This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

rust dust all over the back of the bike

N

NurseDaddy

Joined May 2014
184 Posts | 0+
Long Island
OK, this is weird.

The other day I noticed that there was a red oxide (rusty looking) dust on the drivetrain. All around the area of the front sprocket, all over the center stand, on the chain, all over the swingarm, and the rear rim and tire.

I didn't ride in heavy rain. My chain was lubed. I don't know where this stuff is coming from. If you've ever seen brake dust on a car rim it's like that but more red than that.

The only thing I can think of is that I'd bottomed out on a huge pothole not too long ago, but I don't see or hear anything making contact with anything else. Could something be rubbing and making fine metal dust that's then rusting??

Weird.
 
That's your chain. It's toast. You need to keep it lubricated more often and with a better lube. I used to use chain wax, and then that happened after riding in the wet once. Now I use Bel Ray super clean chain lube and it's a better lube and also cleaner.

You can confirm it's your chain by going to one of the rollers and turning it by hand right now. You can feel how rough it is. Now imagine it grinding away the whole time as you ride.

Get a new chain and lube it every 300 miles, or after any time you ride in the wet. Make sure the lube gets under the rollers, that's where it really matters. If it's dry out, you can wipe the lube off the entire exterior of the chain, since it will only collect dust and most chains have a mild rust preventative treatment. But if it's wet make sure it's totally covered in lube.
 
Check your sprockets also. You may be chewing them up as well. GL with it. Get a DID chain like I did after mine rusted
 
kuksul08 said:
That's your chain. It's toast. You need to keep it lubricated more often and with a better lube. I used to use chain wax, and then that happened after riding in the wet once. Now I use Bel Ray super clean chain lube and it's a better lube and also cleaner.

You can confirm it's your chain by going to one of the rollers and turning it by hand right now. You can feel how rough it is. Now imagine it grinding away the whole time as you ride.

Get a new chain and lube it every 300 miles, or after any time you ride in the wet. Make sure the lube gets under the rollers, that's where it really matters. If it's dry out, you can wipe the lube off the entire exterior of the chain, since it will only collect dust and most chains have a mild rust preventative treatment. But if it's wet make sure it's totally covered in lube.
Click to expand...

Just want to be specific here - the critical part of the chain to lube is where the outer plates contact the inner plates --that's where the o-rings are. The central part of the chain that grabs the sprocket is of secondary importance. You might be saying this but I'm not sure.

here's a site that is more detailed:Tech Tips from the Garage - Motorcycles - Harley Davidson - Honda - Suzuki - Kawasaki - Star - Buell - Yamaha - Ducati - BMW - Triumph - bikers - motorbikes
 
I don't know about the chain. Half my first 8,000 miles were in the rain, and I wasn't super attentive to chain maintenance. Averaged once a month and never gave it a spray down after hard wet rides. When I do clean it, I clean and lube it well.

I'm just skeptical of all this crappy chain talk. I've never had a brake dust issue, either (with multiple types of pads and rotors), and my rotors don't oxidize when I put it away wet. Always garaged, though.
 
appliance821 said:
Just want to be specific here - the critical part of the chain to lube is where the outer plates contact the inner plates --that's where the o-rings are. The central part of the chain that grabs the sprocket is of secondary importance. You might be saying this but I'm not sure.

here's a site that is more detailed:Tech Tips from the Garage - Motorcycles - Harley Davidson - Honda - Suzuki - Kawasaki - Star - Buell - Yamaha - Ducati - BMW - Triumph - bikers - motorbikes
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that since the o-rings seal in the grease in the load-bearing part of the chain, you just need to make sure they don't get damaged. Lubricant keeps them slipping, but it's not supporting any load. The rollers on the other hand actually slide as the chain comes on and off of the sprockets and there is no seal there.

Could be wrong though. I think the biggest factor is the type of lube you use. I won't use chain wax again. The bel-ray stuff is way more slippery, you can just tell by touching it. It doesn't get all caked up and hard.
 
kuksul08 said:
I was under the impression that since the o-rings seal in the grease in the load-bearing part of the chain, you just need to make sure they don't get damaged. Lubricant keeps them slipping, but it's not supporting any load. The rollers on the other hand actually slide as the chain comes on and off of the sprockets and there is no seal there.

Could be wrong though. I think the biggest factor is the type of lube you use. I won't use chain wax again. The bel-ray stuff is way more slippery, you can just tell by touching it. It doesn't get all caked up and hard.
Click to expand...

I hear you but all those forces are transferred to the pins and rings. The way to keep the o-rings from being damaged is to lube them. Lube elsewhere won't hurt but this is what I've been lead to focus on. In carefully lubing the inner and outer o-rings, the center will be lubed - the opposite isn't true.
 
Last edited:
Interesting info.

I did use a chain "wax". Guess I won't ever be doing that again. Live and learn. I'll clean up the mess, lube the chain with something else, and wait until spring.
 
First I've heard bad reports on chain wax. I've used Maxima chainwax for about 20 years and have had great results. My daily driver (DR650) gets driven through winter with all the salt and cinders and the chain doesn't look worse for wear. I just wipe the chain with a kerosene soaked rag, then spray on the chainwax. I'll see how it works out on the `strada. Hit the 606 mile mark today and did an overall inspection + oil and filter change. Just in time for a snowstorm, lol.
 
Last edited:
me too?

ok so my bike only has 900 miles on it, and has never seen rain but, I also have this brake dust looking stuff covering my back rim? Could this be the pads breaking in? or is this the chain? I just put chain wax on it less than 200 miles ago.
 
If it was my bike, my instinct would be to carefully clean the chain (and sprockets, as much as you can), dry it off, then apply a different type of chain lube than what you were using, and wipe off the excess. Then see if that fixes it. I suspect it's from your chain/sprockets, not your brakes.
 
The tech at my Duc shop uses WD-40 and an old tooth brush for cleaning the chain. Seems to work well. When you are all done, use break parts cleaner to clean up any accidental spray of lube/oil/dirt from the rear break rotor.
 
so it was just in the shop for the 600 mile service, maybe they didn't clean the chain good then? I just went out and the center rollers rolled easy and no squeaks or grinding. so I don't know what is causing it. i will try a different lube and see if that fixes anything. the only reason i thought it was my brakes is because the rears make a squeaking sound when i brake, but the pads look good
 
Yes, my rear brake will squeal a little, but mainly when used lightly. I doubt it's brake dust on your rear wheel, unless you don't use the front brakes at all... I find my brakes work best if I make an effort to really mash them as hard as I can every once in a while. It's the intermittent light use they don't deal with so well. Overall this machine sure seems best meant to be ridden with a purpose... and you have ABS, so you can't lock them up anyway.
.
 
So took to dealer today for them to clear my oil light, and he agrees that it is my chain making the dust. I was using Dupont Teflon chain wax, and he said he had never even heard of it. He told me to use Maxima Chain Wax, and apply it every 2 to 3 days. Is this stuff any good? Also, he said all brembo brakes squeak so nothing to worry about?
 
Lots of different opinions on lube/wax on other threads...try a search... I use Bel-Ray chain lube and am very happy with the performance.
 
I use Maxima Chain Wax and have for years. It has a good following on this forum. Bel-Ray is popular too. As BlueSwede stated, a search on this forum should turn up a few threads.
 
Motul chain clean spray, Simple green (purple color with the "chain Brush") and Motoline 622 chain lube. I really give a good scrub with the simple green and chain brush. Once I scrub it I'll hit it with the chain cleaner spray to blow out all the crap. After that I'll give it a nice wipe down, sometimes even wad up bits of paper towel and go in between each link (OCD). Once the chain is sparkling I'll give it a good coating of the lube making sure to get in between the outer and inner portion of the link where the O-Ring is. I'll let it sit for at least an hour then wipe off the excess. I don't get much splatter after a ride because I do a really good wipe down of the lube. I don't ever ride when its raining out unless i get "caught" in a flash storm and I hardly ever ride on dirt roads so I might clean it every 1000 miles or so. The new lube thats out there now a days is so good if you're just doing rides on sunny days with no dirt roads or rain you can let it go for a long while. But honestly a little chain maintenance goes a long way. I don't want to replace any chains or sprockets anytime soon.
 

Similar threads

gatdammit
SuperSport Pannier/ Luggage Swap DIY
Replies
12
Views
931
gatdammit
gatdammit
Araitim
Spark.it Force Race 3/4 exhaust vs Shift-Tech slip on
Replies
5
Views
579
Araitim
Araitim
P
For Sale 2013 Ducati Hyperstrada ABS- Arctic White
Replies
0
Views
855
pilot3
P
R
Testing a Hypermotard 939 SP
Replies
2
Views
4K
Cerv
C
zibbit u2
DIY Timing belt change
Replies
25
Views
21K
DenDen
D