Jim C.
A machinist square and some bluing compound can tell you if the lifter is cut square. The pad needs to be perpendicular to the flat side of the lifter.

I will be tearing my high milage motor down in the next month and I can show you what the last 35,000 miles with Mobil 1 has done. I know the pistons are rather loose but I would bet the rest looks great. The bike has spent many hours being thrashed on the dyno doing the research for the injection setup. Listening to it howl away at 6500 rpm with the electric brake holding it against wide open throttle for 10 minutes at a time makes you appreciate how tough these motors really are. Jim

Hmm, makes one wonder how Norton Commandos ran for many thousands of miles originally when there was no such thing as synthetic oil and they were generally ridden a lot harder by us young guys than they generally are now by us old guys...


Remember in the 70's when Norton, GM, Detroit and a few other manufacturers were having engine failures [or Nortons oil consumption problems] caused by lubrication failure. Most of these problems were caused by the spin additives used in mujlti-viscosity oils. The answer back then was to go to a straight weight oil. Now days with hydrocracking being the main oil processing method spin additives are not used in premium multi-vis oils and oil breakdown is no longer seen. Now the main concern is making an additive package that protects the moving parts without harming the enviroment. Jim Comstock

And in this corner we have Mobil-1 and in this corner we have Redline, 15 rounds of boxing for your pleasure. Let the games begin. Oh and by the way I only use Amsoil, LOL LOL LOL.



I like Redline and Amsoil also. I use Mobile 1 because I can get it anywhere.

The best oil is clean and fresh oil, I have a buddy that uses a cheap recycled oil in his work boat and thing is still going strong after years of hard service, But the thing never gets hot as it always has fresh cool seawater to keep it cool. I believe the biggest concern is heat and how it breaks an oil down, For some time now I have been thinking of an oil cooler as it does get hot here in the summer. I really wish I could come up with one that would fit in a place that would look good. I have been thinking of making one that would fit on the down tube behind the oil tank, Enough air? I'll just keep thinking I guess.

The main advantage synthetic has over petroleum is the resistance to heat-related viscosity loss. This is why synthetics can be run longer than petros. That being said, other than syn vs. petro, the quality of any oil is due to the quality of its additive package. Additives are the main reason auto motors that used to be shot at 100,000 miles now run 3 times or more that long. I always used to run Pennzoil 50 Racing, but now I'm going to try the Mobil 1 V-Twin 20W-50. I have had good luck with Mobil 1 4T Racing 10W-40 in liquid-cooled Triumphs and Kawasakis so I'm not concerned about running the brand in the Norton.

WOW!!! this is alot of info to take in! thank you all for you input on the topic.

This thread made me run out to the garage and put fresh Redline SPF in my gearbox! I mean, c'mon, 75W viscosity with 250W protection? Is this a difficult decision?

Can't wait til my new rings are fully broken in, and then I'm going back to Redline engine oil too. YMMV!

Coco wrote:

JimC wrote: Does anyone else have experience with Web cams?

CNW (as far as I know) uses Web Cams in all their rebuilds including mine. I was told not to use synthetic.

Things that make you say, "hmmm"!

Matt R is an occasional poster these days. Matt, if'n yer out there, I for one would love to hear your views on lubricants. Very few folks with as much Norton-specific expertise and experience. (And we know Mr. Hemmings won't be posting!)

"Stuck with Mobil 1 with those Rotella blues again...."

I will be tearing my high mileage motor down in the next month and I can show you what the last 35,000 miles with Mobil 1 has done.

I will be real interested. I'm thinking that Mobil 1 probably does work well in the Norton. I just didn't want to push my luck with the girl from Web cam if I developed another flat lobe. Thanks for the tip on the lifters. I was kinda' thinking that was a way to check them. Thought there might be some super sophisticated way with which I could drop another $100. Is there a way to check that the lobe surface is parallel to the lifter surface other than dye?

Jim, A very thin layer of dye is how I do it. I guess you could check the cam for taper with a micrometer before you install it but I have not seen problems with taper on the lobes yet. I have seen automotive cams that were supposed to have taper that were ground with no taper however.
The best thing you can do for a new cam is avoid turning the engine any more than needed for assembly and then start the bike with the least amount of cranking and then bring the rpm up to over 1500 for a few minutes. Don't let the motor set at slow idle even for a minute with a new cam because the surface speed between the cam and lifters is not high enough to create a hydrostatic wedge and prevent metal to metal contact. I totally destroyed a cam and rod bearings in 1993 without ever starting the engine learning about hydrostatic pressure. I can tell you how not to do it if your intrested. Jim Comstock