Haynes' World is a regular feature that takes a look at what the staff at Haynes are doing with their vehicles. This time, Euan's been fitting an automatic chain oiler to his Aprilia bike.
There are things in the world that it’s probably best not to think about. For example, how hard a time your motorcycle’s chain goes through every single time you go for a ride. Ponder that too closely and you’ll never swing a leg over again.
After all, your bike chain has to drag your bike’s back wheel along for the ride, while being stretched to breaking point by the whim of your right wrist. And it does this on cold, icy days, on days that would give camels pause for thought, and on days that would have Noah reaching for a sou’wester.
Not only that, but it’s getting constantly pulled up and down as your bike’s suspension deals with roads mutilated by a combination of extreme weather and chronic underfunding, while being blasted by flak in the shape of litter, gravel, stones and rocks. It’s a tough gig.
Scottoiler xSystem
But we won’t think about that too much, and instead we’ll just concentrate on how to keep the chain in as good nick as possible. To that end, I regularly stick the bike up on a rear paddock stand and check the alignment, tension and condition of the chain, then give it a good coating of chain lube.
Or at least I did until earlier this year. But not any more. No, I haven’t suddenly decided to neglect maintenance of a vital component, I’ve invested in a piece of tech that makes life a lot easier. Yes, I’ve bought a Scottoiler, which is a piece of tech that keeps your bike’s chain perfectly oiled at all times.
Now, I’ve been aware of Scottoiler’s products for a long time, but buying one was just something I’d never got round to. Then one day I saw one on a friend’s bike, and then listened to him raving about it. Shortly after, I found myself perusing the website, and before long, I’d bought a Scottoiler xSystem.
Fitting the Scottoiler to the Aprilia
As promised on the website, the Scottoiler was a doddle to fit. I started by using cable ties to attach the reservoir to a frame spar, then ran the power cables to the battery, attaching them to the frame along the way.
Then it was a case of running the plastic tubing down through the frame and along the underside of the swingarm before attaching the dispenser. The dispenser is a neat affair that drops beads of oil onto either side of the rear sprocket, from where centrifugal force moves it onto the chain, keeping it oiled at all times.
The reservoir allows you to adjust the flow of chain oil according to the prevailing conditions, and it takes only a few seconds to refill after every few rides.
The chain hasn’t needed any adjustment since. The system provides real peace of mind, and should also greatly increase the life of the chain, so will pay for itself in pretty short order.
