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.

[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...