At some point I had a bunch of different greases in my “shed” – pretty much one for each use you can think of, but with time and experience I realised that there is no point of having so many, and so – let me share what i know and what i use and for what, and hopefully – that will give you an idea what to get to keep your precious machine all greased up and smooth!
My List is down to 6 Greases… 1 of them I rarely use, 2 have very limited use, another 2 are pretty much in constant use and 1 has very special use that every adventure rider should be in love with – seriously! Let me give more details about each of them in that order!
Generic Bearing grease!
Yup, this one pretty much sits on the shelf for those occasions when I have nothing else to use, or for cases when I know that bearings will not be exposed to the elements, since it’s cheaper than the rest of the greases- it’s more like a money saving option!
I also use that when I have to open wheel bearings, as those are sealed and normally under extra dust seals and so I do not see any point in using anything else! Works well around a house if some other type of bearing dried out or something…
Moly Grease and Red Rubber Grease!
So these two normally I use when working on brakes, cars or bikes… red rubber grease just for rubber parts or parts that slide inside of the rubber (like brake sliding pin!) and Moly grease for sliding pins that slide inside of the bores, yeah – much like brake sliding pin, the other brake sliding pin! Also works really well if the bike is Shaft driven, as moly grease was literally made for that! Worth to note that Moly grease and moisture does not work very well, so best to use in a sealed environment.
Blue waterproof grease and Copper Anti-seize grease!
I should talk separately about these two bad boys…
Waterproof grease (not necessarily blue, any Marine type really), is like a grease on steroids! Horrible stuff to wash off, but that’s literally what anyone who is riding offroad wants – parts greased up even after a dirty / mucky ride! And that’s why I use it pretty much everywhere now, steering head bearings, linkage bearings, shock bearings and especially swingarm pivot bearings! – any bearing that is a pain in arse to get to or to replace – is worth saving, and so – definitely worth a little bit of extra protection!
Copper grease, copper slip or also known as Copper Anti-seize grease does exactly what it says on the tin! It creates a barrier between two surfaces and so makes it a dream to work on the parts (or bolts) that do not come off the bike very often, or are exposed to extreme heat and tend to corrode and bond together – like, let’s say exhaust header studs!
Honestly, it’s cheap and a little bit of copper grease on bolts that tend to corrode (even because of dissimilar metals) – goes a long way!
I use it on the back of the brake pads as well as on the sliding parts of it too, but like i said – i little bit goes a long way (just a thin film).
Last on my collection – Dielectric grease!
If you don’t know what it is – shame on you! You should not call yourself an adventure rider, and probably even stop dreaming about it, because without dielectric grease – all your non-waterproof electrical plugs will corrode away after a few water crossings! Ok, im joking about the first part – after all thats why you are reading this post – to learn, right?
No joke about the second part… even though electricity is lazy and wading will not cause issues with wiring (at least not fresh water, salty water could!), sitting water in the plugs will. So best to protect all of them with just a bit of the dielectric grease. It’s not cheap, but trouble-shooting corroded electrical wiring is not a quick process and replacing corroded plugs is not going to be cheap either – especially if someone else is going to do that for you!
I have heard about 4×4 guys using vaseline for that purpose, but I think it’s best left for sore bums / rashes after a long ride – just joking (not)!
Explore More!
A list of posts about Bike Maintenance and General Modifications that might be Interesting to know!
General Modifications:
- Throttle Tamer Mods (4 ways to tame your horse!)
- Projector headlight conversion from right side road traffic to left and vice versa.
- How to make your own Exhaust or how to modify an existing one.
- Power Commander (PCV) and Thoughts on it.
- Brake Snake / Pedal Anchor – why and how!
- Lighter Clutch Mods:
- How to make motorcycles Cable Clutch lighter! (Part 1/3)
- Cheap ways to make your motorcycles clutch lighter! (Part 2/3)
- How to make a Hydraulic clutch lighter on your motorcycle! (Part 3/3)
- How to make Custom Clutch or Throttle Cables – Easier than you thought!
- How to make clutch lever lighter (Yamaha XT660Z Tenere Specific)
- Rear Suspension and Drive-Train:
- How to extend the life of Cush-Drive rubbers.
- The dangers of motorcycle lowering links, Important things to know!
- How to swap rear shock spring with no special tools!
- The Best Motorcycle chain lube!
- How to set motorcycle chain slack when suspension is not standard?
- How To Remove Stubborn And Hard To Reach Chain Adjuster Bolt
- The List of Most Useless Adventure Motorcycle Mods And Bling!
- Dangers of the lowering kits (things to know before Lowering your Bike!
Bike Maintenance:
- How to pass MOT the first time – every time!
- How to Maintain your motorcycle Locks (works with all locks!)
- Best Suspension Bearing Grease!
- What grease to use on your motorcycle?
- How to shorten Life of your wheel bearings! (Or what not to do to them!)
- Why should you grease your bolts! (And not only Bearings!)
- What is the best Chain Lube for your motorcycle?
- How to buy used Motorcycle – Free Guide.
