oil the chain

The final and most satisfying step is to grease the chain with the lubricant for motorcycle chains. Make use of the nozzle included in the spray bottle and ensure to oil each link in the chain. Be sure to spray in small bursts, so that the oil doesn’t go everywhere else, which could make it difficult to remove. Be cautious not to over-lube and be especially cautious not to spill any residue on your rear tire. An excellent tip is to place a piece of cardboard on it to hold the spray at bay.

What Is Engine Performance?

Engine performance is an engine’s ability to do work in terms of horsepower, torque, or efficiency.

Car engine

Engine Performance Parameters

  1. Mean Effective Pressure
  2. Mean Piston Speed
  3. Specific Power Output
  4. Specific Fuel Consumption
  5. Air-Fuel Ratio
  6. Calorific Value of the Fuel

Mean Effective Pressure (pm)

The average pressure inside the cylinders of the internal combustion engine is based on the resulted power output.

For any engine, there will be two Mean effective pressures. One is Specific Indicated Mean Effective Pressure(pim), and the second one is the Brake mean effective pressure (pbm). These two are derived from the indicated power and the brake power.

Mean Piston Speed

Mean Piston speed can be calculated from the following formula

Mean piston speed (Sp) = 2 × Stroke Length × Speed in RPM

Specific Power Output (Sp)

Power output graph

The specific Power output can be simply defined as the power output per unit area of the piston.

Specific Power output (Ps) = Brake Power/Piston Area

Air-Fuel Ratio

The proportions of the air with the fuel play a crucial role in the performance of the engine. This is expressed in the terms of the air-fuel ratio. In spark Ignition Engines, the Air-Fuel ratio will be the same for most of the operations. But in the Compression engines where the fuel is entered separately with the help of the fuel injectors, so that if the load needs to be increased, then the fuel amount will be increased directly in the cylinder.

Calorific Value (CV) of the Fuel

Calorific values of different fuels

The calorific value of the fuel is defined as the amount of thermal energy released per unit quantity of fuel when it is burned completely.

Conclusion

We have discussed the different types of Efficiencies in the Internal Combustion Engine, and also the Engine Performance parameters such as the Mean Effective Pressure, Mean Piston Speed, Specific Power Output, Specific Fuel Consumption, Air-Fuel Ratio, Calorific Value of the Fuel. If you have any thoughts please let us know in the below comment section.