How to use your mobile phone to lube your chain
On an adventure bike you truly live in the moment, motoring through mile after incredible mile of ever-changing sights, sounds, smells, and temperatures as you chase the horizon. However, when the road ahead begs you to ride on forever, it can be easy to forget to lubricate your bike’s drive chain as often as you should.
But what if could use an app on your mobile phone so that, when it comes to lubing your chain, you could just set it and forget it? Well, it turns out that Scottoiler has already thought of that with its latest chain oiler, the new xSystem 3.0+.
Scottoiler takes the guesswork and self-scheduling out of chain maintenance, which always seemed like a good idea to me, and I finally got to try one myself when the company sent over its new xSystem 3.0+. It’s said to be the brand’s ‘most advanced chain oiler yet’ and it’s also the first one to let you control the rate and amount of flow through the Scottoiler app on your mobile phone.
Naturally, I had to find out what makes it so advanced and see just how effective it is.
Scottoiler xSystem 3.0+ installation
Installation is an easy job for the average zip-tie technician
The technology may be advanced, but the unit itself is easy to install.
The first step is to zip-tie the unit to the subframe of the bike. It was easy enough to find a suitable place on the exposed subframe of my long-termer Suzuki V-Strom 800RE, and we expect it should be just as straightforward on any bike.
After that, you just route the oil feeding tube along the swingarm so that it lines up with the rear sprocket and chain, cut it to size, fit it to the unit, and hold it in place with the supplied clips.
Finally, wire it to the battery and you’re good to go.
xSystem 3.0+ usage
Lube your chain without even getting your hands (or gloves) dirty
While other Scottoilers are adjusted using a dash-mounted display unit, by pressing buttons on the device itself, or simply have no adjustment and vacuum-feed oil at regular intervals, the Bluetooth connectivity on the xSystem 3.0+ makes it easier to understand and adjust what’s going on ‘under the hood.’
The Scottoiler app on your smartphone allows you to see the exact flow rate, adjust the sensitivity of the motion sensor system, and change the operation mode, choosing between Normal Activation, Always On, and Always Off.
Being able to fine-tune the intervals between oiling (from one drop every 10 seconds to one drop every 20 minutes), how much oil is dispensed, and at what point it starts to flow via the easy-to-use app are great features. It makes it easier to understand what exactly the Scottoiler is doing, and personally, I’ve adjusted it so that it dispenses oil slightly less frequently, since I do plenty of long trips and I want the oil in the reservoir to last a bit longer.
Since I’ve been travelling by ferry a lot recently, it’s also handy to be able to use the app to turn the device to Always Off. The unit is motion-activated by default, so using this mode means that, if the sea starts to swell and the bike starts to sway, it won’t inadvertently turn itself on and start dispensing oil. It also takes the guesswork out of using the buttons on the device manually.
Plus, in the app I can add a name and photo of the bike the unit is attached to, which would be handy if I had more than one xSystem 3.0+. I bet fleet operators and people lucky enough to have multiple bikes and Scottoilers would appreciate this.
Overall, the app makes it easy to control exactly how the Scottoiler functions, and makes chain management more precise than ever.
Find out more about the Scottoiler xSystem 3.0+
The included 250ml bottle of biodegradable green chain oil may be small, but it goes a long way
So far, I’ve done about 1,000 miles on the V-Strom since I installed the xSystem 3.0+, and I have to say that the chain is looking almost brand new. I’ve probably got a few hundred miles left before I need to refill the reservoir, but considering I’ve used only about half of the 250ml bottle of Scottoil that was included in the kit, I’d say that’s pretty frugal.
Oh, and you might be interested to know that Scottoiler has also released a smaller version, the xSystem 3.0+ Micro Edition, which is the same except the reservoir is about half the size. This means that the unit is also smaller, so if you’ve got a bike that for whatever reason makes it tricky to find room to install the full-sized version, this one is worth checking out.
I’m looking forward to seeing just how much the xSystem 3.0+ will prolong the life of my chain, and once the V-Strom goes back to Suzuki, I’ll move the Scottoiler right over to my next bike.
Since I ride every day, it creates one less thing to think about because the Scottoiler xSystem 3.0+ and my mobile phone can do the thinking for me.
You can find out more about the Scottoiler xSystem 3.0+ by clicking here.
