Tool Time

Tool Time

Cleaning a chain is about as much fun as a root canal. It's a bothersome enough task on dirtbikes, most of which use chains with a clip-type master link, so you can at least get the thing off easily. But with the endless chains that are prevalent on streetbikes, you’re usually faced with either removing the swingarm pivot or using an expensive (for a good one, anyway) chain tool to remove and install the riveted links. And let’s not forget the pure joy of having to soak and rinse, and possibly re-soak and re-rinse, a filthy, grimy chain.

Chain Clean 360° by Tirox (www.tiroxusa. com; $19) takes much of the grief out of this job by letting you clean the chain right on the bike. The cleaner comes in an 11 -ounce

spray can of grease-cutting solvent, with a specially designed, metal-frame spiral brush packaged under the can’s pop-off lid. To

clean a chain, you first spray it thoroughly with Tirox and let it soak for a few minutes. Then thread the spiral brush around the chain as shown in the photo and rotate it back and forth as I ; you slowly turn the / rear wheel to pass I the chain through the brush3or4 _____ 1)' be clean. If you en counter an especially dirty spot on the chain, spray it with the cleaner while you work the brush along the affected area. The spiral de sign of the brush helps the stiff bristles reach down into the nooks and crannies all around the chain-hence the a36O0~ name.

Once the chain is clean, rinse it with water (Tirox recommends hot or warm H20) and dry it either with air pressure or a cloth. Once the chain is dry, give it a good dose of chain lube. Tirox also makes Ultra Chain Lube, which, based on my limited use, seems like a good product, and it even includes a rubber glove under its lid; unfortunately, the lube is not yet available in the U.S. Tirox is a Canadian company that has been selling its wares north of the border for several years, and it just recently established Cycle Gear (www.cyclegear.com) as its exclusive U.S. distributor for Chain Clean 360°. So far, however, Cycle Gear is only marketing the cleaner, not the lube.

I can’t say for certain that Chain Clean will get a seriously grungy chain quite as absolutely clean as some traditional methods might, but it sure is a lot easier and more convenient. And in most cases, it will get the chain clean enough.

I f you've ever changed the oil on a HarleyDavidson Big Twin, you know that putting oil in the primary case can be a slow, often messy process. The clutch pressure plate pretty much blocks the "derby cover" access opening once __________________ you remove the cover. This pre vents you from poking enough of an oil bottle's filler neck into the interior to let the oil run inside the primary rather than dribble outside it. You usually have to find an appropriately sized fun nel or fabricate a temporary one out of "~ cardboard, or find a way to lean the bike way over to the right while you slowly pour the oil into the case. Harley's Parts & Accessories dlvi-s sion (wwwharley-davidson.com) has just announced a better solution: the Primary Oil Fill Funnel (part #63797-10; $10). It's a specially molded plastic funnel that snaps securely into the derby cover opening and allows you to pour oil into the case, hands-free, about as quickly as it will flow out of the bottle, with nary a leak to be found. It turns a simple but slow and an noying job into an easy and quick one.