Hi guys girls I have problem with my chain, getting lots of bad surface rust on it. Its a 2010 Ducati Multistrada but guess its the same chain thought our Ducs. Now not had a problem with this on my other bikes a Honda and Suzuki and yes they all live outside. I take this bike out once twice a week for a run and keep it sprayed up in Scotoiler protective spray. I on every occasion lube the chain with chain lube.>???? Now in the old days when they were constructed different I used to get a bit tin of grease and smother the chain with grease. And that did the job. Am i to believe we cant do this any more on these new, O lInk chains? How do you guys get around this..
I use a toothbrush to lube both sides of the chain and this seems to have halted the process. The chain on the Multistrada does seem a bit agricultural, but it is the only bike I have owned with a chain so I have little to compare it with.
Mine snapped, hit the indicator, suspension coil and broke both chain covers (front and back). It did this at 110 when I was accelerating, not good but gladly never holed the engine or took my leg with it. Exactly what you described, even when lubbed, adjusted, it started being noisy and stayed rusty. This is after about 11k miles from new. Now replaced with x ring chain and renthal sprockets and no issues. Am not the best maintainer out there but first ever bike that snapped chain like this, so I would recommend you replace it asap as not sure ducati chain are the best. Bugs
not sure if this is your issue but l have found many 'racing' chain lubes not to be waterproof Steve B
PB, you can't bathe an O ring chain in hot grease, like the old Duckhams chain oil. If you do, you will destroy the O rings. My advice would be to lube the chain when you return from a ride, as the chain is warm(er) and the lube will penetrate the outerrollers better. If the ride has been wet this will also help to displace any water. For an O ring chain, no amount of lubing will get past the O rings, The best you can hope for is to lubricate the O rings to ensure they don't tear /split. If the pins start to seize causing stiff links, it is the beginning of the end for the chain. I used a scott oiler on my ST4S and previous touring bikes, and whilst it worked a treat the rear wheel was always covered in chain oil, so I've stopped using them. I now use castrol spray on chain wax/lube on all my bikes. Spraying it on when I get home means very little flings off. Hope that helps
Wow that chain must have gone very tight to snap. Or very loose and jumped a sprocket. Nearly all my life on bikes and never heard of a snapped chain.
Me too. Ridden in damp conditions and I've also got rust spots on side links. Chain lubed every week. My last chain had gold coloured side links.
I have had surface rust on chains, R1, FZ1s, GSXR1000. Easily cleaned off with a rough cloth and WD40,. Entirely the fault of Dry lube in my experience, unless Yamaha and Suzuki are sourcing the same (inferior chains? which I kinda doubt ). Its a choice you take between the back wheel wearing oil/grease on one side or more regular cleaning and maintenance with a zero fling product. I dont mind the bit extra work as I believe the lube only belongs on the chain! As to tight spots, rust or lack of maintenance to the chain on a big grunty Vtwin.....not a great idea as the stresses are way higher than on an inline four. I think the gold chains have a coating or anodized finish which is way easier to keep clean, seems to be rust free and also looks cool (imo) cant remember which bike I had with that on when I bought it.
Paul, where did you see this? I also want one! Have seen one on fleabay, but the shipping costs almost as much as the chain! If u have a uk supplier let me know pls!
I allways used Castrol chain wax to, Spray on a clean chain then wipe off the exess with a lint free cloth to reduce fling. Just a quick turorial for you, when adjusting your chain it's best if you can ratchet strap your suspention down so your swinging arm is straight out from your front sprocket, thats the longest distance between your sprockets then adjust your chain so you have about 12-16mm of movment from top to bottom. then turn your wheel a few degrees and check it again, find the tightest spot and make sure your have atill got some free play if not adjust the chain again looking for that 12-16mm total movment.
Sorry to have to correct you jc, but you need to read the MTS manual. You need to have the bike in, IIRC, Enduro setting so the chain is at it's tightest before adjusting it, on its side stand. You then use the Ducati supplied tool to get it just right.
I've never had a chain rust, including on my Chinese commuter bikes which have been ridden in all weathers. The only way a chain can rust is if its improperly lubed, or lubed with an unsuitable lube. I've always used either castrol chain wax, or wurth or silkoline chain lube if the bike is ridden in all weather. Avoid anything 'race' as its not suitable for road use where things like salt and water come into play - its designed for minimal drag. On the road it wants to be waterproof and clingy.
A few salient points. 1. I have a 2010 (very early) MTS1200 and the chain is a "low rent" Regina chain. I ride in all weathers and it rusted badly no matter what chain lube I used. It cab be cleaned with kerosene or WD40 but the outer surface of the chain plates seems to be uncoated and you can bet that whatever happens on the outside of the chainplates is going on in the inside. 2. Having said that, I look after my chain and the first chain and sprocket set lasted 30,000km (we don't have road salt here in the antipodes though). 3. I had to put tyres on about 3 months ago and I saw this new Motul C5 Chain Paste 150mL/143g and got a tube. It cost AUD$14 at a Ducati dealer and is in a toothpaste like tube with a brush applicator. Key shown for size. It is about as long as a tube of toothpaste and maybe 2x the volume. I had just replaced the chain and sprockets on my MTS1200 at 32,000km with DID chain and AFAM sprockets. I thought a bit of easy to use chain care would be useful. I have used both Motul chain wax lube and Bel-ray so far on this bike but both spray cans get pretty messy. The MTS has the rear chain crud catcher and this makes it hard to lube both sides of the chain without taking off the catcher with 3 hard to get at bolts. The other option is to just spray it on and get lube over the wheels and tyres or try to catch overspray with a piece of cardboard. I gave my bike a clean today and gave it a go. This is what the top end looks like. Bristles are quite stiff. Uncap, unscrew the brush, remove a foil seal on the tube end, refit the brush, squeeze and "paint" it on. Seems to work really well. Easy to apply to both top and bottom of the chain and use the brush to work the lube onto the o-rings. Top. Bottom. Just paint with one hand and rotate the wheel with the other. Seems also to help get the crap out of the rollers and o-rings. This chain has only done about 1,000km so it is still pretty clean. Wipe clean with a rag, job done in maybe 2 minutes. Absolutely no lube anywhere but on the chain. What a novel concept. I have used it for 4,000km on the chain set now and I have applied it maybe 7 times. Seems to last really well and no rust. The chain is ultra quiet also. Hard to tell about the longevity yet but I have not yet had to adjust the chain tension since I fitted the chain set. This is way better than the original chain that seems to need adjusting every 2,000km or so. Maybe it is down to the better chain or maybe the lube. Summary. Seems an excellent product and quite good value. It is a small tube but there is so little wastage that I guess I will get ?30 lubes out of a single tube. The tube itself is small and flexible and would be easier to carry on tour than a pressure can. It is more of a paste or creme consistency rather than a wax but it is waaayyyyy cleaner to use than any spray I have ever used and is easy to lube the chain pivot areas without getting it everywhere. Many sprays really need you to spray and let it dry for some time to stop fling. This does seem to have that problem. Put it on and ride. You will need a wipe off rag after lubing but so far this is pretty good stuff.
Tim , that looks like great stuff !! The chain on my Sept '11 bike spoils the looks with surface rust . Like the comment about less noise as well. What's the best way to clean the links without damaging the 'O' rings ?? Good tip thanks.
Motul C5 Chain Paste 150ml Lubricant for road motorcycle chains. White coloured and sticky. Spray TYPE OF USE - All types of chains : standard and with O-RING, X-RING, Z-RING Aesult of Motul's experience in motorcycleracing, only for road use(sticky £7.30 here.
jjcraceandrally seller on fleabay doing them for £6.58 with free delivery. Just bought myself one to give it a try. Nick
Wiltspp, The traditional way to clean o-ring and x-ring chains is to use kerosene. Kerosene (also called paraffin oil) acts as a degreaser, solvent but is also an oil. It will not damage the nitrile sealing rings and get the gunk off. The thing I like about the Motul product is that it works, does not get cr@p all over the wheels and sort of cleans itself when you put it on. Once you use it, the gunge on the chain is worked out of the links by the applicator brush and just wiped off. Since I started using it, I have not had to clean or degrease the chain at all. It looks like new. I should take a pic tomorrow to show how it looks after about 5,000km.
