Forum

[Dennis C]

Strange to say but there are a lot of well respected lubricant manufacturers making PTFE lubricants, it's also amazing how many other uses it has when you take the time to look, just a non stick coating?, I don't think so.

[Presto]

The type of chain makes no difference if using a dedicated spray lube. But then what do Morris’s know about lubrication compared to our resident ‘experts’?!

[ric]

The GT535 comes with an O ring chain as standard.

[PeteF]

Yes Dennis, a lot of it is used to sheath aeroplane wiring apparently, who knew?
It has one of the smallest friction coefficients of any material. If it's that slippery it's a lubricant in my book.

[Presto]

Seems general consensus is to refer to PTFE as a lubricant. How about this!!!: 'PTFE's resistance to van der Waals forces means that it is the only known surface to which a gecko cannot stick. PTFE is so slippery that insects cannot get a grip and tend to fall off. In industrial applications, owing to its low friction, PTFE is used for applications where sliding action of parts is needed: plain bearings, gears, slide plates, etc. In these applications, it performs significantly better than nylon and acetal.' We can all be 'experts' now!

[Gwilly]

I guess any oil or designer spray is better than nothing but i do believe more wear is caused by not cleaning the chain regularly.

Road crud will stick to the lubricant and basically become a grinding paste if not washed off..

So how to clean it? Painstakingly scrubbing with a special brush is no good, the chain must be removed..

Les H had a simple idea which works a treat and i've used it with success.

[Gwilly]

Line missing again, Attach an old chain to the current one using the split link, and in neutral, pull forward over the sprockets leaving the old chain in place..

[PeteF]

Gwilly, I thought I'd invented the milk carton method! That's just how I do it but with petrol (outside of course)

[Revband]

Gwilly "where's Jeff?. Hmm possibly hiding due to all the bad info he has posted recently?.

[Thack]

Has anyone seen any kind of full chain enclosure kit for the Bullet?



I ask because I've owned two bikes with a fully enclosed chain: a Honda C90 and an MZ TS125. Neither are high-powered chain-eaters, obviously, but the difference a fully enclosed chain makes is vast. They stay clean, moist with lube, and seem to wear at a small fraction of an exposed chain.



Ever since then I've wondered why on earth rear drive chains aren't always enclosed, because having an exposed chain is so obviously such a crap idea. I haven't really wondered, of course: it's because they look a bit naff and as styling is the most important factor in any purchase nobody is going to put buyers off by fitting one.



We Enfield owners are a bit different, though, and I don't care if a chain enclosure looks naff if it kept the chain clean and in good condition. The MZ enclosure was particularly clever: the horizontal chain runs each had their own rubber tube, and in the middle of each tube was a ribbed section so it could stretch or compress as you moved the back wheel to set the chain tension. The rear sprocket was enclosed in a round plastic thing and the horizontal tubes pushed into it. I can't remember how the front sprocket was protected.



Anyway, I wish all chain-drive bikes were like this.