Chain Oiler Update
Entry posted by elizilla
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Last spring I wrote about installing three different chain oilers and that I planned to compare them. Here are my results so far.
I have not had to lube a chain all summer. I have not had to clean a chain all summer. I have not had to adjust a chain all summer. Yet my chains all look clean and new. This is awesome and I am very happy about it. However, all three chain oilers drip on my garage floor. I have developed the habit of pushing a piece of cardboard under the chain, each time I park a bike in my garage. I feel this is manageable and beats the heck out of constantly having to fiddle with chains at gas stops.
Hawke Oiler
The Hawke Oiler is out of the running, because the V-Strom is gone. I only put about 500 miles on with the Hawke Oiler, before I sold the bike. This bike spent half the summer sidelined due to unrelated problems (water pump seal). During this time it marked my garage floor more than either of the other oilers. It never stopped leaking no matter how long the bike stayed parked, and it wasn't just a few drops - it was a puddle. I think the reason it never stops dripping, is because the aquarium tubing it uses has too large an inner diameter. I've been told by other Hawke Oiler users that the manufacturer will provide some sort of choke to put in the line, to stop this from happening. So I wrote to them and asked for this. I never got a reply.I am also not convinced that manually managing an oiler by pushing a button is the best plan. I am liking the "set it and forget it" aspect of the other oilers; automatic chain oilers should be automatic, IMHO! But it works fine once you push the button, the oil goes onto the chain, though the applicator is not as precise. I cannot confirm whether it would improve chain longevity since I stopped the trial so early, but I think it would help - the chain never dried out, which is the goal, right? If you prefer an oiler you manage manually, and you don't mind the mess, the Hawke Oiler is likely OK. But really, the ability to place the button somewhere easier to reach, is the only improvement it offers over a cheaper option such as the Loobman, or this home brewed oiler I found on the V-Strom forum. Or this one posted to VFRD by JETS.
ScottOiler
The ScottOiler, on the TDM, has now run for about 1500 miles, and run through about half a quart of ScottOil. The chain was already close to shot when I installed it, and I hoped the ScottOiler would keep it going a bit longer. But I quickly gave up on eking it out, and I replaced it about 900 miles ago. The ScottOiler has kept the new chain nicely wet and clean. It drips just one drop of oil on the floor every time I park the bike, so the mess is very slight. At one point I ran the reservoir down too low, and it turns out that when you do that, just refilling it is not enough - you have to bleed it. I ended up using the mityvac to pull oil through the applicator to get it started again. Note to self - add oil *before* it runs low. Apart from having to bleed it when it ran out, I like the ScottOiler, I think it works very well.
Pro-Oiler
The Pro-Oiler, on the 4th gen VFR, now has about 6000 miles. I have used less than half a quart of oil in this time. I installed a new chain and sprockets at the same time I installed the oiler. It uses a lot less oil than the ScottOiler, but it still marks spots on my garage floor. The spots are not nearly-clean oil dripping from the applicator, like they are on the other two oilers. The floor spots are thick, black, tarry sludge that drips from the end of the chain guard or the countershaft sprocket area. The Pro-Oiler seems to be getting every bit of cleaning ability from every drop of oil flung. I have turned the Pro-Oiler down, down, down, to deliver ever smaller amounts of oil. I've now got it set on table 21, level 1, when the recommended setting for clean dry weather is table 17, level 3. The chain continues to look perfectly clean and not at all dry, and I have not had to adjust it.
My big complaint may not have to do with the Pro-Oiler; I think it is a characteristic of the bike's geometry: Oil keeps getting on my tire. No matter how much I turn the oiler down, I keep having to clean oil off the tire, and I don't like this at all. I am considering filling the Pro-Oiler with ScottOil, since it would be easier to wash off. (Right now I am filling it with the same 10w40 synthetic I put in the engine.) I am also considering modifications to the chain guard, to try to change the way the oil flings. And I think that I might do well to swipe the spots where the tarry oil sludge collects, with a paper towel, at gas stops. Remember, the oil from these oilers is supposed to fling off and take the dirt with it - it's a total loss system. It's just not supposed to be deposited onto the tire! (Note: brake cleaner is the hot ticket for scrubbing oil off tires, much better than degreasers and soaps.)
The photo at the top of this post is a close-up of the VFR's chain, and the oil on the tire, at 6000 miles. I last cleaned the tire about 700 miles before taking this picture. I have never cleaned the chain, and I have not adjusted it since the day I installed it.
Conclusion
I like the dual applicators in both the ScottOiler and the Pro-Oiler. They deliver the oil precisely where it needs to be, instead of squirting too much and then counting on fling to carry it around. The Pro-Oiler's dual applicator is smaller and more elegant, but the ScottOiler dual applicator works just as well and you can order it separately. If I hadn't sold the V-Strom, I might have ordered up a ScottOiler dual applicator and retrofit it to my Hawke Oiler - I am sure it would have reduced the mess.The Pro-Oiler just barely nudges out the ScottOiler, as my current favorite, because it can be precisely tuned to use so much less oil, and because the parts are more elegant. The ScottOiler is a very close second. And I think the TDM is a better bike to run an oiler on, than the VFR, due to the issue with oil on the VFR's tires. I will post another update when I have put more miles on these remaining two oilers.
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