Oil And Chain

Discussion in 'Technical Help' started by Rob2025, Aug 7, 2025 at 6:46 PM.

  1. Rob2025

    Rob2025 New Member
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    Wednesday
    2
    3
    Midlands
    Good evening all,

    After 14 years away from motorcycling I'm really glad to be back in the world of bikes as the proud owner of a 2021 Triumph Bonneville T100. It's my first Triumph and so far I'm loving both the bike and the brand.

    The owners manual recommends lubing the chain every 200 miles. This figure is way lower than I thought it would be but I guess it depends on what type of riding someone is doing. For me its fair weather on good roads.

    The dilemma I have is how to raise the back wheel for the chain cleaning and lubing. I quite like the idea of a Paddock Stand but having done some research this may not really be an option for a Bonnie which as we know has quite a busy swinging arm and thus not really anywhere to attach the said stand - TBH I don't think my bike even has the holes for the Bobbins!

    Other options include a Centre Stand, Scissor Lift or a Wheel Roller. The Centre Stand is expensive (Triumph OEM) and not easy to use with a heavy bike, so I'm torn between a Scissor Lift and a Wheel Roller.

    A Scissor Lift is a bit pricey but does get the whole bike off the ground which may be useful for other tasks or cleaning. Having looked at the bottom of the bike I think the engine sits about 5 mm below the level of the frame so I guess I could use a couple of wooden chocks to ensure I'm lifting the frame and not the engine. Wheel Rollers are cheap but I think I'd like the rear wheel to spin freely for cleaning/lubing.

    Any advice/thoughts on the best way to lift the bike would be much appreciated. Additionally, I'd be interested to know how often other owners clean/lube the chain as every 200 miles does seem rather often!

    Also, I need to get some engine and chain oil. I'm looking at Castrol products which I believe are recommended by Triumph but I'm open to suggestions. The ones I have in mind are attached and I'd be interested to know if these would be suitable.

    Thanks in advance and safe riding.

    Screenshot 2025-08-07 18.29.46.png

    Screenshot 2025-08-07 18.30.39.png
     
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  2. Helmut Visor

    Helmut Visor Only dead fish go with the flow
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    Oct 3, 2018
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  3. Mark TGR9

    Mark TGR9 Active Member
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    Jun 17, 2025
    101
    43
    Rhuddlan North Wales
    If it's a budget thing then at £11.99 from a well known online auction site you won't beat these placed opposite your side stand or as close as you can safely should lift the bike enough for you to spin the wheel as for Castrol it's a sponsorship thing and there a lot of alternatives out there all the big brands do the stuff such as wd 40 muck off and quite a new brand is tru tension with their monkey range of cleaning and lubricants but Ride recommend a product called zing for £4.99 but as yet can't find it at this price without paying silly postage costs

    Screenshot_20250808-002456.png
     
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  4. Notso

    Notso Noble Member

    Dec 17, 2018
    652
    443
    Solihull
    I have used the rollers that are also a good budget option. They take a bit of getting used to, you have to account for the lean onto the stand and it best to have the bike full left lock before you start spinning the wheel, especially the front.

    For the chain, I tried the gear oil approach on my last bike and it seemed ok. I don't mind a bit of fling as it is generally protective, but I did get a bit of discoloration on my last chain. Trying XCP on my current chain as it came out well in one of the Bike Social videos for preventing corrosion of the chain.

    I think the 200mile is a bit one size fits all. They used to only recommend gear oil and it does fling more than cans. With gear oil I stuck to the 200miles (more or less). Now with canned lube in the summer with dry rides I don't worry about going longer, in the wet a bit less, in the winter with salt I will clean and treat after every ride.
     
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  5. joe mc donald

    Subscriber

    Dec 26, 2014
    15,046
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    slough / burnham
    @Rob2025 Welcome to the family. I oil my chain every thousand miles or so. I have a car jack trolley and it lifts my bike handsomely. Do tap the upload a file button bottom right corner and show us all the bike.
     
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  6. Boothman

    Boothman First Class Member

    Jul 26, 2023
    882
    500
    Wigan
    Since getting back in to bikes 11 years ago I’ve very rarely oiled a chain. First thing I did when I got the Daytona 650 was fit a Scottoiler with a dual dispenser adapter. Bought the smaller reservoir Sport version (again with the dual dispenser) for my Repsol Fireblade then transferred that arrangement to my Black Edition Fireblade. My original intention was to buy the Tiger, do the NC500 then sell it but I decided to keep hold. So after having to lube the chain on my trip the first job after getting back from Scotland was to order and fit a V System and dual dispenser.
     
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  7. Markus

    Markus Crème de la Crème
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    Oct 28, 2020
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    Hi there!
    Welcome to the forum!;)
    I oiled my former Bonnie normally under dry conditions every 500 to 600 miles. In bad weather conditions always after a long rain tour. I used a system like this:

    constands_zubehor_a614551-01.jpg
     
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  8. Regit nogara

    Regit nogara Member
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    Apr 22, 2025
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  9. Markus

    Markus Crème de la Crème
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    A second option would be the mounting of an centre stand, if your bike is missing one.;)
     
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  10. Kinjane

    Kinjane Well-Known Member

    Oct 15, 2017
    303
    63
    Bristol, Land of Enger
    I’ve been using the Tirox snapjack V2 and ep80/90 gear oil for chain maintenance. I’m still on the same bottle of gear oil since 2010 which I bought for the 865 Bonneville
     
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  11. Pegscraper

    Pegscraper Elite Member

    Jun 12, 2020
    3,545
    800
    Yorkshire

    +1 on auto chain oilers. I've been using them for years. I still have a Chaintec fitted to my ZZR which I've transferred from bike to bike I've sold them. I've also made oilers, for the Triumphs I've owned, for just a few £. I use 80w90 gear oil in summer and 20/50 in Winter. People moan about flingoff but if you adjust them correctly it's not an issue.
     
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