Performing Chain Maintenance While On The Road

[@BrokenToeKnee]

“People are looking at me like I’m some kind of weirdo freak” - Hilarious. You had me rolling on the floor.

[@1leftadventures258]

Lol!! I’ve had that look many many times in my travels. Haha.

[@airfoil]

Could you tell me what you use to clean the chain? Couldn't quite catch it. Thanks.

[@RuedaLibreMotoAdventure]

Simple Green, you can find it at your local store (Lowe's-HD)

[@BrokenToeKnee]

Hey, I remembered you saying that you had some issues with the cruise control shutting off and a chain cleaning would solve that problem. Were you ever able to pinpoint why a chain cleaning fixes that? I'm asking because today, I had the dealer do the 6,000 mile service and the cruise control shut off 3 times on the way home. In addition, it also seemed like the traction control let the back tire brake loose as I was exiting a gas station (I was leaned over a little to the right & hitting the gas to beat traffic). Never had that happen before either. Any wisdom or experience you can pass my way is appreciated.

[@1leftadventures258]

Hey brother, sorry to hear you’re having issues. There are several sensors that can cause it. Clutch, brake, shifter….. I’m not sure about the wheel sensor but I sorta thought that’s what could have caused my issue. When my chain was stiff, I assumed it was climbing a cog and causing the computer the think the wheel was slipping and shutting it off. Don’t really know for sure. Anyway, I never got to figure it out. I’ve since moved to a 1250GS with a shaft drive. Hope you figure it out. Take care. Chad.

[@BrokenToeKnee]

Thanks for replying. At this point in time, my little 'issues' are an annoyance more than anything. I'll keep an eye on things and if it happens again, then I'll put some effort into troubleshooting. To be sure, I prefer to do my own maintenance. That way I know what kind of job I'm getting. I took it to the dealership for this service so that they'd have a record in case I end up with any kind of warranty type failure on the bike. Congrats on the 1250. Those things are some kind of beast. I'll be sticking with my little 850 because I have a 2018 Goldwing for road trips.

[@1leftadventures258]

I understand that. I let BMW do my maintenance (mostly) for the same warranty reasons. I’m not doing that on the 1250. I’ve been doing my own. And hey, I loved the 850! I miss it. And you can’t go wrong with a Goldwing for cruising. 👍

[@BrokenToeKnee]

FYI - I'm 90% sure that merely snugging up the chain slack has helped my cruise control issues. The cruise control has shut itself off only once since I tightened the chain to it's minimum required slack. In the end, time will tell if this is the fix.

[@1leftadventures258]

Man I hope it does. That was annoying. I’ve since changed to a 1250 GS and have shaft drive. I miss the old bike badly. Let me know if that actually fixed the issue. Good luck and safe travels.

[@teclainvestigations8110]

Well, it’s not a Night Train, but I understand the reason in the change. Stay safe..

[@1leftadventures258]

Nope. The Night Train was a different chapter in life. Lol. What are you on now?

[@teclainvestigations8110]

@@1leftadventures258 My feet, but I’m thinking about another Harley.

[@1leftadventures258]

I can’t imagine you without a bike. You might want to consider the Adventure Bike route... it’s great.

[@teclainvestigations8110]

@@1leftadventures258 My only reservation is whether it’s comfortable enough or not? As old as I am, give me your opinion.

[@1leftadventures258]

It’s far more comfortable than the Train. Sitting upright is way better riding distance. Plus you aren’t restricted to pavement. You’ll need to go try one out.