Crank Case Oil Conclusion of research

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1up3down said:
general consensus amongst the forum is to change engine oil every 1000 or so miles

to use regular dyno and not synthetic as it is a waste of money

all oil, syn or dyno gets dirty from air and combustion blow by

20-50 castro or valvoline without zinc or with additive is best considered opinion here

this ain't the space shuttle so no need to agonize over esoterics
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Space Shuttle? Not an analogy I would use. I would not want that service record. 5 Space Shuttles, 2 suffered catastrophic failures killing 14 people, in 135 missions, 40%? failure rate, nothing else would be allowed to fly with that.

MF
 
mooskie said:
Analysisation Paralyzation! Now TMI in texting terms! Not the space shuttle. Not a baby with a dirty diaper, But Norton is my baby, and has as many moving parts as I care to maintain properly. All you Mcy Gearhead Guru's, in one sentence, What do you put in your Crankcase?
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I am with you, mooskie. Do we resurrect these historic examples of a time gone by only to let them die a slow death due to, so called, Regular maintenance?

I use the best oil I can afford with regards to its functionality and the particular needs of the motor or gearbox. There are way too many flavors to choose from that is up to task so I won't mention any particular company (amsoil). Although I will say that I think a pure synthetic 20w50 with a zddp of 1000 to 1500ppm should be the new standard.

I will not change my oil on a whim but I will monitor its condition and of course the level, which on hot days on the highway will diminish throughout the season. During the riding season I will end up adding at least a quart or so. I feel that is pretty normal.

While we're on it, and this may seem contradictory, I find a conventional 80/90 in the gearbox is best for me. I really like the Lucus Heavy Duty 80/90 and is preferred by my gearbox. The key here is to protect the yellow metals. I think the gearboxes are not looking for anything fancy and what ever lube allows the gearboxes to function easiest is what is really best for the gearbox. I have tried a dozen of the most expensive gear lubes of many verities and weight. Marine, shock proof on and on.
 
a pure synthetic 20w50 with a zddp of 1000 to 1500ppm should be the new standard.
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That's what I'll be using to start with in next Ms Peel. Royal Purple or equivalent quality. Air craft and vintage car folks were the first to have cam/lifter destruction when no lead gas and catalytic converts reduced the ZTDP-ZADP-ZADD etc. additives. I'm also sold on the cryogenic tempering saw chains to valve train and some the anti-friction coatings plus some oil analysis done to monitor wear as I try to spank 200 hp bikes that can't hardly put down much power on leaning balloon tires. No I don't except to out drag them in almost mile long opens but there's plenty of tracks that ain't got that long of 'straights' so do expect enough lead out turns that won't be long enough for them to catch up. This will require dumping like 3x's the fuel burn heat of stockers and almost 2'x's best unblown race engines. My plain jane Trixie mostly get same oil a mower and pu truck, good ole Rotella diesel oil which is also loosing some it protective additives with new emission equip on diesels so also mix in 50 grade hi ZDDP now and then. I've done hundreds of miles on past Peel with cheap 30 grade oil from farmers when oil leaks caught me out and lucked out to check tank in time.
 
mooskie said:
Analysisation Paralyzation! Now TMI in texting terms! Not the space shuttle. Not a baby with a dirty diaper, But Norton is my baby, and has as many moving parts as I care to maintain properly. All you Mcy Gearhead Guru's, in one sentence, What do you put in your Crankcase?
Click to expand...
Don't consider myself a guru but do pretty well with engines and the oil I use in the Norton is Mobile 1 V-Twin/20w50 because it is the correct wt oil according to the ancient owners manual, is API SG,SH meaning it has enough ZDDP in it for the flat tappet protection Nortons need. I also use it in the primary chaincase because in the case of the MK3 I find the hydraulic tensioner system works best with this wt oil and being formulated for bikes that share oil duty with engines, clutches, and gearboxes will help the electric start sprag clutch grab when it should and slip when it should. I know it's expensive but being a frugal sort of guy I just carefully drain the oil tank into a scrupulously clean plastic jug and toss it back in come spring. This keeps 3 quarts of oil out of the sump so spring start-up is anti climatic. I know you only asked for one sentence and I gave you four but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
 
Interesting Biscut! But why do you drain your oil instead of letting it sit in the gearbox over winter. Not to open a new can of worms, but I put a shutoff valve next to a marine bullet connector that is my battery ground connection. That insurance is there for me to reach past the shutoff valve to connect the battery for operation.
This will be my first season on my Norton, it has just under 2000 actual miles on the engine so I did not need to do anything other then set the valves, replace the points/condensers and rebuild the carbs. I ran awhile with 20W50 and some Seafoam for a good flushing since she sat so many years. Now for at least the first season I am staying with Mineral Oil, Castrol 4T for its detergent and additives along with Rislone for ZDDP and Phosphorus. Perhaps after a few thousand miles or next spring I will switch to Synthetic. I use Synthetic's in my car and SUV, and TW200 Yamaha. Thanks all for the consensus, I learned alot
 
Off topic a tad but I've been meaning to ask:
My oil bladder cap is missing the dip stick. As a noobie, I'm not sure where the optimum oil level should be. I've been filling it to just under the return hole so I can verify circulation. Good enough?
 
Roadrash said:
Off topic a tad but I've been meaning to ask:
My oil bladder cap is missing the dip stick. As a noobie, I'm not sure where the optimum oil level should be. I've been filling it to just under the return hole so I can verify circulation. Good enough?
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Bladder? Anyhow, that may be just a bit too high. Take a ride down to Enumclaw and pick yourself up a new "bladder" cap/dipstick.
 
I'm not sure where the optimum oil level should be. I've been filling it to just under the return hole so I can verify circulation. Good enough?
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that would be just fine!

an alternate highly scientific method is to stick your index finger down the filler tube about two minutes after returning from a ride, if the extremely hot oil nicely burns your nail you have the proper oil level

just another tip and remember, this ain't rocket science here
 
mooskie said:
Interesting Biscut! But why do you drain your oil instead of letting it sit in the gearbox over winter. Not to open a new can of worms, but I put a shutoff valve next to a marine bullet connector that is my battery ground connection. That insurance is there for me to reach past the shutoff valve to connect the battery for operation.
I'm sure you meant engine sump rather than gearbox , but to answer you question, that's just my solution to dealing with the oil tank to sump draining issue. I just don't like the thought of it all whirling around in there during the first spring start-up. The bike doesn't leak down badly at all during the season so it's really just that one time. I know a lot of riders have various solutions including shut off valves that range from "fool proof" electrically operated mechanical valves or solenoid switches to "I just remember to open it" valves. I like to drain the tank.
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Changing the oil every 1,000 miles would be a bit of a nuisance. Out on the road it is nice to do 300-400 miles per day two up, more when riding solo, so that would mean an oil change would be required every third day for two up trips and every other day when rolling along solo? Way too much bother and expense!

Glen
 
my guess is most Commando owners are like me in that they do NOT do multiple 300 mile touring days

but instead do short fun ride and maybe put only a thousand miles on in an entire year

hence the 1000 mile, or annual, recommendation
 
Our ride lives vary so much but when mine are working can wear out a rear in a month taking extra care not too. As per proper levels, dip stick to level plugs to manual listed amount are not proper as almost all above will end up over filling to puke out to innate level on one gas tank or so. Its definitely a newbie initation to over fill going by the above logical methods but soon becomes obvious where to stop in oil tank, primary and forks. Last time I did this mostly knowingly topped off factory Trixie Combat for messy gooey grimey gritty greasy sticky dripping reminder till innate levels reached again and eyeballed to only top off so much next time, always a next time and can't repeat enough to always check oil before launching off as occassionally uses more lubes than expected. in my '72's with short dip stix just touching tip is about tops or ugh.
I'm going to put a chain and magnet extension so don't need a light to look at level when under cover.

Gearbox lube should be changed out after a run in on rebuild and then maybe every few years d/t just time and moisture factor. Spray paint outter cover with clear or a color to keep the rust at bay. For some extra free hp and more life out of running in low gears try ATF in there and primary if not a clunky E-start. Thin engine oil carries off more heat and makes less shearing heat but don't protect engine like heavier grades do. Btw there is no such a thing a oil weight just slang taken from the W that used to indicate Winter grade, ie: a bit thinner when cold yet still thick-ish at temp.

Boron is being called "engine silk" its so slick so I'm on a hunt for additive but ain't looked much yet so maybe someone can point me at it.
https://www.google.com/#q=boron+engine+oil+additive
 
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