NC 700XD Chain Lubrication

[Guest Mike_700]

I am new to biking but I am commuting 500mls a week. Can someone advice me on chain lubrication? 

[wozza 967]

Oh bit of a minefield here as there are several different opinions on what's best. I'll let the other peeps guide you as to what they do for chain maintenance..

Edited April 14, 2014 by wozza

[Guest EasyTiger]

Not magic. There are some How-To videos on YouTube. Some riders swear by non-fling waxes, others by chain sprays, or even WD40. Others rely on oilers - manual or automatic. Tuturo have quite a big following on this forum.

I use a Loobman, cheap, does the job when I remember, on the road, when the chain is warm - so no need to put the bike on a paddock stand. worth doing more frequently when the road's wet or mucky...

Edited April 14, 2014 by EasyTiger

[embee 7,288]

An auto oiler would be a boon in your situation I'd suggest, 500mls a week is pretty significant use. It would mean you could more or less rely on the auto oiler during the week and just give it a look/wipe over at the weekend, or similar.

 

As said by others, a variety of oilers are available and in use on NC's, including the Tutoro variants, Loobman, I have the "PD Oiler" which seems to work well though the inability to check the fill level without using the "dipstick" device annoys me a bit. The electronic Scottoiler is expensive, note the NC doesn't have a vacuum tapping to enable a regular Scottoiler to be used.

 

Make sure you don't run the chain too tight, it needs a fair amount of slack to avoid getting tight as the suspension compresses, on my 700 I ensure at least 30mm up/down at mid span on the lower run with light finger pressure, that corresponds to the chain just touching the rubbing strip on the swingarm.

[dandemann8 776]

Not magic. There are some How-To videos on YouTube. Some riders swear by non-fling waxes, others by chain sprays, or even WD40. Others rely on oilers - manual or automatic. Tuturo have quite a big following on this forum.

I use a Loobman, cheap, does the job when I remember, on the road, when the chain is warm - so no need to put the bike on a paddock stand. worth doing more frequently when the road's wet or mucky...

Have you got a picture of your Loobman fitted.... 

[Guest EasyTiger]

 

Not magic. There are some How-To videos on YouTube. Some riders swear by non-fling waxes, others by chain sprays, or even WD40. Others rely on oilers - manual or automatic. Tuturo have quite a big following on this forum.

I use a Loobman, cheap, does the job when I remember, on the road, when the chain is warm - so no need to put the bike on a paddock stand. worth doing more frequently when the road's wet or mucky...

Have you got a picture of your Loobman fitted.... 

Have a look at the most recent pics in this photostream.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/easytiger2011/

I've just taken one close and one wider shot of the rear of the bike.

The double-headed end hangs over the rear sprocket.

The most direct route from the bottle to the swingarm or sprocket is best - I've seen some attached to the tail and the tube vertical...

Some pics of other bikes here:

http://www.loobman.co.uk/bikes.asp

[Guest Mike_700]

Thanks for all your advise guys

[Guest nc700sam]

Hi mate,

 

I second the PD oiler. I have one and they are brilliant (apart from aforementioned dip tube)

 

only thing i would suggest is take ya time fitting it somewhere half decent. its gonna be there a while so make sure its where you can access it, but also where it isnt open to all elements, although i have heard they are very resilliant.

 

all the best!

[Dave D 567]

I can recommend the Tutoro Oiler.

 

http://www.nc700.co.uk/index.php?/topic/4155-tuturo-oiler-owners-your-comments-please/?hl=tuturo

[Guest EssexTaipan]

I've had a few scottoilers with little success. they never seem to deliver with any consistency. I prefer the simpler loobman. For what it worth I use my old engine oil in them. 

[Scootabout 2,260]

I have the Tutoro automatic oiler. I'm very happy with it.  Had it on the bike now for about 3 months, and it has changed my life, reducing chain cleaning and lubing effort significantly.  I had a bit of a panic moment the other week, as the chain appeared to have developed a frozen link - there was a kink in it.  I was due to go for a long ride the next day.  I bought some chain cleaner and gave it a good soaking, then gave it a coating of 3 in 1 spray-on oil, then left the oiler to it. I turned the oiler up a notch or two at first, to give the chain a good coating.  It's been fine since.  I think basically I didn't really clean the chain properly before I fitted the oiler, and it had contunued to attract gunge.  I was expecting the oiler to clean a dirty chain, which isn't really fair.  But I reckon that onced cleaned, it will pretty much stay that way. 

 

I was about to buy some more oil from Tutoro, but they want £6.50 for the oil plus £5.40 to deliver half a litre. I'm thinking of trying engine oil instead.  

[Dave H 2,022]

I use auto transmission oil like ATF or Glide, it's red so matches the bike.  Yes I am a tart.

[Marte 127]

I have the Tutoro automatic oiler. I'm very happy with it. Had it on the bike now for about 3 months, and it has changed my life, reducing chain cleaning and lubing effort significantly. I had a bit of a panic moment the other week, as the chain appeared to have developed a frozen link - there was a kink in it. I was due to go for a long ride the next day. I bought some chain cleaner and gave it a good soaking, then gave it a coating of 3 in 1 spray-on oil, then left the oiler to it. I turned the oiler up a notch or two at first, to give the chain a good coating. It's been fine since. I think basically I didn't really clean the chain properly before I fitted the oiler, and it had contunued to attract gunge. I was expecting the oiler to clean a dirty chain, which isn't really fair. But I reckon that onced cleaned, it will pretty much stay that way.

I was about to buy some more oil from Tutoro, but they want £6.50 for the oil plus £5.40 to deliver half a litre. I'm thinking of trying engine oil instead.

I wrote Tutoro asking about oils and they recommend using 80 90 gear oil as the best alternative to their oil or that of Scottoiler.

[Slowboy 20,520]

I've had a Tutoro auto oiler fitted for over a year now and use Scottoil in it and it seems to work fine. Warranty replacement chain has covered over 10,000 miles with just a couple of adjustments. Should probably pop a new chain & sprockets on for summer, but they still look sound.

[Scootabout 2,260]

I wrote Tutoro asking about oils and they recommend using 80 90 gear oil as the best alternative to their oil or that of Scottoiler.

One or two people have said gear oil is too viscous. Did Tutoro take into account where you live (ie quite warm) when they gave that advice, do you know?

[shiggsy 529]

 I'm thinking of trying engine oil instead.  

 

I tried using old engine oil once, problem is that its too thin, when parked, I found that it would actually drain to the lowest point of the chain and then drip off.

Edited May 3, 2014 by shiggsy

[Marte 127]

I have retrieved the email and seen you are right: they were taking into account I live in Madrid.

Don't forget that viscosity index of gear and motor do not share de same scale. 80 90 gear oil is not as thick as the numbers suggest.

I wrote Tutoro asking about oils and they recommend using 80 90 gear oil as the best alternative to their oil or that of Scottoiler.

One or two people have said gear oil is too viscous. Did Tutoro take into account where you live (ie quite warm) when they gave that advice, do you know?

[Marte 127]

A link to a viscosity equivalence table between gear and engine oil:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/viscosity-charts/

The properties of gear oil suit better chain's requirements.

[Scootabout 2,260]

Thanks, Marte. I guess it would be too simple to have an equivalent rating, eh? :-)

[Guest dentonlad]

I lube my chain with a mix of 80/90 gear oil and chainsaw oil (for its alleged anti-fling properties). 6500 miles and no adjustment required yet.

[Scootabout 2,260]

I lube my chain with a mix of 80/90 gear oil and chainsaw oil (for its alleged anti-fling properties). 6500 miles and no adjustment required yet.

As a matter of interest, why do you use a mixture, as opposed, say, to just chainsaw oil?

[Guest dentonlad]

I lube my chain with a mix of 80/90 gear oil and chainsaw oil (for its alleged anti-fling properties). 6500 miles and no adjustment required yet.

As a matter of interest, why do you use a mixture, as opposed, say, to just chainsaw oil?

Just because I had some gear oil left after refilling a rear diff on my previous car. Waste not want not.

[Marte 127]

I found it a bit self contradictory but useful anyway - an article from Tutoro's website:

What oil should I use?

Written by Team TUTORO

The best is a bespoke chain oil such as our own TUTORO chain oil but if you want to use something else this will help you make the right choices...

There is an excellent article on motor oil and its viscosity here: http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/

In a nut shell beware using a motor oil which has a low "w" rating such as 5W-30

5W (where W means Winter) is designed to have a viscosity rating of only 5 (very very thin) when in a cold (read ambient) condition and a thicker 30 rating when at 100C, however in our application the oil will never reach 100C so the oil will never be thick enough to be useful.

As a guide we suggest that if you use a multigrade motor oil, whether its that old can you've had knocking around in the garage for years or an impulse purchase of the latest "Special Offer" Supermarket lube, make sure its at least 20w rated. Please bear in mind an engine oil does not have the same additives as our TUTORO chain oil.

Our chain oil is made to order and has wear modifiers, anti-friction, anti-fling and steel coating additives - engine oils are designed to do a different job and I certainly wouldn't recommend using chain oil to lube your engine!

We have had some customers try using Chain-Saw oil but cant recommend it as it is just too sticky and glue like to flow properly at ambient temps up to 28°C.

Lastly if you do go out to buy oil for your chain and can't get or dont want a bespoke chain oil, get some Gearbox oil, something like EP70/90 is fine if the ambient temp is warm enough! BUT....its no use using thick Gearbox oil where the ambient temperature is under 25°C, its just too thick and will only flow very slowly, for that reason we really dont recommend using 80/90 gear oil in the UK- here's hoping we have a summer that makes that possible!

Gearbox oil has got the sort of additives you need for a chain drive and it doesnt turn to a "water like" viscosity in hot weather (if you can't remember what "Hot weather" is do a Google seach on May 24th 2012 for the UK or southern Spain at almost any other date)

BUT please NEVER, EVER USE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID in your oiler, some variants have all sorts of nasty toxins in and can destroy plastics, some even corrode brass!

[Dave H 2,022]

BUT please NEVER, EVER USE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID in your oiler, some variants have all sorts of nasty toxins in and can destroy plastics, some even corrode brass!

Yes but its RED.

[Marte 127]

BUT please NEVER, EVER USE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID in your oiler, some variants have all sorts of nasty toxins in and can destroy plastics, some even corrode brass!

Yes but its RED.

Dave, the capital letters are from the original article:

http://www.tutorochainoiler.com/index.php/blog/item/114-what-oil-should-i-use?