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Chain Oilers ... Are they really useful?

That notion also falls flat on its face in my climate as does the notion that oring chains need very little lube. Folks tend to forget that there is no lube sealed inside the rollers of the chain. Sure the pins have lube sealed inside the sleeves in which they operate, but the rollers are totally reliant on external lubrication. Leave them unlubed and they wear prematurely, further causing friction especially as the chain rolls over the driving sprocket.

What he said!!!

I have Tutoros on my bikes.
 
So after all of this and all the recommendations I am still reasonably undecided.

However.

The Tutoro looks good. The oil reservoir seems a bit small. Tutoro says its good for 600 to 1000 miles before a refill.

I still like the Loobman. Manual system. But I prefer the Cobrra/Gidibi manual system over the Loobman.

So I guess it come down to the completely manual Cobrra/Gidibi ($60) -vs- automatic Tutoro ($115)

Both follow the K.I.S.S. rule of reliable lo-tech mechanical engineering. Neither requires connection to the electronics system of the bike, which I believe makes sense. Neither uses vacuum pressure or air pressure (I don't trust either).
 
So after all of this and all the recommendations I am still reasonably undecided.

However.

The Tutoro looks good. The oil reservoir seems a bit small. Tutoro says its good for 600 to 1000 miles before a refill.

I still like the Loobman. Manual system. But I prefer the Cobrra/Gidibi manual system over the Loobman.

So I guess it come down to the completely manual Cobrra/Gidibi ($60) -vs- automatic Tutoro ($115)

Both follow the K.I.S.S. rule of reliable lo-tech mechanical engineering. Neither requires connection to the electronics system of the bike, which I believe makes sense. Neither uses vacuum pressure or air pressure (I don't trust either).
The Tutoro reservoir is good for 1,000 miles with a generous amount of oil, if you have it adjusted properly it should last longer 1,200-1,500
I bought the oil they sale for it as well (minor improvement over using my used oil from my NC) and each bottle (I believe it was 1 liter) lasted me 25,000 to 30,000 miles
 
When using the auto oilers are there any droplets under the bike when it sits?
The only time time that happened with the Tutoro I had the oil drip rate turned up around 3X what it was supposed to be at.
When it's adjusted properly it doesn't drip at all when parked
 
I've been interested in the wind powered chain oilers. I currently have been using the loobman and it works fine as long as I remember to use it.

Anybody have any experience with the wind powered oilers?
 
I've been interested in the wind powered chain oilers. I currently have been using the loobman and it works fine as long as I remember to use it.

Anybody have any experience with the wind powered oilers?

Yes. I’ve had a Motobriiz on my NCX for some years. There’s never, ever a drip, the bike isn’t covered in flung oil, but the chain is always oiled. If you want more or less oil on the chain, you choose a lower or higher viscosity oil. I have no idea where the speculation about clogging the air intake tube comes from. It simply doesn’t happen, and even if it did (maybe you impale a grasshopper or something?), you’ll see it if you just look. Nothing builds up inside the tube, and there again you could quickly and easily flush it out if you wanted to.
 
At this point I'm undecided but leaning toward the TUTORO

I like the simple mechanics of the TUTORO, no electronics, no vacuum, no wind, etc. It uses a simple weight and is actuated by the vibration of the roadway. Simple enough. It is automatic, stops when the bike stops, starts when the bike is ridden. I like that.

My second choice would be a fully manual system. I still like the Cobrra type and the updated Loobman. If you remember to use them they are foolproof.
 
At this point I'm undecided but leaning toward the TUTORO

I like the simple mechanics of the TUTORO, no electronics, no vacuum, no wind, etc. It uses a simple weight and is actuated by the vibration of the roadway. Simple enough. It is automatic, stops when the bike stops, starts when the bike is ridden. I like that.

My second choice would be a fully manual system. I still like the Cobrra type and the updated Loobman. If you remember to use them they are foolproof.
That's the conclusion I came to as well
 
When you are old, fat, and ugly like me, and still dumb enough to keep riding, even in the dirt, then you will crash quite often. I have not been able to pick up any of my bikes in years. So, I just go to sleep on the dirt road for a while, lying next to the bike. Sooner or later someone comes along to help me pick up the bike.

So, I keep two chain oilers. You can get the parts from England for the Tutoro. Always an extra on hand for the next crash.

A387CB58-0DC7-497C-B6EA-8426211E13F7.jpg
 
Not the most convenient, especially with how many miles you ride but I remember someone mounting their Tutoro reservoir in the faux gas tank, do you would have to remove one panel every time you had to refill
cd0201e05669023077fd4603c670e974.jpg
 
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Sidebar:

[video=youtube;VnPYdcbcAe0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnPYdcbcAe0[/video]
[video=youtube;UrEpAUi_QKA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrEpAUi_QKA[/video]

Graphic summary on the lube (engine oil is actually 75W-90 gear oil or similar):

ChainLube.jpg
 
Well, while I don't have a NC700x yet, I do have a chain driven bike, a 1997 Yamaha XJ600 Seca II. I've been using a Scottoiler vacuum model auto chain oiler for many years. While I originally used their oil with it, I've been using ATF in it for a long time. I used it on my Ninja 250 previously and then installed it on my Seca II back in 2014. As others have already said, It helps keep the o-rings in the chain lubricated, making the chain last longer. The rear wheel turns much easier with less resistance compared to a non-lubed chain. So I would imagine it'd help with mpg's too.
 
So the Tutoro is not available on EBay currently from a US source. Amazon had 1 in stock a week ago at $99 but now lists it as out of stock and unknown future availability. The UK website for Tutoro has them at roughly $104 + shipping.

Not sure what I will do at this point. I can wait.
 
I had a good long chat with the service manager at my local Honda dealership.

He said that there is not much use in adding a chain oiler.

His logic goes like this.

Modern chains last 20,000-30,000 on an NCx without a chain oiler. Modern chains may last about 25,000 to 30,000 miles on an NCx with a chain oiler. He said the NCx bikes are typically road bikes, not exposed to frequent water submersion, gravel tracks, dirt roads, etc. So what is the point of the oiler if the chains last roughly the same amount of time? He suggested there may be some increase in chain life, but it's very difficult to quantify and prove. He said on a trail bike its probably a very good idea. On a road bike the utility is, at best, marginal and the cost of many of the oilers is nearly the same as the cost of a chain that it may possibly slightly extend the life of, but cannot be proven to provide extended chain lifespan. He said this isn't the 1960's and modern chains are nothing like those of the past.

Thoughts?

Is a chain oiler on a modern road bike with a modern o-ring chain just a Farkle?
 
I had a good long chat with the service manager at my local Honda dealership.

He said that there is not much use in adding a chain oiler.

His logic goes like this.

Modern chains last 20,000-30,000 on an NCx without a chain oiler. Modern chains may last about 25,000 to 30,000 miles on an NCx with a chain oiler. He said the NCx bikes are typically road bikes, not exposed to frequent water submersion, gravel tracks, dirt roads, etc. So what is the point of the oiler if the chains last roughly the same amount of time? He suggested there may be some increase in chain life, but it's very difficult to quantify and prove. He said on a trail bike its probably a very good idea. On a road bike the utility is, at best, marginal and the cost of many of the oilers is nearly the same as the cost of a chain that it may possibly slightly extend the life of, but cannot be proven to provide extended chain lifespan. He said this isn't the 1960's and modern chains are nothing like those of the past.

Thoughts?

Is a chain oiler on a modern road bike with a modern o-ring chain just a Farkle?
Does he sell chain Oilers or does he sell chains and the labor to replace them?
I put one on 3 bikes. The modern stock chain on a NC700X lasts between 10 to 13,000 in my experience and reading. One chain was bad at 9,000 miles as it already had very tight spots or kinks in it. On this forum a d my CBR 1100XX forum those who have put on good quality Oilers have chains going much higher than stock and even higher than the 20,000 to 30,000 miles a good DID Gold 520 chain may last with diligent scheduled cleaning and lubing. Going to 50,000 and beyond.

My experience so far. I decided to go the oiler route due to the experiences that I read from others who had them.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
I had a good long chat with the service manager at my local Honda dealership.

He said that there is not much use in adding a chain oiler.

His logic goes like this.

Does he even ride a chain drive motorcycle ?


Suggesting that a motorcycle's chain (because it is on a "road bike") isn't subject to gravel, sand, dirt, water, and other contaminates suggests that very little actual "road riding" has been done by the service manager. Well, any riding with a chain driven bike anyway ;-)

My 50,000 mile NC has been exposed to all of the above and yes, the chain is worse for it. Yes, 99% of those miles have been road miles and the chain gets filthy. That is why I have an automatic oiler connected to a GPS that meters out a few drops of oil depending on not only distance covered since the last few drops of oil but also my speed, the size of the chain and the HP of the motorcycle.

The primary purpose of my chain oiler (might not be true for all of them) is not to lubricate the chain (although the oil droplets obviously help).

The purpose of my oiler is to clean the chain. It is designed to drop oil on the rear sprocket and chain rollers. The oil is then "flung" off the chain due to centrifugal force and the idea is that the oil will carry some of the dirt, grit, sand, from the chain/sprocket with it.

So far it seems to work great. About 4 oz of oil (typically used motor oil or transmission fluid) will last for thousands of miles. I think I filled it up once on a recent 12,000 mile, mostly interstate ride.

I am far, FAR from an expert on chain maintenance and probably ruined my original chain due to my inexperience with chain driven motorcycles. My current chain (Stock Honda OEM) has over 23,000 miles on it and has been adjusted once and shows no evidence of wear. It has become almost as worry free as a belt drive.
I know chains don't necessarily wear out at a linear rate, but I fully expect to get another 20,000 miles out of my current chain.

I imagine if I was only a fair weather rider that stayed out of rain, didn't venture on the highway until June when the sand/salt was washed off the roads and was a bit more of a chain whisperer then I probably could go 20,000 miles on the stock chain. But I don't and I'm not so for me, the auto oiler is better than no oiler.
 
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