Auto oilers? Anyone use them?

[Wintersdark]

25 minutes ago, Clegg78 said:

I personally do not use oilers...  they were originally meant for shitty chains.  With the quality of the lubricants these days, quality of the chains (X-ring specifically),  there is virtually nothing you can do to a chain to require lubrication mid day.    If anything keeping a chain wet with oil will attract and hold more grit, vs the dry wax type lubes generally do not.   Squirting oil on a wet chain in the rain just causes the oil to run off as well, so there is almost no benefit with that either mid day. 

My process is - after a day of dirty or wet riding, I hit the chain with a squirt of chain lube (Dupont Chain Saver for me, I carry at 3oz small can in my case on long trips) after the day of riding, and maybe wipe off gunk with a paper towel.   And if its just a dry clean riding day, I maybe wont do anything to the chain.    The oil is primarily to keep rust from forming on chains these days.

 

Yup.  Lubrication is pretty much entirely to resist rust, as the chain's internal lubrication is what's important for maintaining longevity.  

I'd agree as well, that there's basically no need for mid-day lubrication, even in my use case where I'm riding in rain, slush, and salt regularly.  

However, in my case at least: I ride every single day.  I do not have time to maintain the chain every day, nor do I want to.  The less often you ride, and particularly the less often you ride in bad conditions, the less important they are.  And of course, how reliably you actually do chain maintenance. 

I mean, if you live in the states, particularly the dryer states, there's a very good argument (not necessarily one I follow, but one that does make some sense) for cleaning and degreasing the outside only of your chain and just leaving it like that, as lube on the outside will only collect and hold grit.

But with that said, and auto-oiler does not cause grit holding problems.  The fundamental concept of an auto oiler is to continuously lubricate the chain while riding, and it deliberately uses a thinner oil with the intent of it being flung off with dirt and grit.  This serves to keep your chain permanently clean.

 

In practice for me, it's enormously extended chain life over the winter months, as cleaning and re-lubing my chain every single day simply didn't happen in practice.  But for sure, if you're really on top of chain maint, or your bike is not your daily transport, or you're not riding in terrible conditions regularly, they basically just help you be lazy and there's no real gain vs. doing it manually.

[draco_1967]

1 hour ago, Clegg78 said:

I personally do not use oilers...  they were originally meant for shitty chains.  With the quality of the lubricants these days, quality of the chains (X-ring specifically),  there is virtually nothing you can do to a chain to require lubrication mid day.    If anything keeping a chain wet with oil will attract and hold more grit, vs the dry wax type lubes generally do not.   Squirting oil on a wet chain in the rain just causes the oil to run off as well, so there is almost no benefit with that either mid day. 

My process is - after a day of dirty or wet riding, I hit the chain with a squirt of chain lube (Dupont Chain Saver for me, I carry at 3oz small can in my case on long trips) after the day of riding, and maybe wipe off gunk with a paper towel.   And if its just a dry clean riding day, I maybe wont do anything to the chain.    The oil is primarily to keep rust from forming on chains these days.

 

Yeah, I tried an oil (Nemo knockoff) after my OEM chain went to crap at 12k miles. I ripped the oiler off after a couple thousand miles. I couldn't stand all the mess on the wheel and bike. Some of the oil was creeping onto the tire tread, and it affected my confidence in turns.

It takes me 3-5 minutes to brush some Chain Saver on (less messy than spraying - I spray it into a cup, and use a cheap chip brush to apply it to the chain) when I feel like it, or when it gets dirty/salty. 

[TomTracer]

Years ago I rode several trips with a guy who bought an old European model Yamaha that had an oem oil bath chain. Seems like it was a 900 cc, but I'm not sure. It did not leak oil nor was the bike a mess. He put over 40,000 miles on the bike with no problems. I'm trying to remember the design with no luck so far. Some one here may recall that model in more detail than I. 

[Wintersdark]

1 hour ago, draco_1967 said:

Yeah, I tried an oil (Nemo knockoff) after my OEM chain went to crap at 12k miles. I ripped the oiler off after a couple thousand miles. I couldn't stand all the mess on the wheel and bike. Some of the oil was creeping onto the tire tread, and it affected my confidence in turns.

It takes me 3-5 minutes to brush some Chain Saver on (less messy than spraying - I spray it into a cup, and use a cheap chip brush to apply it to the chain) when I feel like it, or when it gets dirty/salty. 

Yeah, there's always going to be some fling off primarily on the chain guard and a little bit on the rim, but if you're getting oil on the tire tread, the flow rate is set way too high and should be turned down.  I dunno about that particular oiler, but with the Tutoro (and I'm 99.99% certain) a Scottoiler, you can adjust the flow rate to prevent that.  I know my rims are always dirty regardless (oiler or no), so I've never worried about that. 

For mine, there's not particularly any mess, except for if I'm running the hard cases, the bottom of the chain side case will get wuite a bit dirtier than the other.  Not visible at all (it's the bottom of the case) but definitely something to keep in mind if you're going to bring them inside.  That said, I find the bottoms of both cases get dirty with road grit regardless, so I'll always put them on a towel inside just in case. 

[draco_1967]

The only way to adjust the flow on the Nemo and clones is to use heavier oil. It wasn't worth it to me to play around with something that has a marginal benefit at best. I know a lot of people complain about chain maintenance, but with a modern X-ring chain, a little lube every 500-1000 miles is plenty to keep the rust on the plates away.

I guess I'm too cheap to spend more than $35 on an auto oiler, when oiling the chain is a simple, quick job that gives me time to inspect the condition of the chain, sprockets, wheel, and swingarm.

[Wintersdark]

1 hour ago, draco_1967 said:

The only way to adjust the flow on the Nemo and clones is to use heavier oil. It wasn't worth it to me to play around with something that has a marginal benefit at best. I know a lot of people complain about chain maintenance, but with a modern X-ring chain, a little lube every 500-1000 miles is plenty to keep the rust on the plates away.

I guess I'm too cheap to spend more than $35 on an auto oiler, when oiling the chain is a simple, quick job that gives me time to inspect the condition of the chain, sprockets, wheel, and swingarm.

Yeah I get that completely.  IMHO it just depends entirely on the environment you ride in, and how much you ride.  For sure, modern x-ring chains really don't GAF what you're doing most of the time and chain maintenance tends to be more cosmetic than anything. 

Like I said, if you're only riding in good weather, limited mileage, or just infrequent but long trips, may as well just do it by hand.  For the first two, it doesn't really matter at all to start with, and in the later case it's good to give your chain a good look before and after a long trip anyways.  

The problem comes in when it's primary transportation and you ride extensively every single day, often in rain, snow, and salted roads.  Chain maintenance gets old when you're doing it every single day, or even just twice a week, and you've got to do it outside in -25C.  Way less fun. 

[2and3cylinders]

On 10/28/2021 at 1:34 PM, TomTracer said:

Years ago I rode several trips with a guy who bought an old European model Yamaha that had an oem oil bath chain. Seems like it was a 900 cc, but I'm not sure. It did not leak oil nor was the bike a mess. He put over 40,000 miles on the bike with no problems. I'm trying to remember the design with no luck so far. Some one here may recall that model in more detail than I. 

1981~84 XV1000 TR1 Virago had enclosed lithium grease bath rear chain drive...cool design over-all with the original mono-shock.

https://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Yamaha_XV1000_/_TR1

https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article/1984/10/1/yamaha-xv1000-virago

https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/yamaha/yamaha_XV1000 TR1 81.htm

The 750 had shaft drive and self-adjusting valves, others had LCD gauges with electronic tacho and self-canceling turn signals.   Even cooler.  Way ahead of its time in a lot of ways.  Engine was mostly bulletproof.

https://ridermagazine.com/2006/02/21/retrospectove-yamaha-xv920-virago-1982-1983/

[TomTracer]

The guy had a red one. We often switched bikes between rest stops for the heck of it. That Yamaha was not fun to ride IMO, but I was riding an R1100RT so the comparison by nature was skewed. I don't recall the lithium bath but obviously that is what was on the bike per the articles. Thanks for posting the links!

[PhotoAl]

I put a Scottoiler on my GT last August then went on a 6,200 mile trip.  It works well.  Initially had some hassle getting it set properly but then it settled down and worked well.  Wound up wiping off the rear wheel most mornings as it would accumulate a light film of oily dust.  Most days was riding 400 +/- miles.  Since returning I’ve cleaned the bike - LOL needs a second deep cleaning but haven't cleaned the chain.  It looks good and is clean particularly the areas around the X-rings, they have a light oil coating pretty much exactly what I like.  The chain is flexible and dont see any issues at 7,000 miles on the chain.  The OEM was replaced at 11,000 miles.  

Scottoiler is amazingly frugal with the oil and the bike is not filthy from the chain fling although on a long trip it does accumulate.

If the rear wheel is not cleaned the fling can accumulate and get onto the sidewall of the tire and even on the tread.  I had it happen once but only minor streaks on the tread. So wiped them off and kept the wheel clean.  When riding over 400 miles a day I would always check and probably could have gotten by with wiping wheel off every couple of days.  Shorter rides were not a problem.

[Wintersdark]

The Tutoro instructions actually are really elaborate about setting up the flow rate.  Basically, they say you want to start with it set very conservatively, then *very* gradually increase it until you get minor bits of fling on the sidewall of the tires, but if you get any on the tread you've gone much too far.  

But yeah, if you're someone who cares about having clean rims, an auto oiler is decidedly not for you.  For me, my rims are covered with crud inside a day, oiler or no, as my daily rides are dusty and mucky.  It's a lost cause, but fortunately the oily dirt is black, so it's not readily apparent just how filthy they are from a distance

[Rogue Rider]

On 10/24/2021 at 4:13 PM, TracerNed said:

I installed a Tutoro Chain Oiler on my 2021 Tracer 9GT.  I used this unit on my 2013 V-Strom 650 and liked how it worked.  This simple system is easily adjustable to keep the chain oiled without too much fling.

Just out of interest..... what size P Clip did you need for the rear subframe?

[maximo]

On 10/31/2021 at 7:46 AM, PhotoAl said:

the fling can accumulate and get onto the sidewall of the tire and even on the tread.  I had it happen once but only minor streaks on the tread.

and more substantial streaks in your skivvies... 

[iamthedruman]

On 10/31/2021 at 10:44 PM, Wintersdark said:

The Tutoro instructions actually are really elaborate about setting up the flow rate.  Basically, they say you want to start with it set very conservatively, then *very* gradually increase it until you get minor bits of fling on the sidewall of the tires, but if you get any on the tread you've gone much too far.  

But yeah, if you're someone who cares about having clean rims, an auto oiler is decidedly not for you.  For me, my rims are covered with crud inside a day, oiler or no, as my daily rides are dusty and mucky.  It's a lost cause, but fortunately the oily dirt is black, so it's not readily apparent just how filthy they are from a distance

How did you get your Tutoro to Calgary? Shipping seems like a bear from the UK...

[dazzler24]

I know this thread is a little long in the tooth (much like me) but I thought I'd add my two bobs worth in that I've been using a Nemo (knockoff) with my DID 525 chain and I have to say that it has been great.  If it wasn't, I'd happily say so.

The manufacturer of the chain says to use 80 weight gear oil as the recommended lubricant so that's what I use.

I keep an eye on the chain and give the Nemo an 1/8th turn (recommendation is a 1/4 turn) while out on a ride when it looks like it needs it.

Fling is minimal and definitely better than the 'premium' lubricant that I previously applied manually on the OEM chain.

The DID chain is really quite clean and I have no desire/need to attack it with harsh cleaners and/or brushes.

This has been my experience in riding conditions that are not harsh - i.e. dry riding conditions, no salt or crud etc so as always, YMMV.

[Wintersdark]

23 hours ago, iamthedruman said:

How did you get your Tutoro to Calgary? Shipping seems like a bear from the UK...

It's cheaper to ship things from the UK than from the US, but still kinda spendy, yeah.  28GBP I think it was?  

 

Yeah, I happily pimp the Tutoros, and bought a second for my Tenere 700 (with a steel rock shield for the reservoir), they end up being around $200cdn after shipping for a full kit + addons, which is a lot but still very comparable to other products.  Admittedly, my purchase of a second was influenced by the fact that running two of the same is helpful - shared parts and such, right?  But I'm really happy with them functionally as well.  They've worked really well for me over the years.

@dazzler24 The Nemo style seems good, if you're someone who remembers to use it.  I considered them early on, but ruled them out because I knew I'd just forget to use it, whereas the Tutoro I just ignore unless it's empty and as the reservoir is visible, I see it when I'm looking at the bike.