Automatic Chain Oiler
One of many chain problems I've experienced over the years .
Automatic Chain Lubrication
Regular chain lubrication, as annoying as it may be, is essential. It took me years to learn it, mostly, the hard way through many painful experiences. Still, after a long day of riding, the last thing that a sweaty, hungry and tired rider wants to do is lube the chain, If the bike doesn't have a center stand, it's even less fun. While this is true for any rider, long range moto-travelers probably feel the most pain.
In addition to the hassle factor, once a day or once in 500 miles is not really enough to keep the chain properly lubricated. Constant chain lubrication, while the motorcycle is moving, can substantially extend chain's life.
After my friend installed an electronic Scottoiler and bragged how it doubled the lifetime of his chains, I decided to make one myself. Had I known how much time, effort and money I was going to spend on the project, I wouldn't have even tried. But after 5 years of trials and errors, I think I perfected the design.
I tested various version of the oiler for tens of thousands of miles on dirt and paved roads on six continents. There is no substitute for real-life testing in challenging environments. I detected and corrected many design flaws and problems by pushing the design to the point of failure.
Current design has a simple one button and one LED user interface. It has been thoroughly tested on rough roads of Central Asia, SW USA, Southern Africa. and South America.
What I wanted in this oiler:
- Low power consumption - can be connected to a motorcycle battery for more than a year without draining it;
- Easy User Interface - one button and one LED;
- Set and forget operation - once parameters are set to user's liking, there is nothing else to do;
- Easy installation - oil is not gravity-fed, so the lubricant can flow up as well;
- Oil reservoir for up to 4000 miles range - wide mouth reservoir for easy fill-up;
- Robust design - designed for and tested on long journeys through tough terrain, and
- Free choice of lubricant - the pump will not be damaged by any kind of lubricant.
Oiler set - 60ml oil reservoir, electronics box, dispensing hose and a steel wire to keep hose in place.
I've installed oiler on various motorcycles with virtually no tools. Below is an example of installing the oiler on Suzuki Vstrom.
Installation process on Suzuki DL650 Vstrom.
More about history of the development and various earlier version and options that were tested can be found here.
More about principles of operation and oiler internals as well as various intallation options can be found here.