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Uly_man
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2013 - 06:22 pm: | 
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Ahh the old "oil" thing. While you can put what you like in your bike I do not see much reason to pay the extra for fully synthetic oil for this engine. A good 20w50, like Morris oils, changed at 2000 miles should be ok for normal road use. I prefer good, clean oils and filters myself.
Full synthetic oils are for modern very high temp performance engines. This bike has something that is not that far off a tuned lawn mower engine.
How do you know what wear effect the oil has had on the engine? Well you bench test a number of engines in a lab under many conditions and for many miles. You then strip the engine and test the parts for wear and the oil itself.
You CAN have a "used oil analysis" but it would only be done, as with jet engines and gas turbines that failed, to prove the oil was at fault and/or metal in the oil. Anything else seems like over kill. Its a bike not an SR-71 or an Atomic power station either? |
Hdxbones
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2013 - 07:17 pm: |
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I prefer using a quality synthetic oil that is specifically formulated for air/oil cooled v-twin engines, like this-
http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=110&pci d=13
HD's Formula+ in the chain case on the Uly |
General_ulysses
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2013 - 08:40 pm: |
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Wow, I'm kinda confused about the oil thing. I always get confused about the oil thing, no matter what car/truck or mc I buy. So many opinions from knowledgeable people that seem very reasonable, and may in fact be reasonable. But they often conflict with what the manual says. On the other hand, the manual could simply be referring to HD oils only to maximize profits for their distributor and to minimize warranty claims by owners who may go too far off the reservation and put the wrong type of oil in their bikes due to misunderstandings or ambiguities in what oils are acceptable. Best to keep it simple and just say use HD oils only.
Well, from what I understand EBR uses Amsoil in his race bikes and I know it's a killer brand. But does he still race with these types of HD engines? I thought he developed his own engine and is running those by now? The idea of using quality diesel oil (Rotella) and changing it every 2000 miles seems reasonable too. Hard to believe it would break down in that mileage unless you really baked the engine with a high temperature event. Seems like knowledgeable folks over at "Bob is the oil guy" site like Rotella for Harley use. What about Amsoil or Redline diesel oil? That seems like it would cover all the bases, especially the required classifications called out in the manual.
I guess I'll just go with HD transfer case oil, too nervous to deviate on that one, plus it's only one quart, even if it is overpriced. Might as well play it safe.
Has anyone ever mounted an oil temp gage on their bike? I would think that would provide valuable data in the event an oil overtemp situation occurred. You would know if the oil has been baked too much in the event you were in a hot riding situation.
Thanks for the lift info. Motorbike that is about the cleanest and nicest bike lift I've ever seen, sweet fab job. You're obviously a perfectionist, very meticulous workmanship. I might steal your design. Yours too Mnrider, clever use of the canoe pads, looks to work perfectly. Do you guys know if the craftsman lift is any different than the HF version? I know a lot of these tools are made in the same factories in China, just curious if they appear the same. |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2013 - 10:56 pm: |
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Run your best guess for 2000 miles, pull av sample, and send it to Blackstone labs for analysis. They will tell you without any doubt how its working... |
Arcticktm
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - 11:46 am: |
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Uly_man, I don't think Morris even imports into the US, do they? I doubt many here has even heard of them. I know I hadn't.
Gen Uly - you are overthinking it. Better than underthinking it! Any proper big name SAE rating (20W50 or close) oil will be fine in the engine side. Just pick your price point, oil change interval and personal comfort level.
I strongly prefer something I can get locally and don't have to pay to ship, but that is me.
I choose syn mostly to get a higher flash point (whether I truly need it, I don't know). I would not be shy about any big name diesel oil, but I might lower my oil change intervals. I do about 3k miles now with syn, which I think is overkill. I see no reason to pay $15/qt for the "exotic" cycle types, but you may have a different comfort point.
Don't sweat it. As long as you change oil & filter at reasonable intervals with any quality brand, and keep the level checked, you are not gonna hurt your engine because of the specific oil you choose. |
Teeps
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - 12:09 pm: |
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Arcticktm Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2013
I strongly prefer something I can get locally and don't have to pay to ship, but that is me.
Agree, unless shipping is "free" or falls within the price point.
Arcticktm Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2013
I choose syn mostly to get a higher flash point (whether I truly need it, I don't know.)
I see no reason to pay $15/qt for the "exotic" cycle types, but you may have a different comfort point.
Same here, considering that the rear head temp continually runs at 400F or more.
I've been using Valvoline VV855
A Pack of Six 1 Quart Bottles $50.00 & FREE Shipping.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. |
Uly_man
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - 12:43 pm: |
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"Has anyone ever mounted an oil temp gage on their bike? I would think that would provide valuable data in the event an oil over temp situation occurred. You would know if the oil has been baked too much in the event you were in a hot riding situation." You can buy/use one if you want but it only will tell you the oil temp in the swing arm and not the engine. A waste of time and money if you ask me.
The 20w50 was designed, by Morris oils I think, for air cooled engines because of the wide temp band these engines work at. The running temp of this engine is around 220C and as long as the fan works you should not "cook" the oil.
The engine oil, of course, does get a hard time with this engine as it has a small amount of oil for such, as dry sumps do, a large engine. A wet sump uses, in part, splash to lube the bores a dry sump does not. Any blockage, even part, in the oiling holes will add wear to parts. This engine also has hydraulic tappets which is great as long as the oil is clean and of the right grade. Also you should NOT change oil types to much. Stick to one type/brand once you find it.
I used Torco V-Series ST, 20W50, oil in my 06 bike. I have no idea if it is any good but I will try it in the 10 bike as I get "foaming" once in a while and never had it with the 06 bike. Foaming is air in the oil and not a good thing to have.
At the end of the day this is a strong and simple engine. It does, however, need about 6k miles to run in. How long an engine will last/perform depends on how well it was run in from the start. Thrash a cold air cooled engine and you will get nothing but pain and big bills. And no amount of "smart" oils will fix that one. |
Turf_moor
| | Posted on Saturday, April 06, 2013 - 04:50 pm: |
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Good advice Uly man. I always apply the 5 mile rule when starting up cold. I idle the engine for about a minute and keep the revs to 3K for 5 miles. Oil changed every 2500 miles. Great bikes. |
Turf_moor
| | Posted on Saturday, April 06, 2013 - 04:54 pm: |
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Oh, and I use Repsol 20-50 mineral oil. I live in Portugal so it is readily available. I think it runs cooler than HD oil but that might just be my imagination. |
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