so i'll throw in my two cents...
kerosene to clean sounds right. I use old gasoline.
Sometimes i use Castrol purple or Purple Power if i have some.
WD-40 is for loosening parts, getting water out of moving parts, the WD stands for water displacing. use PB blaster or WD-40 if you have a stuck link.
- what ever you use to clean the chain with, follow with soap and water, and DRY - then add chain oil.
most bikes i've had have been chain bikes.
right now I have an 800 classic i got from a friend who had it sitting on the side of his house for a couple years. was a mess. i tore it apart and put it back together and have been riding it for about 2.5 years. it needs a needs chain and gears. coming soon, like this month.
chain that is on my bike now came with this "parts bike" (that i resurrected), so i knew the chain was crap. friend bought it years ago for $50. was a "10,000 mile chain", you've seen them on sale for $39.99, lol - anyhow, it was rusted and had some stuck links and i took it off the bike and was about to toss it, but as i was sinking money into the whole rest of the bike i held onto it. figured it would work for a few months when i put the bike on the road then i would change it.
so this crappy chain had about 5,000 miles on it. i soaked it in oil for a week, and the stuck links freed up. put it on the bike. it worked.
I've put 10,000 miles on that crappy cheap chain, so it's up to about 15,000 miles now,
and yes, every now and then i hold the front brake and let out the clutch and get the back tire smoking - hey, I'm in daytona, ha ha
I ride about 200 miles a week. oil it every couple rides, so i guess every 300-400 miles.
I use PJ1 Blue Label chain oil.
once a month when washing the bike I wash the chain and do that first with "old" dead gasoline, stuff the lawn mower wouldn't even run. use a tooth brush and soak it down well with the old gas.
then i wash the bike and wash the chain!
This is florida, so the bike is dry in 1/2 an hour.
i get some of that PJ1 on there and off we go.
I got 10,000 miles out of a chain most of us would have thrown away - and it hardly has to be adjusted.
Also - my chain and gears are very noisy. the rollers are loose. the teeth on the back sprocket are very worn. you can hear it as you ride down the road. noisy.
next chain i get will be an o-ring or an x-ring - and ill have to see about oiling it.