Chain Oiler

[pistonslap]

I have just purchased a chain oiler for the Capo. I decided to go with the Hawke instead of a Scottoiler. I have a Scottoiler on my KLR and am not happy with it. I find it very hard to adjust the drip and sometimes it just empties itself all over the parking lot.

I will let you know if the Hawke is a better choice or not.

[rmandzij]

This may be a stupid question, but why place a chain oiler on a bike these days? With modern o-ring and x-ring chains, where is the oil going anyway, besides all over your tire, rim, street, pants, etc.? I understand about the chain getting rusty, but the internals are shielded from the outside world. So besides a cosmetic thing, why run one? It makes perfect sense to have an oiler on a bike with an old-fashioned non-o-ring chain, but who uses these types of chain these days anyway? It would seem that all that oil attracts lots of dirt and grit, wearing down your sprockets faster. With my motorcross bikes this is even more of an issue. I've been running o-ring chains for quite some time and cleaning them with simple green, drying them, and squirting a bit of WD40, to displace the water after cleaning. The chains have all lasted a long time. These bikes see a lot more dirt, mud, grit, and water than any street or touring bike would ever see. So oiling them heavily, only asks for trouble. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

Cheers,

[tobyker]

The chain may be lubed internally, but what about the chain/sprocket interface? Do we not need to lubricate that and wash the grit out of it? Also I've heard that you shouldn't let the O rings dry out. I've fitted a Scottoiler and must confess that it seems very temperature-sensitive, but it's better than nothing. Mind you, the last 3 bikes were shafties, with MZs with fully enclosed chains before that. First big trip Monday - Ayrshire to Hampshire (the old one, not the New) and back via Wiltshire on Tuesday.

[rmandzij]

The most important aspect of the chain/sprocket interface is that it is kept clean. The addition of dirt, grit, etc. on this interface will wear down the countershaft and rear sprockets faster, especially if you are using aluminum sprockets. Cleanliness is also the first order of business concerning the o-rings on your chain. All that oil attracts dirt and grime, which over time degrades the o-rings. Keeping the chain and sprockets clean would seem more important than oiling without maintenance. As far as the internals are concerned, no amount of oil, lube, or wax will ever get there. 97% of an o-ring or x-ring chain is the internals, not what we see on the outside.

[jdm1intx]

Originally posted by tobyker
The chain may be lubed internally, but what about the chain/sprocket interface? Do we not need to lubricate that and wash the grit out of it?

Washing the grit out would be the best thing to do. Adding oil to a chain isn't going to help anything because modern motorcycle chains are roller chains. Meaning the individual bushings that bear against each sprocket tooth tend to rotate as they travel around the circumference of the sprocket so that the contact point between bushing and tooth remains stationary. If you are going to oil the chain, it should be with a real light machine oil such as gun oil or sewing machine oil for the purposes of inhibiting rust.