Chain Lube

**manuboy** · 17th November 2004, 20:31

Woo hooo!

Number 1 product review in the New and Improved Bikes and Products thread!

Today Ladies and Gentlemen,

Chain Lube - for those of us with no shafts (i mean umm..., well, you know....and you trendy bastards with Scott Oilers can bugger off too)

Cleaning and maintaining a chain is awesome, if you're a masocist.
Ah, first up is "Chain Lube", from Golden Spectro. Its oil / lpg based, and O-Ring safe. It's a bit of a shitter this one i reckon. Cleaned my chain using the good ol Kero, dried it, took it for a short run to heat the chain, put it on, and within 700-800 kms my chain was dead dry (had rust spots!). Rim and entire rear of bike coated in black spooge. 3/10.

Next up, "Chain Wax (and cable lube)" from Maxima. Wax based and O-ring safe. This stuff (so far) is the shizzer. Normally take the bike for a ten minute quick run after letting the lube "set" to dislodge the worst of the spooge , with this stuff i got back and never even had to wipe a surface, and i'm a fussy fussy fussy bastard. Chain is nice and "lubey" looking. Will tell more after this weekends rally in Timaru.

Next Installment: Zero Gravity Double Bubble screen.

Rock (ride) on!

Reviews wanted for Scott Oilers (you bastards) and K&N Filters (air / oil)

**MikeL** · 17th November 2004, 21:46

Originally Posted by manuboy

Reviews wanted for Scott Oilers (you bastards)

You don't need any reviews of the Scottoiler. Anyone who's had one raves about them.

NC · 17th November 2004, 21:48

That chainwax is good stuff

**manuboy** · 18th November 2004, 07:00

Originally Posted by MikeL

You don't need any reviews of the Scottoiler. Anyone who's had one raves about them.

bastard. What about installation / tuning it?

**Blakamin** · 18th November 2004, 07:12

Glad I read that... was looking at that spectro stuff last saturday, but there were so many others to choose from, I gave it a miss... chain wax it is then!

**MikeL** · 18th November 2004, 07:23

Originally Posted by manuboy

What about installation / tuning it?

The booklet that comes with the kit has comprehensive installation instructions. Anyone with half an ounce of mechanical knowhow can do it.
Which is why I got Mt Eden Motorcycles to do mine...

The only maintenance, apart from refilling the reservoir (even I can do that myself) is to fine-tune the flow rate. It takes a bit of experimentation to get the best rate, and you need to change it slightly between winter and summer because of the change in viscosity as the temperature rises or falls, but it's not a hassle. The idea is to get maximum oil on the chain with minimum fling. After mine was installed within a week or so I noticed a buildup of goop on the swing arm and wheel, so turned the flow down a notch and now it's about right.

About the only disagreement the Scottoiler provokes is whether it's worth paying extra for the larger oil reservoir - it does complicate the installation somewhat, but if you are touring and don't want to carry the refill bottle with you it's a good idea.

**manuboy** · 18th November 2004, 07:31

Mike.... scott oiler now on my wish list. Might go for the twin delivery one!

**Slingshot** · 18th November 2004, 08:16

How many KMs do you actually get out of the standard kit before you have to re-fill? I too have been thinking about getting one but if I have to re-fill it every 100 KMs then it might be too much hassell.

**vifferman** · 18th November 2004, 09:13

I use Spectro chainwax - it's good too, and smells nice (most important), and dries clear, so people can admire your bike's chain's coloured sideplates.

Other stuff I've tried:
Shell Motorcycle Chain Lube - incredibly tacky, so it gathers up all the road spooge within a few metres of the bike, keeping the road clean as you pass by. Also useful for sticking things on the bike, or stopping your pillion sliding off during wheelies.
WD40: good for cleaning the chain, and quick lubing. No good for decent lubing.
80/90W Gear Oil: Recommended by most bike manufacturers, but horrible and messy, unless used with a Scottoiler. Dries to a nice gungey-looking black, so good for treating your bikey leathers.

By the way - when applying chain wax, make sure you wipe the excess off the chain, and leave it at least overnight to dry.

K&N aifilters seem to me to be over-rated, and bought by people mainly for the hype. (Or maybe the stickers). They're very expensive, and can cause tuning problems on many bikes. F'rinstance, the general consensus on most FireStorm forums is to stay away from them, as they make proper jetting a real bitch, and don't actually produce any significant gains.
I'm hoping my VFR has a Unifilter and not a K&N...:confused2
If it has a standard airfilter, I'll convert it to a Uni quicksmart, and at no (zero) cost.

**mangell6** · 18th November 2004, 18:47

Originally Posted by manuboy

Mike.... scott oiler now on my wish list. Might go for the twin delivery one!

If I did it again I would.

Originally Posted by Slingshot

How many KMs do you actually get out of the standard kit before you have to re-fill? I too have been thinking about getting one but if I have to re-fill it every 100 KMs then it might be too much hassell.

I get 3-4000km, my dial is set a notch above the one mark. Summer and winter temperatures make a big difference as does llooooonnngggg distance riding. Only on my second chain and have completed 65,000kms.

How many k's between manual chain lubings with wax, oil, etc. For me it used to be the when I remembered k's.

**Kendog** · 21st November 2004, 08:57

Originally Posted by MikeL

The booklet that comes with the kit has comprehensive installation instructions. Anyone with half an ounce of mechanical knowhow can do it.
Which is why I got Mt Eden Motorcycles to do mine...

The only maintenance, apart from refilling the reservoir (even I can do that myself) is to fine-tune the flow rate. It takes a bit of experimentation to get the best rate, and you need to change it slightly between winter and summer because of the change in viscosity as the temperature rises or falls, but it's not a hassle. The idea is to get maximum oil on the chain with minimum fling. After mine was installed within a week or so I noticed a buildup of goop on the swing arm and wheel, so turned the flow down a notch and now it's about right.

About the only disagreement the Scottoiler provokes is whether it's worth paying extra for the larger oil reservoir - it does complicate the installation somewhat, but if you are touring and don't want to carry the refill bottle with you it's a good idea.

My bike came with a Scottoiler installed, but no instructions.
I am guessing the last owner had it down really low, then I tried turning it up a little but I think I turned it the wrong way

I asked the bike shop about it when it was being serviced, they cranked it up to get rid of the air in the line and get the oil flowing again, which worked great but now the bike was getting a bit messy

Now I have it right down again and I am looking for the right setting.

Question, what kind of oil should be used in these, it has not run out yet but when it does what should I use?

**JohnBoy** · 23rd November 2004, 19:25

Originally Posted by firestormer

K&N aifilters seem to me to be over-rated, and bought by people mainly for the hype. (Or maybe the stickers).

i only ever thought that K&N's would only work well on high performace motors. i was told to take off your stock filter and if it made a difference then a K&N is for you.

but, i must say that i use the sikolene titanium gel lube. its pretty good, but really messy. i have once used the Belray chain lube, was really awsome. it stuck hard with little mess but, i havent been able to find a shop in hamilton that sells it.

.

**Pickle** · 23rd November 2004, 20:45

Scott oilers are definetly the way to go, started with the single injector but could not get both sides of the chain oiled properly without oiling the back of the bike as well, so changed to twin injector. Set the flow and have not touched it since, bottle lasts approx 2500kms. Have them on both ZX6s.
We are still using Scott chain oil and when that runs out will probably go with a heavy weight oil.

Generally use Motul chain oil on the trail bikes which seems to stay on the chain quite well, or we use whatever we have won at rallies and at the moment we have about a years supply. Free is always the best!