wd40 "friend or foe" & yes oem chain is an o ring chain

[kusstj]

Jud is right on the mark, keeping the chain clean is probably more important to chain and sprocket life than is lubing. I like to blastmine clean when I think it is getting grungy. WD-40 is an oily solvent and cuts crud well. I blast it until it is running off and leaving a good mess on the grou . . . I mean newspaper I put on the ground to soak up the mess. Blast it for a good 10 - 15 seconds untils it is dripping off profusely. Let it dry for a few hours before running. Then once is it clean (er) and dried, I give it a few shots of chain lube I have handy. BTW, Gunk makes a chain lube which cleans siimilarly and lubes too. Make sure you get the one recommended for O ring chains. Gunk makes a chain lube that is not recommened for O ring chains ,- read the small print. Again, it cleans it with the solvent like performance of WD40, and leaves an oily residue to help lube it. I know I know WD-40 is technically not a lube according to the "great lubrication Minds" but hey it works, and I know there are some senior list members who have run chains over 15k miles just using wd40. Again, I use it mostly to clean, then I use other products on the chain as well. todd in Chaska MN

[Chris Norloff]

WD-40 is a solvent with a light machine oil. The solvent is Varsol, or Stoddard's Solvent. WD-40 both cleans and provides some oiling. No word on how it is as a dessert topping. Google "WD-40 MSDS" for details. Chris -----Original Message----- From: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of kusstj Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 1:57 PM To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: Chain Question - clean and lube Jud is right on the mark, keeping the chain clean is probably more important to chain and sprocket life than is lubing. I like to blastmine clean when I think it is getting grungy. WD-40 is an oily solvent and cuts crud well. I blast it until it is running off and leaving a good mess on the grou . . . I mean newspaper I put on the ground to soak up the mess. Blast it for a good 10 - 15 seconds untils it is dripping off profusely. Let it dry for a few hours before running. Then once is it clean (er) and dried, I give it a few shots of chain lube I have handy. BTW, Gunk makes a chain lube which cleans siimilarly and lubes too. Make sure you get the one recommended for O ring chains. Gunk makes a chain lube that is not recommened for O ring chains ,- read the small print. Again, it cleans it with the solvent like performance of WD40, and leaves an oily residue to help lube it. I know I know WD-40 is technically not a lube according to the "great lubrication Minds" but hey it works, and I know there are some senior list members who have run chains over 15k miles just using wd40. Again, I use it mostly to clean, then I use other products on the chain as well. todd in Chaska MN ------------------------------------ List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Member Map at: http://www.frappr.com/dsnklr650Yahoo! Groups Links

[J Fortner]

On Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 12:57 PM, kusstj wrote:

> snip > > Again, it cleans it with the solvent like performance of WD40, and > leaves an oily residue to help lube it. I know I know WD-40 is > technically not a lube according to the "great lubrication Minds" but > hey it works, and I know there are some senior list members who have > run chains over 15k miles just using wd40. Again, I use it mostly to > clean, then I use other products on the chain as well. todd in Chaska > MN >

from WD40.com/faq WD-40 literally stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt. That's the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed WD-40 back in 1953. The chemist, Norm Larsen, was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion-a task which is done by displacing water. Norm's persistence paid off when he perfected the formula on his 40th try. WD40 work well for cleaning debris off chains before it has a chance to penetrate the seals and grease destroying the pins and chain. Clean with WD40, then lube with your choice of lube or not. As long as nothing destroys the seals or grease, normal chain pin wear will occur. Jim Fortner [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[E.L. Green]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "kusstj" wrote:

> I know I know WD-40 is > technically not a lube according to the "great lubrication Minds"

Maybe not according to the "great lubrication Minds", but according to its MRDS sheet, it's approximately 60% mineral spirits (the "aliphatic hydrocarbon", look up the CAS #'s for the MSDS for the ingredients and you'll see that it's basically Stoddard solvent), 25% light machine oil, and 15% "other" stuff (perfume, CO2 propellant, etc.). In short, it's light machine oil with a solvent carrier. I.e., a lubricant. http://www.wd40company.com/files/pdf/msds-wd494716385.pdf But let's not confuse a good Internet discussion with facts, eh? .

[Bradley Scheirer]

Is the stock chain an Oring? Brad

----- Original Message ----- From: kusstj To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 1:57 PM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: Chain Question - clean and lube Jud is right on the mark, keeping the chain clean is probably more important to chain and sprocket life than is lubing. I like to blastmine clean when I think it is getting grungy. WD-40 is an oily solvent and cuts crud well. I blast it until it is running off and leaving a good mess on the grou . . . I mean newspaper I put on the ground to soak up the mess. Blast it for a good 10 - 15 seconds untils it is dripping off profusely. Let it dry for a few hours before running. Then once is it clean (er) and dried, I give it a few shots of chain lube I have handy. BTW, Gunk makes a chain lube which cleans siimilarly and lubes too. Make sure you get the one recommended for O ring chains. Gunk makes a chain lube that is not recommened for O ring chains ,- read the small print. Again, it cleans it with the solvent like performance of WD40, and leaves an oily residue to help lube it. I know I know WD-40 is technically not a lube according to the "great lubrication Minds" but hey it works, and I know there are some senior list members who have run chains over 15k miles just using wd40. Again, I use it mostly to clean, then I use other products on the chain as well. todd in Chaska MN [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[kusstj]

I guess I am showing my age when I recall banter from many years past. Thanks very much for the MSDS info on the product. Personally, I go through a couple gallons per year, and I think it does good things. it is funny however, that I do recall those who agued that it wasn't appropriate as a lube and was only decent as a solvent. Then others who like me trust in it whole heartedly. Maybe some with better memories than I can recall the specific - just for old times sake. -not important obviously. Just for fun I once let people on a gun users list know that I had used it to clean guns. Boy did the lubrication minds come out of the woodwork on that one. The claim (if I recall accurately) is that it serves as a solvent to loosen up working parts, but then if left alone can attract dust, which binds things up, and the cycle continues. I like it on my chain, that I know. cleans it up nice. I still have a five year old can of "synthetic" chain lube (made by one of my favorite synthetic engine oil producers) but I tend to think the stuff turns gooey. Then I eventually use WD40 on it anyway. Yes, the OEM chain is an O ring chain todd Chaska MN mosquito land