Scott Oiler...yes I did it.

[paddy]

Well, it took me the better part of a day. I even ended up removing the carburettor and taking it to the local engineering shop to have it properly drilled and tapped. But I am not the proud owner of a fitted vSystem Scott Oiler on my Djebel. I have a few questions - I hope to learn from others experiences. If you aren't an "Oiler" and prefer to spend your time cleaning your chain you needn't reply. I look down my nose at you from my high horse where I might, on occasion, pontificate on the value of a Scott Oiler. :-)

Do you use the blue oil or the red oil? Why? What are your experiences?

What sort of settings have you found good for different scenarios (road, sand, gravel, mud, etc.)? I am currently running it at about the 50% mark which seems to yield around 2 drops per minute.

How wet do you find you chain is - how do I tell if it is appropriately lubed? My x-rings glisten and there is oil on the sprocket surface that contacts the chain rollers. Is there anything else I should be looking for?

(Oh and if anyone else tries this on a DR250 feel free to PM me. There are some, erm, pitfalls compared to it's bigger brothers.)

[zeRax]

..... But I am not the proud owner of a fitted vSystem Scott Oiler on my Djebel


well what are you talking about @_@

scottoilers are good, i got rid of mine because i wanted less stuff on my bike, but often think of having another one, thou as long as chain lasts a wee while and doesnt snap and fly off, im not too worried about getting the most out of chains

[Transalper]

I have a twin nozzel job with lube tube attached for extra capacity and use the blue 'lower temperature' oil all year round to get a better more consistant flow in New Zealands climate.
I usually run it just below the level at which it starts to splatter my rear wheel except in the dirt I often turn it up a bit.
On the dial i'm usually in the upper numbers. If the chain is fairly clean and I'm just riding sealed roads then I turn it down more.
On very dirty rides or where there are a lot of rivers or some mud then it may still dry out or get caked and need a helping hand.

I know a few people that turn them down in the dirt and back up on the ride home... opposite to me.

[Bass]

Spent 2 months last year doing dust and sand in the outback on a DR 650 that I fitted with a Scott oiler and was very disappointed with the result.
Fitted a new front sprocket in Cooktown and wound the oiler up, like it was nearly empty every day. Figured that if I gave it enough, it would wash the worst away - WRONG!
Mate on an identical setup but with a pre-abused front sprocket was using aerosol chain wax.

By Darwin, my front sprocket was completely shot but his was untouched.

The oiler was a great deal worse than useless in those conditions and used that way.

Went to an aerosol wax after that and had no more problems.

Moral - lots of oil in dust and dirt makes lots of grinding paste.

P.S. I also have a Scotty on my road bike and it's magic!

[p.dath]

I use the blue oil in Winter. I think blue oil is for climates up to 20 degrees celsius, and red is for 20 degrees and above.

So are you going to mostly be riding in the early morning or night, or during the nice warm summer days?


I have a Scott Oiler, and have stopped using it. It made a mess of my garage floor, and everywhere that I parked for more than 4 hours.
My personal impression is that the oil is not "sticky" enough, and simply drips off the chain when you stop the bike for more than 4 hours.

And before you say I was applying too much oil, I tried setting the drip rate right down to 1 drip every 2 minutes (double the recommended) and it still created a mess.


So I have gone back to simply lubing my chain. And of course, don't forget you still need to clean your chain from time to time.

EDIT: I have a road bike.

[Taz]

im not too worried about getting the most out of chains

Yeah it's good just to throw money away......

[NordieBoy]

Fitted a new front sprocket in Cooktown and wound the oiler up, like it was nearly empty every day.

What brand sprocket?
I got half the km's out of a PB that I did a JT.

[NordieBoy]

I have a Scott Oiler, and have stopped using it. It made a mess of my garage floor, and everywhere that I parked for more than 4 hours.
My personal impression is that the oil is not "sticky" enough, and simply drips off the chain when you stop the bike for more than 4 hours.

Mine have never dripped.

Sounds like it may have been keeping some vacuum that kept the Scotty valve open.

The whole point is that the oil is not sticky.
It keeps a nice flow on the chain that flings off taking crap with it.

[paddy]

I use the blue oil in Winter. I think blue oil is for climates up to 20 degrees celsius, and red is for 20 degrees and above.

So are you going to mostly be riding in the early morning or night, or during the nice warm summer days?

Yup. That's what I read too. The problem is our climate generally varies around the changeover point. I ride all of the time. Sun, shine, wind, rain, hail,....

I did notice though, that when I got the box, the included (blue) bottle stated 0-30 degrees rather than 0-20 degrees which is what the Scott Oiler site states. I'm going to stick with blue. Sounds right for our climate to me and it's evidently what most others in this country use.

[Bass]

What brand sprocket?
I got half the km's out of a PB that I did a JT.

Can't remember, sorry.
It wasn't a 50% difference though.
Jamie's was like the day he put it on in Cooktown while mine was getting set to turn inside the chain - night and day comparason.

[warewolf]

I had reasonable success with the Scottoiler on my road bikes... eventually. Moved the dripper from forward of the rear sprocket, to rubbing against the side of it. That seemed to put more oil on the chain rather than the wheel.

Always used the red oil. Placement of the RMV makes a difference. Behind the engine it gets hot and the oil viscosity drops. Even using the HCR I always used the red oil. Rode all year round in appalling weather. Probably varied the setting from 1/4 to 1/3 open, can't be sure. I didn't look at the chain but rather the wheel - more than sporadic spots of oil on the wheel meant too much oil flow.

Never had it marking its territory except when the feeder tube joiner failed. Usually the culprit for dropping oil is a leak in the tube, breaking the vacuum allowing the oil to drain out.

Haven't tried one on the adventure steed, but since I have a Motrax Autoluber (electric version of the scotty) sitting idle in the garage, and the way the 640A goes through chains, I'm tempted to give it a try. Given Bass' adverse experience, and my own in getting them to work properly on the roadies, I'll be keeping a very close eye on it.

[Padmei]

and the way the 640A goes through chains, I'm tempted to give it a try. .

Why would the 640 go thru more chains than a different bike? Horse power? chain lash?

(If it was Nordie I'd know the chain would have already had 2 owners & been hanging in some cow shed somewhere for 15 years)

[zeRax]

Yeah it's good just to throw money away......

... i dont expect them to last forever, and people always get some piece of mind if something is on the new side

[bart]

... i dont expect them to last forever, and people always get some piece of mind if something is on the new side

I'm with you on this one Zerax. Chains are not that expensive when compared to other consumables on a bike. Check and clean regularly, and replace when you start hearing it slap around a bit. Not rocket science, and how many chains can you buy for the price of a Scott and all that fancy lube.

Ignore me if you do more than 20000km a year.:whistle:

[NordieBoy]

Why would the 640 go thru more chains than a different bike? Horse power? chain lash?

(If it was Nordie I'd know the chain would have already had 2 owners & been hanging in some cow shed somewhere for 15 years)

Got 3-4 of my old ones stored in a dust free environment just in case...






Not metal shaving free, just dust free...

[paddy]

I'm with you on this one Zerax. Chains are not that expensive when compared to other consumables on a bike. Check and clean regularly, and replace when you start hearing it slap around a bit. Not rocket science, and how many chains can you buy for the price of a Scott and all that fancy lube.

Ignore me if you do more than 20000km a year.:whistle:

Did I mention I cover 500 KM per week commute and then whatever other KMs I ride in the weekend. I'm pretty sure it's gonna pay for itself. I paid more than $190 for my last chain.

[NordieBoy]

Not rocket science, and how many chains can you buy for the price of a Scott and all that fancy lube.
Pay for a Scott Oiler?


Ignore me if you do more than 20000km a year. :whistle:
Well OK then :whistle:

[warewolf]

Why would the 640 go thru more chains than a different bike? Horse power? chain lash? Dunno, but it just seems to. Could be a power thing, it does make more power than anything else in the class. Could be a result of the extra dollop of vibes. Could be a result of the spirited riding it encourages.

For me, chain & sprockets run at about half the price of tyres, slightly more expensive per km than oil & filters. Who'da thunk it??

[Transalper]

Looks like my DR650 using the scotty will be due for next chain/sprockets soon.
Last set (I assume that was the end of the original stuff) was changed at 32000km 75% ridden by previous owner, no scotty for most of that chain.
There's now 30338km on the current set and are starting to need frequent adjustment. Already swapped the front sprocket once or twice, can't remember exactly.

[rogerh]

I have a suspicion that the 640 hammers chains and sprockets due to the way it delivers its power. Lots of torque, even really low down. Encourages aggressive clutch use too, if you know what I mean.:whistle:

I cannot compare it to other large trailies, as I have not owned many, and none in the same class as the 640, but have had quite a few four cylinder road machines, and they do not deliver the serious torque until higher up the revs.

This is a more even delivery of power to in my mind as well. Less "Hammering".

YMMV. All seat of the pants observations, and I don't have the good data that Colin has. Makes me think I should make the effort too. But somehow I just keep wanting to ride it when these thoughts come to mind.

Also my experience of a scott oiler is similar. Great when things are clean. Bad to really bad when things get dirty.

[warewolf]

DR650 ... 32000kmThe 640's OEM gear includes an alloy rear sprocket; I managed 6,400km from the set. :weep:. The next set was 2x Chain Gang fronts and 1x Chain Gang rear (still going strong) with a top of the range RK GXW chain = 16,700km. The current set is KTM steel sprockets (2x fronts so far) and an RK XSO mid-range chain. At 12,000km it is already cheaper per km than the more expensive setup, dunno how much longer it will last. (Chain Gang rears may be better value than the KTM steel, I haven't worn out a Chain Gang yet.)


Also my experience of a scott oiler is similar. Great when things are clean. Bad to really bad when things get dirty.One would hope I already have 'worst case scenario' and the auto luber can only improve things. And/or can I 'prove' that in snotty conditions, it doesn't matter what you do, the drive train is gonna cop a thrashing. I kinda think I've already done that, as my chain is not neglected by any stretch of the imagination.

[Pixie]

I use the blue oil in Winter. I think blue oil is for climates up to 20 degrees celsius, and red is for 20 degrees and above.

So are you going to mostly be riding in the early morning or night, or during the nice warm summer days?


I have a Scott Oiler, and have stopped using it. It made a mess of my garage floor, and everywhere that I parked for more than 4 hours.
My personal impression is that the oil is not "sticky" enough, and simply drips off the chain when you stop the bike for more than 4 hours.

And before you say I was applying too much oil, I tried setting the drip rate right down to 1 drip every 2 minutes (double the recommended) and it still created a mess.


So I have gone back to simply lubing my chain. And of course, don't forget you still need to clean your chain from time to time.

EDIT: I have a road bike.

The problem with Scott oilers is inconsistency in manufacturing.
Read the bottle on the lighter oil-"for warm climates or faster flowing oilers".
I have heard of Scotts that could not be turned down low enough.
That is why I designed my own system,with a wide enough control range that I could use my own brew of lubricant and although I started with a drip feed I now use a brush or wiper delivery system that covers the whole width of the chain.

I've now done close to 100,000km on the original chain on a hard ridden 1200 bandit. Only adjusted the chain 5 times .Chain is at <20% of it's wear,But I'll replace it at 100,000 for piece of mind.
I'm $1200 ahead in chain and sprocket expences.

[NordieBoy]

The 640's OEM gear includes an alloy rear sprocket; I managed 6,400km from the set. :weep:. The next set was 2x Chain Gang fronts and 1x Chain Gang rear (still going strong) with a top of the range RK GXW chain = 16,700km. The current set is KTM steel sprockets (2x fronts so far) and an RK XSO mid-range chain. At 12,000km it is already cheaper per km than the more expensive setup, dunno how much longer it will last. (Chain Gang rears may be better value than the KTM steel, I haven't worn out a Chain Gang yet.)

I got 8,000 out of an RK XSO and 16,000 out of the next RK XSO without a sprocket change.

The RK XSO 525 is around $250 now and the DID 520VX I replaced it with was $160.

Long live the 520!

[slofox]

I use a "slofox oiler" myself...get down and squirt it with the aerosol can. Regularly. 30,000km so far and all good...

[rogerh]

One would hope I already have 'worst case scenario' and the auto luber can only improve things. And/or can I 'prove' that in snotty conditions, it doesn't matter what you do, the drive train is gonna cop a thrashing. I kinda think I've already done that, as my chain is not neglected by any stretch of the imagination.

Not quite. In mud, as you say, running gear just gets a thrashing. In sand, I find it best to turn the oiler off. Particularly with fine sand, the oil just seems to make the sand (AKA grinding powder) into an oily grinding paste, and actually makes things worse. Dry, the sand falls off, but the oil just makes it stick, and if the oiler is going to the right place to lube the chain, it is also the worst place to add grinding paste. This is the worst case!

In mud it makes pretty much no difference, and when everything is clean, the oilers work really well. About 10k out of a DID 520 sealed chain, alloy rear and steel front on the 640. Or maybe one and a half fronts. I run a 16, but swap to a 15 quite a bit.

Just my experience.

On balance, I still like the oiler for most situations, and especially on a road bike. Or maybe one and a half fronts. I run a 16 most of the time, but swap to a 15 quite a bit.

[jonbuoy]

I had an issue with mine when it was new - dripping when the engine was off and overlubing - was a problem with the dosing unit - fixed and now its fine. I run it almost at minimum on the red oil even in the winter here. I don't get any fling and can just see a thin coat of oil on the chain. Needs cranking up in the wet weather though. Very handy on a commuter bike.