Frankenoiler

[vinay]

This isn't much of a modification probably, I just installed an oiler and decided to post some pictures here which might be of help to others. I went with the Osco oiler as it doesn't need to be powered, seems well built and it is a brand from The Netherlands (which is where I live) so it may be easier to get hold of spares in case of unfortunatalities. I did connect it to the Scottoiler Scorpion dual injector as that way of applying oil made sense to me. So it turned into a bit of a Frankenoiler.


I chose to install the container onto right hand crash bar. The manual recommends to install it on the right side as this allows you to feather the clutch as you operate the plunger, though I've seen many pictures where it has been installed on the left. Not sure why. Maybe for those with DCT, left would be the way to go though. That said, I honestly don't know what's under the right hand fairing but I do expect to remove the left hand fairing soon to get into the electronics bit so for me it is nice to have that area clear. This location here is fairly easy to reach for both pulling the plunger as well as refilling the container. And yeah, it was raining when I finished the job.


The Scottoiler Scorpion dual injector is a bit harder to see in this image, but it is the fork that applies oil to both sides of the sprocket. This way it gets applied to the inside of the link plates where it hopefully find its way towards the link pins and the inside of the rollers. That's the theory at least. Either way, makes more sense to me that just dripping it onto the center of the chain.


I didn't remove any body panels to guide the hose but I still think I did a fairly nice job. I tried to get a continuously downwards hose routing from the container towards the applicator. My biggest concern was obviously that the hose would rub, get pinched somewhere in the suspension linkage or get snagged as the suspension moves through its travel. Both kits come with more than enough tie-wraps and clamps (where the Osco ones are tighter than the ones from Scottoiler) so when degreased and cleaned, I trust these clamps will stay put and hold the hose in place. I put one underneath the swingarm to keep the hose away from the chain and then guided it towards the inside of the swingarm where I clamped it just next to the rear shock so that it doesn't get touch and rub that one. This is a tighter clamp, so the hose won't slide in that one. In front of this area there seems to be an area where a bunch of cables and hoses pass from left to right so that's what this hose does there as well. I used a tie-wrap to attach it to a thick and stiff bundle of cables (it seems) which keeps it up yet will probably move enough to go with the suspension movement. That said, I think there will be excess hose as it moves through the travel, not a a lack thereof which could jank on the cable. So yeah, I'll keep an eye on it but I trust it will be fine.

 

[Rydinon]

Nice installation. I put a Tutoro on my VStrom, and bought a Nemo2 oiler on Amazon - rebranded to Gidibii. This amazon oiler costs $36USD, and the Tutoro cost me well over $100 a couple of years ago. The Gidibii is manual - give the cap a quarter turn and it drops oil for about 3 minutes. I've no idea how well it works yet, but a friend who recommended it loves his. The Tutoro gets filled between 750 and 1000 mile intervals and is fully automatic, functioning on vibrations from the wheels going over the road.

 

[vinay]

Nice installation. I put a Tutoro on my VStrom, and bought a Nemo2 oiler on Amazon - rebranded to Gidibii. This amazon oiler costs $36USD, and the Tutoro cost me well over $100 a couple of years ago. The Gidibii is manual - give the cap a quarter turn and it drops oil for about 3 minutes. I've no idea how well it works yet, but a friend who recommended it loves his. The Tutoro gets filled between 750 and 1000 mile intervals and is fully automatic, functioning on vibrations from the wheels going over the road.

Interesting. I've heard of the Tutoro but wasn't aware that it was triggered by the road vibrations. Does the supply meet the demand, more or less? I can imagine it would dump more oil when on a bumpy road than on a smooth one. I plan to lube every 300km or so, but in particular after a wet ride and/or after cleaning the chain. So yeah, I like to have some control over that, which the Gidibii also seems to offer indeed. Scottoiler also has some sophisticated computer controlled oilers but I'm not ready for that. Either way, I think the main thing is to keep the chain lubed but not excessively that it'd get gunked up and gets the tire greasy. Seems like there is a big sweet spot in between so as long as we're in there somewhere, we should be fine.

 

[Rydinon]

The tutoro has a needle valve at the bottom for the user to adjust the flow. Twist it like any faucet to adjust more or less oil. Above this user adjustable valve is a weight balanced over the orifice in the bottom of the reservoir. This is not user adjustable and the instructions say it is somewhat fragile. Once installed, vibrations jiggle that weight allowing oil to flow thru the valve to the hose to the emitter(s - 1 or 2). I've had absolutely no problems with it and it uses maybe two ounces of oil every 750 to 1000 miles. This keeps the chain remarkably clean and the rear wheel does not get too grotty. I typically put 3 to 5000 miles on my bike a season, with some gravel roads thrown in (not much). I do wonder how dirty the rear wheel would get if I put 3 times that mileage on a summer, but when the bike gets dirty, I wash it so I'd never let the wheel accumulate too much dirt.

I will add I have never seen oil dripping out of the emitters. Put one of these on an old Harley or single cylinder thumper and the engine vibes just might open the orifice. However, a couple of ounces every thou miles is not a firehose type flow, more here a drop there a drop.

 

[vinay]

Yeah, I can definitely see how it is a clever system. The slower the application (in this case, over the course of a ride), the less messy it will be. Just wondering, would you play a little with that flow adjuster to for instance open it a bit more after an wet ride and after having cleaned it and close it more on a bumpy ride over dry and dusty trails? Or is the application so nicely tuned already that no adjustment is need unless you move it from bike to bike?

 

[Rydinon]

No, I did not play with it beyond adjusting it the first time as the instructions suggested (when all else fails, read the instructions), and then checking the mileage I got for one reservoir. I tweaked it a bit to go 750 to 1000 miles for a fill up of the little reservoir. The chain was remarkably clean whenever I checked it.

Don't forget, an o-ring chain is supposed to resist water. The oil simply washes the dirt away so that you don't grind up the o-rings with abrasive particles. The guys on the VStrom website were talking about some rather surprisingly high mileage for chains (50K) with auto oilers. I would want to see a good video of someone checking a chain with that kind of mileage. It is my understanding that you grab a link on the chain at 3 o'clock on the rear sprocket and pull outward. If the link pulls away from the sprocket, it is toast. More accurately, there is a dimension that I've forgotten for this quick evaluation. One can also look at the sprockets - the gap between teeth should be semi circular - no asymmetrical wear. IIRC, a rubber cushioned front sprocket for my Suzi cost around $15 to 20 (no idea what it is today), so that is not enough $$ to keep me up nights worrying. The chain is the expensive part. Rear sprocket - my guess would be in the $50 range. I'd probably swap everything out when the chain goes - but i would also compare how the new chain fit on a new sprocket and compare that to my old sprockets.

Edit - on second thought. Years ago I remember a 3 die set cost on the order of $35. Yesterday I saw a website selling the same for $158. My pricing for sprockets might be similarly out of whack.

 

[vinay]

To be honest I still need to go through the bike manual but I'd expect that once I need to shift the rear axle rearwards (for correct chain tension) to the point where the arrow points at the red section of the label above it, it is time to replace the chain and sprocket. So I'd just go with that. Pulling the chain away from the sprocket is one way but I suppose it would more or less do so at the same point. For bicycles, you have these gauges which are quick and easy. 1% max strain for a single speed chain and 0.75% or 0.5% for chains that need to work with a derailleur (so a multi-sprocket cassette on the rear). But it still goes, a properly lubed and clean chain will wear less hence elongate less. Obviously excess oil will attract dirt and create a gunky mess. However, what oil also does is cling to the metal bits and migrate the mess away. So if you wipe or brush it every now and then and use a (semi) auto oiler, you should be good.

A test of one oiler against the other would be an interesting one but considering they work so different hence may apply oil in different quantities under different conditions (Tutoro comes to mind but for all others it is the human factor or even a computer in case of the most fancy Scottoiler) you will never have one single answer. I suppose just putting any oiler on it will save you effort and money in the long run.