MCN Fleet: Winter treats for my CFR800X Crossrunner

Where the bloody hell did summer go? The clocks have gone back and I feel somewhat cheated – all those things I was going to do in the lighter evenings, and blow me, I’ve missed it!

Ah well, no point in worrying about it, there is still plenty to do on the Crossrunner, caring for the drive chain being one of them. I personally have a penchant for shaft-drives because they don’t need much maintenance. Having a chain on the Crossrunner it feels like it’s a lot more effort trying to avoid the inevitable winter grime, salt and rain. So I have had an automatic chain oiler fitted. It’s a Scottoiler Esystem Electronic Chain Oiler and cost £210. It was voted MCN Product of the Year in 2009 so it should be good.

This is a great time-saver and, in time, it saves money too by increasing the life of the chain and sprockets. It’s so compact that you hardly know it’s on the bike, with most of it secreted away. The only real obvious thing is the control panel on the handlebars. It knows how much oil is in the reservoir hidden under the pillion seat and the rate at which the drops of traditional Scottoil (there’s also an oil for warmer weather) are being delivered to the chain. This can be finely tuned using the control pad. Already the chain is looking happier with a regular feed, keeping it moist and shiny.

Another timely product from Scottoiler is their FS365 Corrosion Protector (£8.99 for a one-litre spray bottle), which I have administered to just the right hand side of the Crossrunner so I can make a good comparison with how the unprotected side fares, I will keep you posted on how both perform.