Anyone who KNOWS about engine oil here?

As opposed to just passing on myth after myth that is? This link...

http://www.thegreatwhiteknight.com/motorcycle_motor_oil.htm

.... was posted in a Thunderace mailing list. The content *appears*
feasable, but I'm easily fooled by such bullshit. So I'm appealing to
the knowledgable, please.

The gist of the link is that the best oil to use on bikes is that
rated as 'diesel' or heavy-duty oils rated to SJ, SL or plus CH-4.

Ta.

--
Regards from Mike Barnard
'96 Yamaha YZF1000 Thunderace in red, white and grime.
Worthing, West Sussex. UK.

[To reply by email remove ".trousers" spamtrap from email address]

 

Call me naive, but I've always felt that buying stuff with 'this is
special oil for bike engines' written on it would be a better option.

 

Yeah but you save literally pennies by buying other stuff, claiming that
it's better and that the manufacturers are just out to screw you.

 

dwb wrote

It is them manufacturers again innit eh? If they weren't so busy
chasing profits...

 

Mike Barnard says...

This bit

"In general, to protect your motor use the heaviest oil you can that
still meets the manufacturer's guidelines. For example, 20w50 is better
in warm weather than 10w40, because it gives you a thicker oil cushion
between bearing surfaces at operating temperature. For racing, a thinner
oil will offer less resistance and thus more power, but will offer less
protection. "

Doesn't sound right.

I thought the reason for using 'thinner' oils in cold weather was for
cold starting not normal running and the racing bit just sounds wrong. If
an oil offers less resistance and therefore less friction how does it
offer less protection.

 

It sounds like utter bollox to me. I wonder what his credentials
are...

Ah, right. One doesn't have to look at his home page of
http://www.thegreatwhiteknight.com/ for very long to ascertain the
following:
- he's american, and a gung ho one at that (he's got a fucking tribute
to Ronald Reagan on his site FFS)
- he thinks a Kawasaki 450 'custom' is a cool bike
- he can't spell/proofread.

Would you take advice on anything more complicated than a back street
lyching from someone who looked like this :
http://www.thegreatwhiteknight.com/The_Great_white_Knight.jpg

 

Bear?

--
AndrewR, D.Bot (Celeritas)
Kawasaki ZX-6R J1, Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo
BOTAFOT#2,ITJWTFO#6,UKRMRM#1/13a,MCT#1,DFV#2,SKoGA#0 (and KotL)
BotToS#5,SBS#25,IbW#34, DS#5, COSOC# Suspended, KotTFSTR#
The speccy Geordie twat.

 

Why does everyone on the internet have a vague resemblence to DNC/Bear?

 

AndrewR says...

Ah, that'd be why there's a Welsh flag on his homepage...

 

Sounds like utter shite to me. Oils are designed to be the correct
viscosity at operating temperature. The 'thinness' only applies when it's
cold, and is given (AIUI) by the second number which is in fact an index of
how much thinner the oil gets as it's warmed up.

Given that modern engines have tighter tolerances, I would expect that oil
which is thicker at opertaing temp would in fact have a poorer performance
since it may not be able to get to some of the surfaces it needs to
lubricate.

As for the increase power by using thin oil, that *has* to be bollox,
surely.
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 155 TS
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

I think it looks like the dictionary definition of poor white trash.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Champ

Now look, we're all going to stay calm, and no one - I say again - NO
ONE is to offer any comment on presence of the Welsh flag on that page.

OK?


--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
ZZR1100, Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"

 

Like Scottoil for bike chains, rather than using chainsaw oil?

 

Nope. There may be a trade-off against longevity, of course.

 

ogden wrote

Not a fair comparison. Scottoil and chainsaw oil are in fact the same
thing. Diesel Engine oil and Fully Synth bike oils are quite different.

 

Bloke's talking bollocks. Outdated, agri-engine-related bollocks.

The 'oil film' will always be the same thickness - the 'gap' between
bearing surfaces. If you're going to go into such bollocks, you'd
surely get more thinner oil into a given gap than you would with
thicker oil.
Thinner oil is better in cold weather as it gets round the engine
quicker, as well as providing less initial drag for starting. In the
days of crank handles, this was an issue.

Indeed. One has only to look at the changes over the years since the
introduction of multigrades - from 20/50 (good old Q) to today's
everyday 10/40, 5/40 or 'thinner' still. Advances in oil technology
have extended recommended change intervals vastly, to mileages
unthinkable a decade ago.

Having said that, I have a lovely story in a book that relates the
adventures of a young man hillclimbing a cyclecar powered by twin JAP
engines. He would start it up with oil in it, run it up to operating
temperature, then drain the oil out.

Push to behind the line, push start, then up to the line and go to the
top of the hill. Dead-stick roll back down the hill to the paddock.
Then he'd take the heads off, polish out the marks made by the valves
in the piston crowns (witnessing he'd got the gearing correct - *just*
over-revving at the end of the finish straight), rebuild and refill
with (castor) oil ready for the next run up the hill.

They made 'em tough in the '30s.

The thing is, he reckoned to save half a second up Shelsley Walsh by
draining the oil out and relying on splash lubrication and what was
left in the ball-bearing races.

 

'Less resistance' in the context he used means *less friction due to
viscosity* between moving parts but also less resistance to the breaking
own of the oil film.

Learn to read ffs.

 

Utter bollox I'm afraid.

Because?

ITYF. Using a thinner oil meamns less friction due to viscosity means more
power gets to the rear wheel instead of heating up the engine cases.
However as the bloke correctly states, this leads to rapid wear as the
film is more likely to break down.

 

Fair enough, I'm no expert.

OK, I can see that the reduced viscosity would make it easier to turn the
engine, but surely the increase is gonna be *tiny*?

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 155 TS
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

Well duh!