Triumphrat

PaulBx

I'm running 85W140 gear lube in my home-brew chain oiler. Haven't yet figured out how much to give it; that will take some experience. Anyway, even though I only apply lube on the outside of the rear sprocket, the oil is flinging off onto my tire. The sidewalls are covered, and some is even getting onto my "chicken strips" on the tread. I think this is not good for going around corners.

Besides cleaning the tread for safety reasons, I wonder how important it is to clean the much oilier sidewalls. Will this oil deteriorate the tire rubber?

I was looking at chain oiler threads and noticed that o-ring chains often are not lubed at all. My chain is a non-oring chain. (I got the bike at 16k miles with a chain out of spec but the sprockets still looked good so I got a cheaper non-oring chain for replacement. Also, not being so stiff, it is supposed to deliver better gas mileage.) I guess non-oring chains have different maintenance requirements; probably need a lot more lube. So I will probably stick with the oiler for now.

Somebody mentioned using a 50-50 mix of castor oil and vegetable oil for a more earth-friendly lube. I will probably try that since it might be easier on tire rubber too.

Greaser

I've been using a Scotoiler for 8 years or so. I have it set at approx. 1 drop every 2.5 minutes.
Also, I use marine grade gear lube with chain saw bar oil added for anti-fling properties. I ues approx. 1 oz of chanisaw bar il to 4 oz of gear lube. If you use toomuch chain saw bar oil, it will clog your oiler.
If you're getting oil on your sidewall/chicken strip you are over oiling. All you need is a drop, and aim the it at the inside of the chain near the sprocket. Centrifical force will drive the oil to the outside.

Cyclepath

I gotta chime in here. Maybe its just me, but I can't imagine purposely rigging something to a motorcycle that drips oil near my rear tire. How much difference can there be between the cost of an o-ring chain and a standard one. To go to the expense of buying an oiler, installing it, maintaining it, and keeping it from screwing up and oiling your rear tire? Really??

A good o-ring chain, a quick spray with a quality anti-fling chain lube every thousand miles or so, and your done.

Personal safety has got to be worth more than that...

Again, maybe it's just me...

Slinky

A chain oiler is not a safety issue if it is adjusted right. It takes time to get it dialled in by trial and error, or you can do it more accurately with the engine idling.

I put anything and everything into the oil bottle that fills my Scottoilers, along with a little Molyslip.

__________________
98 Thunderbird, 03 Speed Master

ArferBrick

You haven't removed your chainguard have you Paul? I've seen a few pics of your bike but can't remember exactly.

If it's still on the bike, oil shouldn't be getting past it, very odd. I guess you could try extending the chainguard with a bit of thin aluminium plate, that might help.

I just started oiling mine, I ran it for several thousand kilometres on that dry lube stuff. I noticed that the barrels (the bits that contact the sprockets) were starting to get very polished and it was a bit noisy.

That dry lube is only good if you apply it every 200 to 500 kilometres, and that's not really practical on a long ride and especially if it's raining.

I oiled it last time with Hypo gear oil, it stinks but it now runs a lot quieter. I put the bike on my bike jack and let the back wheel run in 1st gear while trickling a steady stream of oil on the inside wall, the outside wall, and the middle section of the chain. It took a few days to settle down (ie fling the excess off), but I never got any on my tyre.

A few drops on the ground, and the inside of my bike cover, but not a drop on the tyre.

No idea how it's getting on yours, are you sure there isn't a leak somewhere on your oiler mechanism?

PaulBx

I think it's getting on the tire because I had so much coming out of the oiler. As I said, I am just getting used to how much I should open the tap.

Yes, the chain guard is off. I think it would help some, but let's face it there are a lot of chain parts that are not covered by it. I think of the guard more as a way for keeping pants legs from getting into the chain than as a way to keep oil off the bike. Since I have saddle bags there is no chance that could happen.

I guess since nobody mentioned tire deterioration, it's not an issue.

The Molyslip sounds like a good idea, as does the bar oil. But I think I will try the vegetable/castor oil first.

Thanks for that number. I can try shooting for that.

Yeah, that is a possibility too. I'm just looking at my options; this home-brew oiler did not cost much at all, under $15 I think although it is still "under development". As I said this chain is somewhat of a throw-away since it went on old sprockets and I don't know how long it would last, and I also wanted a baseline to see what kind of mileage improvement a non-oring chain gives. And I occasionally drive on gravel so I'm interested in the chain-cleaning properties of an oiler. Both dust and riding in the rain complicate the simple picture you painted, unless I'm mistaken.

I don't have a centerstand, and the saddlebags complicate access to the chain for me, so the manual method does have some drawbacks.

One other thing, I lived with a Norton Commando for 25 years. That bike simply put the oil breather exit hose down near the (non-oring) chain. I'm kinda used to having some oil back there; at least it does not distress me. Just got too much this time.

I might just use this oiler in a manual fashion. In other words, just leave it off while riding. Then every 1000 miles or so, get the bike on the shop stand, and open up the oiler valve when rotating the tire until fling-off occurs - a lot easier than using a spray can with spray going all over. Then wipe and let it sit. I'd have to concoct some grease with a lighter transport, maybe just WD-40 with some molyslip or something.

Cyclepath

Hi paul,
I here what you're saying. My perspective comes from using one of the several high quality chain lubes now available. One is called Chain Wax, but there are several others as well. The product dries to a non-sticky, non-flinging, white waxy stuff that doesn't attract dust and dirt like oil would do, is waterproof, and seemingly lasts a long time. I use a piece of a cardboard box that I cut to size to eliminate any overspray. With the rear wheel elevated, the cardboard slides in behind the chain and then folds at the floor towards me. Then I can turn the wheel and apply the spray to the lower course of chain without getting a drop anywhere else. I do this when I arrive home at the end of a riding day, so it goes on to a warm chain, and sets overnight.

Now I know I have coated every single link, at the same time and miles. It seems to me, dropping whatever concoction of fluids randomly onto a moving chain just wouldn't be as effective. I have no experience with using an oiler, But I'm not sure there are any "chain cleaning qualities" involved, especially if you are riding in dirt or dusty conditions. I would think it would be just the opposite, with the oil attracting the dirt.

Don't want to appear antagonistic, just trying to understand the thought process..

lovecuba

I am a great fan of oil to lubricate the drive chain. Apply mine sparingly via a Loobman Oiler within which is a mixture of chainsaw bar oil and 10-20% kerosine (depending on Winter/Summer).
What put me off canned spray lube was one time when I removed the gearbox sprocket cover on the Sprint, the build up of crap was actually almost in constant contact with the chain!
I don't have to carry a can on long journeys, get the TBS on to an odd angle on the side stand, worry about even application or misapplication onto the tyre every 700-1000km. I simply press a button when required, ride, and a very small quantity of oil moves down the tube and onto the sprocket via a double delivery head. No mess, no fuss.

XeNoMoRpH

I'm with Cyclepath on this, except I've moved away from the white grease. I use a degreaser and a grunge brush to really clean the chain. I then use DuPont Chain Saver (teflon grease) that goes on wet and dries. I will never go back to the white spray on grease or even oil.

I guess the oiler is an easy way to reduce maintenance. If I didn't want to maintain my chain, I'd just move to a belt or shaft driven bike.

PaulBx

Well, I had a shaft drive bike, a BMW K75S. The previous owner had not kept up on his shaft spline maintenance. I had to take the shaft apart and send it to some guy in Ottawa to replace the splines. It took so long I lost most of a summer riding season.

I also had a belt drive Buell, that worked pretty well although it was a huge thing. Always worried about getting a rock into it on my gravel road excursions.

I looked at that loobman oiler and thought it looked good but no local dealers and he only takes paypal, etc. so it was fussy enough I thought I might try on my own at the hardware store. I might still go with loobman if I get tired of fooling with this.

BTW I googled around about castor and veg oils and found they gum up after a short time, so that's out. A couple of outfits make "green" bike chain lubes but they are very expensive; I might still give them a try though. I got an old bike to fool around with (Kawasaki GpZ550) that someone had used chain wax on and spent a fair amount of time cussing and scraping the stuff off everywhere it had flung onto so I'm not interested in that any more either.

It's funny how chain lube discussions start looking like religious discussions. Everybody is different though, different climates, different roads, different chains, different stuff that bugs them.