You can see my chain and you know it's clean
 

So tonight I purchased some equipment for my motorcycle. I bought a box of black nitrile gloves (excellent for working on anything because they not only keep your hands clean, but they are textured for extree grip), a chain cleaning brush, and Motorex 611 and 622 chain cleaner and synthetic chain lube, respectively.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_iWoH2wsiCF0/S7...0/IMAG0067.jpg

The sad thing is, this is the first time I have ever done this to any of my bikes... yeah. I've owned motorcycles since 2006, had an SV650, CBR600RR, WR250F, FZ1, and an SSR 125SB-A and I've never cleaned and lubed the chains. Pretty terrible.

So after putting the bike up on the center stand (first bike I've had with a center stand, damn is it handy!) I did as the bottle instructed and sprayed the chain down with the stuff. I put the bike in neutral and just spun the rear tire with my hand while spraying with the other. I then got out the brush and did pretty much the same thing. Man! That thing was dirty! I had to use 3 rags to wipe off all the shit that was on it. Makes me wonder what was on my other chains, as this bike is relatively new ('09 FZ1).

Then I lubed her up using the instructions on the can, basically just spray and let dry.

MMM CLEAN!

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GS is also the first bike I have had with a center stand and I don't have a chain to clean, ah well.....

jUST DONT GET YOUR FINGERS COUGHT IN THE CHAIN

I don't know much about shaft drive, but I would have to assume it's more costly to maintain than a chain.

I'm not a moron. I don't run the engine while it's on the centerstand...

Not an incredible amount more, unless it breaks. I change the final drive (180ml) and transmission oil (around 800ml) every 6000 miles, I don't think it's required that often. I think it's like every 12000 miles.

It was suppose to be sealed for the life of the bike, but that didn't work too well, so they made it every 12000 miles.

rIGHT, BUT HOW MANY BEEMERS HAVE BLOWN THEIR FINAL DRIVES? aND WASNT THAT MAJOR TECHNICAL ISSUE FIXED ON YOUR BIKE?

The previous gen GS before mine had a lot of issues, so they changed some things on the final drive on mine. It's still not perfect, but it's setup to change the oil easier and to check for the issue. Not as many fail on my gen.

i WANT A CENTER STAND ON MY BIKE BUTS ITS LIKE $300

i WANT A CENTER STAND ON MY BIKE BUT ITS LIKE DOESNT EXIST

They make rear stands... can be just as effective.