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PRO-OILER: The state of the art in motorcycle chain care
Chain drives are a fact of life. Modern chains are sophisticated, but often neglected
pieces of equipment. Tough as they are, they still need proper care to keep
them fit - otherwise they come to an early and expensive end. There's no way round chain maintenance, so the mission
is to make it as painless and efficient as possible. This
is what the PRO-OILER does - it pulls chain care into the 21st century! Are you still using spray-can chain lube? You don't actually enjoy the hassle of manual chain
lubrication. Maybe you've heard that a chain-oiler massively
extends your chain life and adjustment intervals. But... you just hate the
mess you've heard they can create - as far as you're concerned, it's a case out of the
frying-pan into the fire. So you just stick with the hassle of spray-can
lubrication. Or maybe you already have one of the classic gravity-feed
chain-oilers? If so, then you already know the advantages of continuous
chain lubrication: ˇ far longer chain life ˇ greatly extended adjustment
intervals. But you're totally frustrated and annoyed by how
tricky they are to adjust properly - and the oily mess (or dry chain) when
you get it wrong. Sometimes you get off your bike, look at it... and you just
think "how did it get in that state?" So it's a case of "yes... but there has to be a
better way!" The better way is the revolutionary PRO-OILER. The PRO-OILER is the first and only system to give you
continuous electronically metered and pumped lubrication - based on how far
you have traveled. Think about it: The only thing that matters to your chain is the
distance it's covered. More distance = more oil... simple! The PRO-OILER works like this: ˇ
The microprocessor registers the actual speed and after a certain distance it sends a signal to the pump.
ˇ The precision
electromagnetic pump then delivers a dose of oil to the chain - always
exactly the same amount per pump stroke, regardless of temperature or oil
viscosity. ˇ You, the rider, can select
the distance at which the pump fires. Your controller is mounted up front,
and you see your settings and other info on the LED display. ˇ When it rains, or in dirty
conditions, you simply adjust the oil delivery as you wish with the + and -
buttons... all while on the move of course! How does this affect you? The PRO-OILER gives continuous lubrication to the
chain - but it's economical, really economical and precise. For a typical big
bike, that means more than 70.000km per L of oil in dry riding conditions. You get low fling-off. The system is completely
insensitive to temperature, unlike classic oilers. And also unlike classic
oilers, which dribble oil when you're standing at the traffic lights, and dry
out when you're pressing on, PRO-OILER only looks at the distance. PRO-OILER is the cleverest way to live with a chain
drive.
Below is the General FAQ which answers some basic questions.
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What's the problem with spray-on lubricants?
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Why are classic gravity-feed chain oilers so difficult to adjust?
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Does continuous lubrication increase chain life?
ˇ
If we have a lean setting, what happens when it rains or the roads are dusty?
ˇ
I don't ride that much, so what benefit can I get from a PRO-OILER?
For the full
Detailed FAQ click here
To go to the
Download section for PDF click here
What's the problem with spray-on lubricants?
A spray-on lubricant has to satisfy two
incompatible requirements: ˇ it needs to be sticky to adhere to the chain for the
500km (or more) between applications ˇ it needs to get to the
contact areas of the bushings and rollers - and stay there, doing a lubricating job, whilst being contaminated
with road grit. Being sticky means that road dirt and grit adheres
to it - and this gets crunched into a grinding paste - which just kills your chain. You've probably heard the expression "clean
and lubricate the chain". The cleaning
part is actually almost as important as lubricating - this means cleaning out
the caked-on abrasive gunge from the contact areas - before applying a new layer of lubricant. Only the most conscientious owners actually clean
the chain with paraffin or specialized chain cleaner before applying the next
dose of chain lube. It's a really dirty and time-consuming job. Some spray-on chain lubricants are dry and
waxy - which helps somewhat to prevent grit adhering to the chain and getting
turned into a grinding paste. But they still don't solve the issue of keeping
lubricant where it's needed in the contact areas. Next, the lubricant suspended in solvent needs
to penetrate into the bushing/roller contact area, and then evaporate fully. So
you need to lube the chain quite some time before riding off - in practice this
means doing it when you get back in from a ride. If you manually clean and lubricate every few
kilometers, then you can begin to approach
the performance of a continuous lubrication system. The PRO-OILER gives your chain a regular shot
of oil every few kms, which ˇ keeps the contact areas of the chain
permanently lubricated ˇ keeps the chain clean by flushing out and shedding
the grit
Why are classic gravity-feed chain oilers so difficult to adjust?
For two reasons: ˇ The oil viscosity changes dramatically
with temperature ˇ They take no account of
distance traveled Oil viscosity As you know, oil changes viscosity with temperature.
The higher the temperature the more fluid the oil becomes.
But what you may find surprising is just by how much viscosity changes. Broadly speaking in the typical ambient temperature
ranges, oil changes in viscosity by over 30% per 5C step temperature
change! Have a look at this graph, which shows the scale of the problem. Let's say the temperature is 10C, and before
you set out, you have set your drip-feed system to give 1 drop per minute. The day gets warmer... at 15C - your oiler will be
giving 1 drop per 44 secs. (+37% = 1.37 x more oil) at 20C - that becomes 1 drop per
32 secs (+85% = 1.85x) at 25C - 1 drop per 24 secs
(+146% = 2.46x) at 30C - 1 drop per 18 secs
(+224% = 3.24x) Yes, that's right: At 30C the same setting gives over
3x as much oil! What does this mean in practice? Unless the temperature stays constant (and it seldom
does), you will have massive variations in oil delivery
even from the smallest changes in temperature. The PRO-OILER is completely unaffected by
temperature. It pumps exactly the same dose of oil at -10C as at +40C. And unlike a classic gravity-feed system, there's
no need to change to a thinner oil for winter to
stop the oiler from blocking up. Distance
travelled The PRO-OILER's delivery is not just temperature-independent, it's also
linked strictly to the distance you have traveled. A typical big bike with a 530 chain may be
running a setting of 1 pump pulse per 6km. If you're riding in heavy city traffic, this
6km could take you 15 minutes. On the open road at around 150km/h you will
cover the same 6km in just 2.1/2 minutes It's not the time that counts, but the distance. With a classic gravity-feed system (even
forgetting temperature and viscosity issues for a moment), you also have to
work out what average speeds you are doing. A setting which gives 1 drop per minute may be
ok at a constant 80km/h, but it's 2x
too rich at 40km/h - and yet only delivers 50% of what you need at
160km/h. Anyone who has used a classic gravity-feed
system will recognize these problems. In practice the only solution is to run
a conservative, rich setting all the time to avoid running dry. Then add to this the fact that you can't even
adjust the setting while riding... Now you see why the PRO-OILER's pumped, temperature-independent
and distance-related delivery is such an advantage. ˇ You can ensure constant lubrication of the chain with
the minumum of fling-off. ˇ You set your oil delivery
rate so there is just enough to
lubricate the chain - without soaking it and having unnecessary fling-off
Does continuous lubrication increase chain life?
Yes. Always. Even if you are absolutely fanatical about
cleaning and lubricating your chain, you won't be able to match the
performance of a continuous lubrication system. How much increase in chain life depends of
course on what you are comparing it to. Compared to a chain which is seldom or never lubricated,
the increase can be 5x. For a normally well looked-after chain the
increase is typically 2-3x. The clearest
evidence comes from people who have a part-worn chain, and then fit an
oiler. Suddenly, they hardly have to adjust the chain
any more - the chain's wear-rate is almost stopped in its tracks. How long will a chain last? It's difficult to say "your chain will
last x thousand km". Chains vary widely in quality, as do
sprockets. Some bikes are harder on chains than others, not to mention the
infleuence of riding styles. However, what we can say is that a chain will last typically 2-5x
longer with continuous lubrication. There will always be some fling-off. It's a "total-loss" lubrication system
- so what goes onto the chain also comes off it. So the objective is to reduce the oil delivery
until any less oil would mean a dry
chain - this is the juggling act that the PRO-OILER does so well: Continuous
lubrication but with the minimum amount of oil. To visualize consumption - it's a small sugar
lump of oil per 100km (approx 1ml).
If we have a lean setting, what happens when it rains or the roads are dusty?
The PRO-OILER is designed to run as lean and
precisely as possible in dry clean conditions. Of course, in the real world, some of the time
it rains, and the roads are sometimes dustier than we would like. The controller unit up front with its [+/-] buttons and LED display allow you to adjust the
flow for the conditions. If the roads are wet you can increase the flow
- all the way up to 650% more, which keeps the chain lubricated even in
monsoon conditions. In "typical" rain conditons increasing the
supply 50-100% will do the job. In dusty conditions, the dirt absorbs the oil.
So increasing delivery will keep the chain lubricated, and clean it too as
the dust is flung off. 10-20% extra oil delivery usually takes care of this. When conditions get back to "normal",
then you just reduce the delivery with the [-] button back to your normal
setting.
I don't ride that much, so what benefit can I get from a PRO-OILER?
The higher your annual mileage, the more
obvious the benefit of running a PRO-OILER. Not just financially, but for the sheer
convenience. However, we are finding an increasing number
of customers saying: "I want a chain-drive bike, but I don't
want to bother with chain maintenance between dealer services". The PRO-OILER allows them to basically fit-and-forget
- where they might otherwise be obliged to go for a shaft of belt-drive bike.
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