Loobman
 

Anyone tried one of these chain oilers?

I've got one fitted on my XT600E and driving on the flat it works great. Unfortunately I live at an altitude of 400m and every time I take a trip down to the coast, it drips oil. I've tried some thick viscosity oils, but still have the same problem. There are mixed views on using chain saw oil but I haven't tried it.

If you don't live in a mountainous area they're worth it.

My hubby says the first one was a bit fiddly to fit, but he's got one on his bike too and the second one was a lot easier.

leaking loobman
 

Probably just needs a vent hole:clap:

I fitted a Loobman to an old Guzzi 500cc single I used to own and it did the job very nicely.

It was fairly easy to fit, not requiring any vacuum connections or anything like that, and once I got used to just how hard to squeeze the bottle - and how often to do it - it was fine. At first, it was easy to send too much oil down the pipe but after a bit of trial and error I eventually found the ideal 'dribble factor'.

I used bog standard engine oil in mine. It worked well.

Here's their website: LOOBMAN - manual chain lubrication system for all motorcycles with regular, O-Ring and X-Ring chains

I mighty even get one for my own XT.

:cool4:

I have had one on my Trophy for about 4.5 years, original chain lasted 30,000 miles:thumbup1: I did a mod to the feed at the sprocket end, and fitted a piece of metal brake pipe (same as fitted to cars, I used copper, I had some in the shed) which is much more robust than the plastic zip ties.
At the squeezey bottle end, I fitted a syringe with measurements on it, to make it easier to judge the amount of oil needed.
The altitude thing, you need a pin hole in the oil pipe, just under the screw on bottle cap.


Trophymick

More info please
 

I have been considering buying a Loobman but have held off because I have been unable to find operator instructions.

Can any of you that have experience with the Loobman answer the following:

How do you operate it, his website suggests that you squeeze a plastic bottle for about 3 seconds before you set off. On a long journey would you need to give it another squeeze every so often?

What stops the oil leaking out once you have stopped, ie: overnight.

A friend of mine made his own chain oiler and his leaked when parked up.

Thanks

Mark

Hi Mark

I had a Loobman fitted to an old 500cc single I used to own (see above). By trial and error, I worked out that the merest pinch of the reservoir bottle delivered enough lube to the chain to last a while, the distance/time varying with the sort of riding and conditions. I kept an eye on the chain and applied more lube when I felt it necessary, eg. after a downpour or after riding through gritty terrain.

Of course, I was moving along at the time so that the oil was dribbled onto a length of chain. A three second squeeze when stationary is likely only to make a pool of oil on your garage floor (or wherever). :cool4:

Because the reservoir bottle has the pipe exiting from its top (as in the following picture taken from the Loobman website) no oil should escape overnight unless you want it to. HTH

http://www.chainoiler.co.uk/photos/nsm_div_ftr.jpg

As far as frequency of squeezing the bottle - you will learn by experience. You need a bit more oil in wet conditions etc
The continuous flow over night sounds like the oil was syphoning out of the bottle. To prevent this you put a hole in the plastic pipe inside the bottle, just above your maximum filling level. Just a pin hole is all that is needed.

Bought two and fitted them to our DR650. Worked OK, but it's fiddly to fit and I never got it quite right, the zip ties got snapped by the sprocket all the time and it's a messy job to replace them. The worst was that the entire rear left of the bike and rider got covered in oil all the time. I guess that is a problem with all chain oilers and in particular with the completely inadequate chain guards on modern bikes.

I'm back to chain lube, but I'm now finding that you can't buy it in India and Pakistan.