Chain grease/oil

[nikitino]

What's the best kind of chain grease or oil to use if you have one of the bikes with the full chain cover.....seems like grease might be better than oil since the whole drive chain is enclosed?

[TS2Fifty]

Personally, I'm of the opinion that oil is probably better on the fully enclosed models as it penetrates the links better and can't be thrown off all over the bike like normal. Whatever is used though, the chain's going to last a lot longer simply because it's shielded from all the grit and gunk normally found to inhabit bike chains after lube day.

The (non-original) 4 speed engine currently in my TS, incidentally, does not have the fittings for chain tubes due to what I assume was previous chain-snap damage, the cases have just been ground smooth so you would hardly know they were ever there. I'm still just using 50w oil though, mostly applied through the output shaft seal!!!

I believe certain fully-enclosed BSA machines actually ran an oil bath system where the lower section of chain case was filled with oil & the chain permanently ran through it.
(Early Bantams perhaps? I'm no good with small Brit bikes, ironically! )

[manumensa]

Hello!

I bought a oil bottle in the store and fill up of my motorcycle fresh motor oil. Cheap and the chain work ok.

The most important is you don´t forget to oil the chain and of course, a good quality chain.

We don`t need change all transmision kit, the sprockets wear very little, well, at least in my motorcycle.

Best regard,

Manuel.

[iceman]

I don't know anything about the enclosed chain systems but i agree with Manuel,a good quality chain and keep it lubed with anything.

I bet automatic transmission fluid would work great as i have read on lots of forums that it is about a 10/15 weight and many use it as a fork oil also because it will not change thickness when it is cold.<if you ride in the cold like i do> On my chain i use WD40 as it cleans and lubes the chain.
WD40 is K1 based and i have been using it for 4 or more years now with no bad effects,again i got it from another forum ,also a number of people use ATF Automatic Transmission Fluid in their scottoiler can you tell i love the internet !


Here is a picture of my winter ride an Aprilia Futura that i bought new in 06 as a leftover with 0 miles off ebay I now have over 10,000 miles

[manumensa]

Hello!

Iceman you are a icerider, amazing photo!

[iceman]

Yes,i like it better when it is cold as i can dress for it but in the hot summer you can't do much about the heat.

I ride 3 or 4 days a week up until January as long as the roads are clear of snow.I will show you a picture when i got caught in the snow once .

[MSW]

I'd love to have a Scottoiler on my Baggy, but it's a few items down on the list (after fixing the carb woes, setting up driving lights, and finding a long distance seat solution). However, without the cool automatic oiler, using motor oil or atf aren't really that practical.

I've found that the best product for manually oiling the chain is DuPont Teflon Multi-Use Lubricant. Basically, it's Teflon suspended in a quick-evaporating solution. It penetrates easily, so the lubricant gets deep into the chain, and then dries to a waxy state that doesn't collect dirt.

http://www2.dupont.com/Consumer_Lubricants/en_US/products/dryfilm.html

BTW, I'm not in any way affiliated with DuPont or any seller of this stuff. I'm just a convert. In fact, I know that this is a solution that's been known to bicyclists for years (not necessarily the Teflon lubricant, but the other wax-in-evaporating-solution-type). I didn't learn about it until I read this in Motorcycle Consumer News (a very trusted source for moto product testing):

http://www2.dupont.com/Products_and_Services/en_AU/assets/downloads/dcse%20msds/teflon%20lubes/Article%20-%20Motorcyle%20Consumer%20News%20-%20Multi-Use%205-05.pdf

Also, note that WD40 is great for cleaning the chain, but doesn't stick around so much as a lubricant (tends to evaporate). I clean the chain thoroughly w/WD40 and then use the Teflon lubricant. Not only does it keep the chain lubed without a bunch of unsightly fly-off, it also keeps it clean and looking good.

I've used both the spray-on and the squeeze bottle with the same results. The spray-on is quicker and easier to use, but the squeeze bottle is small and convenient to carry in the tank panniers on a trip.

[iceman]

I didn't make it up just thought i would pass it along as a lot of people use ATF in those auto/oilers WHY,cause they don't want to spend the money on those chain specific lubes that can be $8.00 for a small can. But whatever works for you,like i said i and many others use WD40 on a regular basis and seems to do the job fine and at Costco by the 3 pack LARGE cans it's cheap last all season takes less than a min.to apply and off you go,i have never cleaned or replaced a chain or sprocket