Chain Lube
 

Hi All

I bought a Tao Tao ATA 110-B for my son’s b-day. This is probably the neubeeist of neubee questions but is their a correct way to lube the chain and what do I use.

Welcome to the forum nimadd! :)

I use BelRay Chain lube...but thats not as important as lubing a warm chain...i usually ride around for a few minutes and then lube the chain. I raise the rear wheels and spray under the chain as I spin the tires...Lubing the inside of the chain lets chain lube get thrown thru the chain when you ride and not get thrown off the chain..

Did that make sense?

.....and dont forget to lube the plates of the chain (on the outside).....thats where the wear and stretching occurs.....spraying tons of lube on the rollers does nothing.

Ive actually got some of that Champion chain lube.....as well as some made by Gunk under their Liquid Wrench label (that I got at Harbor Freight for $3 a can). I would never use it on a road bike (I use good stuff like the BelRay and PJ1 products for that) but I think on a utility or kids ATV it works great. If I was running a sport quad at high speeds I think I would go with the nicer stuff as well.....but for my purposes the cheap stuff is great and I can buy 3 can to 1 can of the good stuff. I lube often due to mud and water so why waste the good stuff. .......and any lube is better than no lube.

Welcome to the forum... Being a newB myself I am finding there isn't much these guys have never heard. I myself have asked what I thought are "newB" questions and they are all great with knowledgable responses.

Thanks for the input aaronrkelly and xcitmt. My street bike is shaft drive and the previous one was a belt drive no chains. The first time my boy rode the quad it ran great. The longer he rode it the more throttle he needed to give it to get it going (centrifugal clutch). My first thought was this is a cheep piece of junk and I just wasted 500 bucks. Then it dawned on me, while I was putting the thing together I remember the chain was dry as a bone. Like I said in the “Introduce Yourself” section of this forum I always look for a good internet forum for my new toys and this one seemed to be the best. So I posted this thread and got to meet you good people.

I’ve read a lot of posts on here and there is a ton of good information here. Hopefully as I become more experienced with quads I’ll be able to give back some of what I get out of this forum. For right now I’m just a neubee learning.

By the way after my boy had been riding for about four hours Saturday the quad wouldn’t idle. So I started reading here about carbs. Sunday morning I pulled the carb, cleaned and adjusted it and ran all day Sunday with no problems. Thanks again to the great people on here for their experience.

The great chain lube debate. LOL :D
Biggest consumer rip-off there is IMO.
If you have a o-ring chain, lube is a mute point, the lube doesn't get to the pins.
A non o-ring chain wears out fast with or without lube.

You can usually see a lil black thing in the chain on o-rings.
It's a fair bet that if your chain is stock, then it's a non o-ring chain. And yes, for a few bucks you might as well use a lube. :)

Im up for it.. ;) :D

Biggest? Really? Ah cmon!! :lmao:

It does help the orings last longer. and helps the chain from rusting. :)

Heck everything used in the dirt wears out.. :lol:.. Lubing a non oring chain will cut friction/drag, which any Chinese ATV could use help with. ;)

Do you have a can of chain lube LT80? :huh:

I will agree with that my oring chain gets alot of rust and sand on it I clean it with brake cleaner then get it warm and use chain wax like Maxima

"Do you have a can of chain lube LT80?"
Yes I do!! Got it as a door prise some years ago.:P

I went riding last weekend.My Buddy was helping me get ready.I noticed him spraying my chain. LMAO.
He used my "fluid film" (which I learned about thru atv connection).
Added .5 horse power. :D

Your the only 1 I know whop doesnt use any chain lube? Do you only ride in sand? Only use O-Ring chains? I would think my chains would be piles of rust with all the mud/water I ride in..

:lmao: He was only trying to help. ;) :lmao:

I have a little mini buggy I made for my boys about 20 yrs ago..It has a 5hp Chrylser 2 stroke engine, centrifugal clutch and a jack shaft. One of the chains(#35 non oring) goes thru a "S" shape around a tensioner/roller....If that chain is dry the wheels wont turn if you push the buggy. Running its ok...Lube the chain and it pushes like its on air bearings...

80/90 gear oil will stick and lub forever

Hi gary1.937 the Champion chain lube I've been using seems to be doing a good job but the can is starting to run low. I,ve got some 90 weight laying around. How well does it hold up in mud.

That's what I was thinking for these little made in China wonders.

Joel

One thing that I do is take the chain off and submerge it in engine oil overnight. Take it out and wipe off the excess and put it back on. Chain lube and/or oil will get to the pins if You let it soak. works for me.

I haven't taken the time to read all this forum post yet, but I know this is a HUGE sore subject of what is better. I am a member with another forum
Dirt Bikes , Motorcycles, Motocross , Supercross , Off-Road : Dirt Rider . Net

and chemical engineers and an engineer myself will take everyone around and around on this subject. I have 55 Hp on the dirt bike and will be replacing the chains often due to the power alone. X-ring chains or standard do last the same depending on the care. X-ring or O-ring DOES NOT mean maintenance free!!!! Search beyond these forums and even many other sources before you complain about someones care methods. A $200 chain needed to be readjusted JUST as often as a standard chain. A high tensile strength, standard chain is what I use now because of the research I did and learned what wears a chain. I hope this post doesn't keep reappearing here like the subject does on other forums. Take your time and research PRO's and not listen to "sales" gimmicks to get you to buy a $300 chain. I don't have the sources at the moment, but wish you all could read and find out how and where the chains are coming from....along with the sales gimmicks.
Look past the common answers here and let this forum post die!!!! Sick of the same arguments on every forum.

I might take the time to read this post, but I know lack of knowledge will be flowing out of someones butt! Use Google and don't waste our time here. Maintain all your chains. Nothing is maintenance free in offroad.