Chain oilers

[ZuluTiger]

Thinking aloud:

So, lets say you make (or buy) an oiler with a solenoid. That ensures control which you can modulate and no dripping at standstill. Now, the sky is the limit. Why oil your chain continuously? The lube just needs to be applied from time to time. How about making it switch on during brake application from the tail light? That would ensure application when you are running slower so less fling? Or put it on a timer? A squirt every 15 minutes, and off when the bike is not running? It seems that it could all be made a bit more logical and be tuned to one's needs. The flow could be increased to match the sporadic nature of the application? Not that I'm going to do it, I have the can of Champion lube and it works a treat for me. Does get me thinking though. I have an unused space under the seat that could house a reservoir and solenoid, etc. easily..........

Solenoid like this rated for oil:

https://www.toolots.com/2p025-08-dc12v.html?cid=10270212950&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqPrFpc6r7gIVAqCGCh2JSAAdEAQYAiABEgKuOPD_BwE   

[Kevmax]

I have one of these oilers for a good while now and I think it’s the 🐝 knees. It stops when I stop. The faster I go the more it puts out. Hardly any oil fling on the back wheel.

https://motobriiz.com/collections/frontpage/products/automatic-motorcycle-chain-oiler?variant=37641408053420

[JohnnyWheels]

I feel like I'm missing something on the whole Scott Oilers thing. I need proponents to help me understand what I'm missing...

I don't commute by motorcycle - the office is only 7 miles and 12 minutes away, and given the COVID shift to work-from-home it is quite possible my commuting days are over; I may work from home for the rest of my working days (another 2 or 3 years). That said, I ride day trips on weekends and a very occasional longer holiday trips.  I've been using Dupont Dry Chain Lube for years. It is a self-cleaning teflon lubricant that has no mess, no oil slinging about. A quick squirt every 500 miles and that's it.

So, for those of you who use automatic oilers, please educate me. I'm always looking for a new mod for my Tiger  so if there's something to be gained I'll go for it.

JW

[seangee]

If its working for you don't mess with it. Installed an oiler on my Tiger at the time I was commuting almost 200 miles per day in the UK winter. Now I have it it can stay - but if I did your riding I probably would not bother.

[ZuluTiger]

My Tiger has no use for an oiler as it survives fine using can lube. However, I began seriously looking for an alternative for my KTM1190 as it needed oiling every 100km's or so. I can only assume the gearing made it work hard. It got really noisy unless oiled regularly so was fast becoming a candidate. Luckily I sold it before lockdown so the problem went away.

[Paul2bikes]

If you don't long distance tour, happy with what you do & get 30k+ miles from a chain kit, why change. I guess that dry lube keeps the x ring seals supple somehow.

My Ariel FH has oem built in chain oilers, 3 of them, they also act as an excellent preservative. So I was used to having this antiquated idea for 25 years before buying a modern day road bike without. Very strange, I thought.

My first Jap traillie was a 2 stroke, didn't trust the automatic lube system, bound to go wrong, so it got converted to pre-mix & used the oil pump to lube the chain. Marvelous for washing off Derbyshire mud.

That first modern day road bike was a '94 900 Sprint, first tour of Ireland with all its liquid sunshine & loose chippings needed so much chain cleaning & oiling, I came home & researched chain oilers. I chose the Scottoiler for its little & often cleansing ability. Would I dream of going touring without an oiler. Would I feck.

The boy who toured Scotland with me in September, he rubbished oilers, he enjoyed getting his bottle of oil & paint brush out each evening to lovingly turn the grit into grinding paste. After 2 weeks of him watching me watching him perform this modern day invention, I caught him sneakily inspecting my chain while mumbling & grunting obscenities.

I've fitted Scottoilers on all my bikes since that first one, currently on 3 bikes, the other, my Ariel, as said, doesn't require such nonsense.

[shi_bumi]

Main reason for me to fit an automatic chain oiler is boredom 😁 Tiger Sport is the highest model bike i have ever owned and it has almost every feature i need. I work part-time due to this terrible pandemic. So lots of spare time. I need something to occupy myself 😆

[Dusty ST]

I bought one of these a couple of years back, but didn't fit it 
https://www.cobrra.co.uk/nemo-2/
Apart from mounting the reservoir on the bars (I was going to put it down next to the rear shock) it seems like a good idea, I guess give it half a turn every time you fuel up.
Looks like they (or the Chinese copies) can be had much cheaper these days.

[tiggersteve]

I guess most auto oilers do the job but for me Scotty every time, simple not many moving parts if you want to be specific change the oil for different seasons/temps to assist with better flow,
first farkle on my list for any new bike, till I buy a shaft 
fill it forget it  till it needs filling again obviously 

[TCC]

Chain oilers were rendered obsolete the moment o-ring chains were perfected. And they've got better every year since. BMWs latest Diamond x-ring chain (actually developed by Regina and available from them for way less than what BMW charges) would be a far more sensible purchase than ANY aftermarket chain oiling system.