Oil

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
May 26, 2016
Messages
55
Wondering if I should use 20/50
or straight 50 in my MK3 850
this spring/summer.

Would appreciate all input fellas.

Cheers.
 
Well there you have it Scotnort, which oil to use, all done and dusted in two replies.

Or then again...
 
Ah, an oil thread; 'think I'll pop some corn...

Scotnort75, this topic has had more scrutiny and discussion than Einstein's combined theories; I suggest that you learn the search function, but the cat is clearly out of the bag...

But, I digress. I buy and refine peanut oil, add a 20 gram tube of zinc oxide to each gallon, 30 cc of Tide, a few cc of single malt, the rest for me, and there you have it: a very slippery, detergent, wear retarding and anti foaming; cheap too. If you want to be real efficient you can cook a turkey or a chicken in the peanut oil first.

I apologize for raining on your parade, but my response may be gentle by comparison. I'm glad that you have come here to seek wisdom, as you can see I don't have much, but others are steeped in the stuff. Just a suggestion: before you ask about tires, batteries, electronic ignitions or any other subjects that have more than one alternative, do a diligent search.

Best wishes!
 
Oil
Well there you have it Scotnort, which oil to use, all done and dusted in two replies.

Or then again...


It's liquid engineering!!! Any oil is better than no oil when yer T160's drinkin faster than Ian Bothum on a night oot!!
 
Just make sure it’s got a decent amount of zinc / ZDDP in it. Or buy oil without it and use an additive.

This is NOT in oils intended for modern vehicles with catalytic converters as it damages them. But it’s an additive designed to prevent cam and cam follower wear. Which is already a hot topic in these engines.

And ignore roadscholars sarcastic reply. No one uses refined peanut oil, that’s just being silly. It’s an equal mix of peanut oil, virgin olive oil and cold pressed sunflower seed oil that we use. Check your bike for nut allergy first though...
 
Just make sure it’s got a decent amount of zinc / ZDDP in it. Or buy oil without it and use an additive.

This is NOT in oils intended for modern vehicles with catalytic converters as it damages them. But it’s an additive designed to prevent cam and cam follower wear. Which is already a hot topic in these engines.

And ignore roadscholars sarcastic reply. No one uses refined peanut oil, that’s just being silly. It’s an equal mix of peanut oil, virgin olive oil and cold pressed sunflower seed oil that we use. Check your bike for nut allergy first though...

LOL!

I’ll check Rocky Point Cycle and see if they have any anti wet sump oil in stock!
 
whatever oil floats your boat is the answer. Trying out synthetic straight 50W for the first time this season.
 
I use Mobil 1 in everything I care about preserving. The 20W50 V-Twin oil works great in the old bikes. My ZX-14 has had a steady diet of the 10W40 (76,000+ trouble-free miles) and my 2012 F150 gets 8 qts of 5W20 or 5W30 depending on the season. 165,000+ miles and no mechanical issues.
 
Just make sure it’s got a decent amount of zinc / ZDDP in it. Or buy oil without it and use an additive.

This is NOT in oils intended for modern vehicles with catalytic converters as it damages them. But it’s an additive designed to prevent cam and cam follower wear. Which is already a hot topic in these engines.

And ignore roadscholars sarcastic reply. No one uses refined peanut oil, that’s just being silly. It’s an equal mix of peanut oil, virgin olive oil and cold pressed sunflower seed oil that we use. Check your bike for nut allergy first though...
Very interesting about the zink additive. I think straight 50 wt was just an accomodation for where most time and stress at the average ambient temperature would occur in an age of only single weight oils. Of course the weight of oil you choose is temperature dependent. But just what the machine wear dependency is is not clear to me. Maybe modern formulations can maintain a film preventing metal on metal contact at a lower weight at a same temperature as the older higher weight stuff. These things are in the realm of specialized papers I never read. I've wondered whether "wt" may refer not just to viscosity, but to the ability to maintain a metal seperating film up to a certain temperature. Is a modern 40 wt equivalent to an old 50 wt, or not? Dunno. Viscosity or film strength or whatever, you obviously don't need 50wt starting at 0°F oil temperature (if it was a water cooled engine nobody's going much over 212°F even in a pressurized system anyway). But in the air cooled Norton world riding around in Fairbanks has got to produce different max oil temperatures than riding in Saudi Arabia. Just a guess, but too high a weight for oil temperature has got to prevent oil from getting where it needs to fast enough. Multi wt better accomodates low and high temperature limits that's for sure. And just what is the lower wt/oil temp point anyway. Not found (yet) the thread here that addresses all of that. Just the standard stuff -- and peanut comedy too of course. Maybe it's not a big deal, but fun to write about before tinkering with some old machinery.
 
Having read it in various oil threads, I've wondered about folks who "try out" any specific brand, type or weight of oil.
How is a conclusion made? If the engine blows that oil is no good? Frankly, I've "tried out" several brands, types
and weights of oil over the years and I'll be darned if I can tell any difference. The important thing is to have oil in
the engine and change it frequently. FWIW, I use Mobil 1 20W50 V-Twin oil exclusively in my Commando. Others
swear by different brands and configurations. It's all good.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top