Oh the simple green. Well, your owner's manual apparently talks a good bit about diesel/kero and then oil or commercial chainlube. Nothing about the simple green detergents. I worry that anything other than the recommended solvents and lubes might make the O-rings shrink or swell and ruin your chain. The recommended products are cheap and common so I use them. I own some simple green and keep trying to find a situation where it really works good. So far, all it does is smell better and not be as polluting if it spills. Good ol' diesel is an excellent solvent.

 

simple green is a great stuff- I have been using it for years- does not seem to harm any thing- plastic- rubber -paint- bare aluminum- . And is biodegradable. I worry when I hear people using gas or kero as a cleaning agent. Many people will just hose it off and let it goand Not dispose of it properly.

 

Been using kerosene for years (on a rag in my garage) for cleaning and using Dupont Dry Lube with teflon for lube. It's not tacky or thick and doesn't fling. Can be found at Lowe's and better bike shops. I don't like anything that attracts dirt or grit on the chain.
My streetbike has 20k on the original chain and sprockets and still good.

 

Where do you get the kerosene?

 

My technique too. Kero' on a rag followed by some lube one the Kero' is dry. I've found the Shell brand of lube to be very good.

 

Kero to clean it, Dupont Teflon lube to clean/lubricate it. That Teflon lube is gold in a can for chains, locks, just about anything for about $5 for a large can of it.

 

You will only need a small amount of kerosene for this. You can buy it in one gallon or smaller containers in hardware stores in either the kerosene heater section or the oil lamp section. You can also buy 5 gallon jugs of kerosene that will last you for 100 years cleaning chains.

I have a barrel of offroad diesel that I use for my tractor and it is easy to draw off a cup full for use as solvent. I set my black plastic catch pan that I use for oil changes under the rear sprocket and then pour some solvent into the catch pan. I use a paintbrush dipped into the solvent to scrub the chain and the extra drips down into the pan to be reused. A little goes a long ways and when I'm done I let it drip dry and then return the dirty solvent to the used oil drum.

It is a very clean operation and works very well.

 

I mostly ignore the chains on my bikes. When I was crazy about cleaning and lubing the chains, it didn't seem to make them last much if any longer. I just clean them with WD40 if I happen to think about it when doing other maintenance.

 

Kerosene can be bought in some gas stations. it's the same stuff used in er, kerosene heaters! I have a one gallon can marked kerosene in the garage. One gallon lasts about a year for cleaning chains on several bikes. I also have a clamp on chain brush with a small hole in the top with a clear tube. Can put kerosene into a small bottle with pointy nipple, attach to tube, rotate tire while squeezing tube. About as good as a rag just looks cooler.

 

Quick and easy with a can of Maxima CleanUp and a can of DuPont Teflon Dry Wax lubricant.