The Loobman chain oiler - 15 months on

[Dances With Poultry]

Good to hear you are happy with your LoobMan. I'm sure you would have got more distance out of the chain if it had not done 11,000km without one. Even so , 34,000km is a very respectable distance and very hard to achieve without some sort of mounted lubrication system. What bike was it on?

Kind regards

Nigel Marx
LoobMan NZ

[rext]

It's on a 2000 VTR1000F

[Winston001]

Time I tried a chain oiler and the Loobman looks a contender. Any updates?

[sinned]

Scott oiler appears to be the benchmark. But I am still not convinced I need an oiler and will see how many kms I get out the chain on the new bike with my regular lube program. The busa is reported to eat chains so it may not be that long before the first replacement.

[MTW]

Time I tried a chain oiler and the Loobman looks a contender. Any updates?

I've been using the loobman for about 8 months, done about 8,000k's on my chain and still looks as good as new. Hasn't required any adjustment and that's with mostly 2-up riding.

Only problem I have is that your supposed to squeeze the bottle when you want oil, mine seems to self lubricate when there's oil in the bottle. So I just fill the bottle when doing a long trip and it comes out over the course of a long trip. Keeps the chain wet but makes a heck of a mess to my lovely white wheels.

There are cable ties which distribute the oil onto the sprocket then chain, these have worn considerably. All in all I'm happy.

[Winston001]

Just received my Loobman in the mail so will add to the thread as time passes.

I've read a fair bit on the net about chain oilers, including homemade ones. It appears reasonably simple to make one but at $50 for the Loobman, hard to justify the effort except for the satisfaction.

I already have some ideas to improve the Loobman but they need to wait until its installed. It could be fine just as it is.

One issue is continued oil dripping as MTW says - sounds like capillary action or siphoning from the reservoir bottle. Some users make a pinhole at the top of the bottle to allow air in to stop this. Personally I think a tap close to the end would be the most effective solution - seen one made from an aquarium air bubbler.

[Dances With Poultry]

Yes, the fix for the small dribbles (caused by the pressure in the reservoir changing with air temperature) is fixed by burning a very small hole in the internal tube, just below the cap, with a red hot needle. It's a fix I do on all the LoobMan kits I install. The hole is too small for much oil to escape when you squeeze, but works like the altitude compensation jet in some Honda carbs. It's a standard mod detailed in the installation instructions.

There are plenty of easy arguments about the pro's of fitting a chain lubricator, but the ease of lubing and the very low cost of ordinary engine oil compared aerosol sprayers and genuine Scottoil means a LoobMan Kit will pay for itself about the end of your second can of spray lube.

And Dennis, what is the money saved if you get even 1/3 more life out of your chain and sprocket set for a 'Busa? More than the cost of a LoobMan kit is my guess.

I still have plenty of stock for anyone who wants a kit.

Kind regards

Nigel in Chch

[TygerTung]

I was thinking about getting one of these for when I get a running motorcycle going.

I was thinking however, that it might be better to use vegetable oil on account of the mineral oil being not so hot for the environment, seeing as the oil will end up on the road, then that oil will run off into the waterways.

Do you think olive oil would be best? Or maybe just plain budget old canola would be ok. Rice bran oil might be good as it is a high temp oil? Coconut oil would have a lovely smell.

So many oils to choose from!!!

[Flip]

There are two problems with vege oil.

They are not a very good lubricant and they relatively quickly oxidise, become acidic and turn into a thick varnish like substance.

[slofox]

There are two problems with vege oil.

They are not a very good lubricant and they relatively quickly oxidise, become acidic and turn into a thick varnish like substance.

Castrol R was castor based...

[Sable]

Pretty sure the 10,000km was neither the chain, bike's or lube's fault. Just saying.

[TygerTung]

I think you can only use castrol R for a certain time in your crankcase before it goes bad.

I think you can get vegetable oil based chain/bar oil for chainsaws now, maybe that would be a good choice? It is very sticky though.

[pete376403]

Castrol R was castor based...

And it was awful shit to clean out if it was allowed to stand. I ran Castrol R (and Shell Super Heavy - both bean oils) in my speedway bikes but they got stripped right down at the end of each season. I bought a motor that had run R and been allowed to stand for a couple of years. Filled the cases with petrol and put a very big wrench on the end of the crank to free it up to the point where I could get it apart. After I got sick of the mess and the expense of bean oils I used Shell rimula X 50 mineral oil - worked just as well.

[slofox]

And it was awful shit to clean out if it was allowed to stand. I ran Castrol R (and Shell Super Heavy - both bean oils) in my speedway bikes but they got stripped right down at the end of each season. I bought a motor that had run R and been allowed to stand for a couple of years. Filled the cases with petrol and put a very big wrench on the end of the crank to free it up to the point where I could get it apart. After I got sick of the mess and the expense of bean oils I used Shell rimula X 50 mineral oil - worked just as well.

You're not wrong...

I ran "R" in my velocette road racer - for a while. Like you, I got sick of it pretty quickly - especially the cost - and reverted back to mineral oil. Made no difference to the way the bike ran (badly, most of the time...).

[TygerTung]

I used to like to use it in a bucket racer engine which was burning a bit of oil for one reason or another as I figured that it would burn nicely in the combustion chamber.

I have some old castrol R lying around, maybe I'll try that on the chain?