Chain Oiling and Adjustment
Thu, 04/03/2010 - 11:52
At my last FireBlade service the technician(looked suspiciously like a mechanic) gave me a gentle rollocking for not adjusting the chain and putting too much oil on it.
Now I use a piece of wood, with graduations, placed on the ground to check chain movement top to bottom. He just moved it with his hand and said you have to compress the suspension to check.
I oil when the chain looks dry or if it has been wet. I spray (PJ1) just before the rear socket on the top side.
Are there any rules of thumb re time before chain adjustment and oiling after the first service - I realise riding style etc makes an impact - but what should be expected?
If there is a choice I will make the wrong one!
Mon, 19/04/2010 - 23:48
#2
Re: No rules of thumb that I know except make
No rules of thumb that I know except make sure it keeps looking blackish rather than showing signs of going brown. Measuring tension depends on the bike, some handbooks will tell you a certain amount of play with the bike on the centre stand (if it has one...), others say with it upright on the wheels etc. There is a bottom line though, at no point must the chain go taut through its travel, or you'll quickly damage the rear wheel and gearbox output shaft bearings. It's worth at least once getting someone to lean hard on the back of the bike and compress the suspension while you're feeling how slack it is. If it goes piano wire taut at any point, it needs to be looser! But find the point where there's the least amount of slack, adjust it so that there's maybe a couple of centimetres up and down movement here, then see how much movement there is with the bike as you'd normally check the chain, and in future you can always adjust it to that amount.
Note that as a chain wears it develops loose and tight spots - ideally you need the wheel off the ground so you can rotate the wheel easily and find the tightest part of the chain run. It should be adjusted at this point, so you never get the chain going too tight, that's the main thing to avoid.
Do all the above and fit a Scottoiler. 33000 miles out of the first chain on my Tiger and the second is up to 27000 so far. So you won't have to adjust it so much.
Tue, 20/04/2010 - 00:13
#3
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
You can also try another test.
Pull the chain at the sprocket with the bike key or a spanner, between links, if you can see clearance between the sprocket and the chain than it is time for a new transmission kit.
Oil the chain frequently, it should never look dry, if you ran through dusty areas and it is becoming a paste, clean it before applying chain lube.
DO NOT USE WD40 to lube the chain, use appropriate oil.
Tue, 20/04/2010 - 08:00
#4
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
Yep, only use WD40 to clean the chain off before applying lube again.
I use the old 2-3 cm as my rule od thumb for slack which seems to work well. Some bikes seem to be more sensitive to it than others too in my experience.
In RIDE magazine a month or so back they had a chain oilers test. It may be worth hunting that out as it made for interesting reading. I've had good experience with Scottoilers, I had them on both my Street Triple and Daytona 675, and have found them to be really helpful.
Mon, 08/11/2010 - 23:30
#5
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
Hard to beat Scottoiler.
Fit it, set up right forget about it.
Chain adjustment. I have adjusted mine twice in 3 years 7000 miles using tolerance/guidance in manual and some helpful advise on U Tube (cant beat it).
Cant see me racking up the milage you guys appear to do which is not surprising as the bikes only exercise is A & B road shenanigans.
The way most of my mates swop and change bikes I imagine chain condition is the last thing on their mind.
Mon, 08/11/2010 - 23:40
#6
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
The "old" scottoiler is kinda old hat now. I had a pro oiler fitted on the Tiger, but now use profi dry lube.
Tue, 09/11/2010 - 00:19
#7
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
Old hat?
It dose its job.
The team at Ride recently placed it 2nd in their tests.
I warm to the fact it keeps working without me having to think about, a casual peep when you check the bike over and thats pretty much it.
Each to his own or there would be a lot of traders out there with shelves heaving with kit they could not sell.
You pays your money and takes your choice.
Tue, 09/11/2010 - 03:40
#8
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
If you change your bike regularly then the scottoiler kits aren't financially worth it unless you are happy to fit and remove and refit to your new bike regularly. A cheaper kit is the manual dual feed Tutoro which won a RiDE test against various lubing kits including scottoilers. About twenty quid I think.
I use a ride-in front wheel stand and a ball-bearing spin square under the back wheel so that it can be rotated by hand. I then oil my chains using scottoiler oil, every 500 miles (or post a very long rides in poor weather once dried)), making sure oil is getting between each chain link and clip on both sides of the chain. I'm careful with the left hand side of the tyre on first ride post oiling as the edge of the tyre will usually need a kitchen towel wipe afterwards.
I adjust my chain as per the owners manual. Some Japanese fours like to run a fine tolerance, whereas Ducati L-twins need a much greater play at the longest movement part of the chain, according to different congruent Duke mechanics I've spoken to. So there is no golden rule on that front IMPO, but I suspect the manufacturer wants you to get it right and nobody is likely to know their bikes better than they, so why take anyone else's advise on that front I guess?
Tue, 09/11/2010 - 09:24
#9
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
I Have been using aN eLECTRONIC Scottoiler on my MTS FOR 7500 MILES. It is overpriced( both Scottoiler and bike) but does it's job without need for interference.
You can adjust flowrate on the move which is useful in heavy rain or extended city work. It does put oil on the wheel but is easy to clean off. The chain has not needed adjustment in the last 3000 hard miles.
The resevoir last for 2000 miles and the small top up bottle boosts it by 1000 or so.
Comes into it's own on tour and in heavy rain.
Tue, 09/11/2010 - 10:33
#10
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
The "old" scottoiler is kinda old hat now. I had a pro oiler fitted on the Tiger, but now use profi dry lube.
Not sure why it is "old hat", could argue that chains, shafts and belts are "old hat" too :-) They all still do the job very well and nothing better has yet come along, in my opinion especially as regards chains and Scottoilers.
Scottoiler is still the best by a long, long way. The cheaper twenty quid items only win tests because they are twenty quid and sort of do a job. If you don't like the technology of the V System Scottoiler then take a look at their new eSystem, which gives perfect chain lubing plus all the gizmos with a simple battery connection and a couple of fun things on the display including an acceleromter.
As always each to their own but I will always shout up for Scottoiler, it is one of the best general accessory products on the market.
All of the bikes at the California Superbike School are running eSystems and the Phase One Endurance team have been using the traditional product for many years and swear by it.
Tue, 09/11/2010 - 09:33
#11
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
It does put oil on the wheel but is easy to clean off.
Mr InCircles - glad to hear your share my positive thoughts on the Scottoiler. If you are getting oil on the wheel then the flow rate is still too high. It takes a bit of getting used to but people generally do set it high as they feel they have to see or feel lubrication on the outside of the chain. The one to two drops of oil per minute will make sure the internal parts of the chain are well lubed.
Sun, 10/07/2011 - 10:44
#12
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
i have fitted a loobman chain oiler kit. Cost about £20. I M H O a useless bit of junk, far better to clean and lube yer chain regularly. Scottoilers are exorbitant in thier pricing and surely manufacturers should fit chain lube systems as standard eh?
Sun, 10/07/2011 - 12:01
#13
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
One of the last things that bike manufacturers will do is want to fit something that prolongs the life of a consumable item that they can sell in the after market as a spare part.
Sun, 10/07/2011 - 16:59
#14
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
What are these chains you speak of?
Sun, 10/07/2011 - 18:57
#15
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
What are these chains you speak of?
They're the things that make your cams go round and round.
Mon, 11/07/2011 - 07:06
#16
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
Interesting comment on the Loobman. I have had one on my VStrom for 6 years and am still on my first chain, 29000 miles, it just needs the zip tie dispensers pulling through every so often. Also don't need to adjust the chain very often.Cost £16 then.
Tue, 23/08/2011 - 17:39
#17
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
No, lack of engine oil makes your cams go round.
Geddit?
Fri, 26/08/2011 - 09:45
#18
Re: Chain Oiling and Adjustment
lack of engine oil makes your cams go round
...unless you have an 80's Honda, in which case they do that anyway.
No rules of thumb that I know except make sure it keeps looking blackish rather than showing signs of going brown. Measuring tension depends on the bike, some handbooks will tell you a certain amount of play with the bike on the centre stand (if it has one...), others say with it upright on the wheels etc. There is a bottom line though, at no point must the chain go taut through its travel, or you'll quickly damage the rear wheel and gearbox output shaft bearings. It's worth at least once getting someone to lean hard on the back of the bike and compress the suspension while you're feeling how slack it is. If it goes piano wire taut at any point, it needs to be looser! But find the point where there's the least amount of slack, adjust it so that there's maybe a couple of centimetres up and down movement here, then see how much movement there is with the bike as you'd normally check the chain, and in future you can always adjust it to that amount.
Note that as a chain wears it develops loose and tight spots - ideally you need the wheel off the ground so you can rotate the wheel easily and find the tightest part of the chain run. It should be adjusted at this point, so you never get the chain going too tight, that's the main thing to avoid.