Good thing we change oil frequently eh?
Add in; running motor oil through gear sets........
I tend to go longer on madness cuz (real oil filter) but....
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Oil grade
- Thread starter gggGary
- Start date
Good thing we change oil frequently eh?
Add in; running motor oil through gear sets........
I tend to go longer on madness cuz (real oil filter) but....
Now I don't really wish to throw a hat in the ring here...... But anyway.
I was a professional machinery specialist in petrochemical, oil and gas etc... for almost 50 years. How many machines did I see fail by using an incorrect grade of oil? Not one. Sure, damage was sometimes done but there was never a single catastrophe.
The number of catastrophic failures from no oil? Many.
My takeaway is not to overthink stuff.
I was a professional machinery specialist in petrochemical, oil and gas etc... for almost 50 years. How many machines did I see fail by using an incorrect grade of oil? Not one. Sure, damage was sometimes done but there was never a single catastrophe.
The number of catastrophic failures from no oil? Many.
My takeaway is not to overthink stuff.
Had a friend in conco-phillips which was a specialist in oil and viscosity - his word of wisdom was “any oil is better than no oil
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100% yes.Had a friend in conco-phillips which was a specialist in oil and viscosity - his word of wisdom was “any oil is better than no oil
A mechanic friend of mine back in the 2000's had a customer that ran diesel engine oil in his petrol car engines.
When he opened an engine up it was super clean inside due to the detergents in the oil.
When he opened an engine up it was super clean inside due to the detergents in the oil.
Had a friend in conco-phillips which was a specialist in oil and viscosity - his word of wisdom was “any oil is better than no oil
I'd agree, and whatever new oil you put within reason will be much better than nothing and better than old or oil of unknown provenance & age but generally we tend to do a bit better than that and there's so much choice on the shelves - tend to put Putoline V-twin oil in Miss November thinking an oil developed for the rollers/ball bearing engines found in V-twins might suit an XS's vintage engine better than oil sold for modern plain-bearing motors?
Plus Tosh, the village m/c engineer can supply it off the shelf, and when i collect it always has his wee words of wisdom, 'Wit's the most complex part of your motorbike's engine? Folk dinnae ken this but it's the oil - they spend millions developing the engine but they spend billions developing the oils.'
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As the XS has ball/ roller bearing crankshaft and camshaft, I guess the most critical parts when it comes to lubrication would be cams and rockers? Or am I wrong?
Anything that "scrubbs" or slides slowly back and forth as you mentioned is the most critical.
Near zero hydrodynamic boundary layer.
Rockers are #1, at tips and at pivots. Zinc additive with phos. is best.
Somebody once tried to explain it to me why, apparently you need different polymers to resist the averaged-out loads across a plain bearing than the much higher loadings on small surface areas that you have in rollers and balls. Or sommat. But any oil sure is 100% better than none.
ckahleer
XS650 Addict
Zinc damages catalitic converters, but is good for rockers and cams. Since all my bikes are older, without converters, I use high zinc oils, 1200 -1300 ppm.
- [Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10W-40]: Approximately 1000 ppm.
- [Mobil 1 V-Twin 20W-50]: Around 1300 ppm.
- [AMSOIL Metric 15W-50]: Approximately 841 ppm.
- [AMSOIL V-Twin 20W-50]: Approximately 1300 ppm.
- [Castrol Power 1 4T 10W-40]: Around 1100 ppm.
- [Shell Rotella T4/T5/T6 (15W-40/5W-40)]: Approximately 1200 ppm.
Since this has turned into an oil thread. 
I'll throw in Valvoline VR1 20W50 as a high zinc oil that has never bothered any of my XS650 clutches.
Note that last line, most motor oils DO have some zinc these just have more...
I'll throw in Valvoline VR1 20W50 as a high zinc oil that has never bothered any of my XS650 clutches.
Note that last line, most motor oils DO have some zinc these just have more...
Phosphate kills the cats, not zinc.
Why Your Engine Might Be Starved for Zinc
You might be wondering, if zinc is so beneficial, why isn’t it in all motor oils at high levels? The answer lies in modern emission control systems.
Starting in the mid-1990s and progressively tightening since, regulations were put in place to reduce tailpipe emissions. Catalytic converters, which are essential for cleaning exhaust gases, can be poisoned and rendered ineffective by the phosphorus that is part of the ZDDP compound. Consequently, the amount of ZDDP in standard passenger car motor oils (SM, SN, SP categories) has been significantly reduced, typically to around 800-1000 parts per million (ppm) of zinc.
This reduction is perfectly acceptable for modern engines with roller camshafts, which create much less pressure on the valve train. However, for engines with flat-tappet camshafts—common in classic cars and high-performance builds—this lower level of zinc can lead to rapid and catastrophic wear.
You know what's Jaso rated? That sort of cheap Rotella T6 at Walmart.
I ran Mobil 1 15w-50 car oil in my 115hp Triumph wet clutch. No clutch slipping. But I wasn't hole shotting the bike.
I asked Lake Speed if I should run a heavier oil (than 0w-16) in my Toyota hybrid if I was going to tow 2000lbs for 3k miles. Toyota specs 0w-8 oil even their dealers don't use that! Lake said test the oil for wear particles. Upgrade the hot oil weight. Science!
Of course Lake sells oil testing. Don't blame him for calling out me as a free loader. LOL
I ran Mobil 1 15w-50 car oil in my 115hp Triumph wet clutch. No clutch slipping. But I wasn't hole shotting the bike.
I asked Lake Speed if I should run a heavier oil (than 0w-16) in my Toyota hybrid if I was going to tow 2000lbs for 3k miles. Toyota specs 0w-8 oil even their dealers don't use that! Lake said test the oil for wear particles. Upgrade the hot oil weight. Science!
Of course Lake sells oil testing. Don't blame him for calling out me as a free loader. LOL
