Limited oil options

Thanks guys! Here's what the oil that just came out of her looks like. Looks pretty dark and murky, but smells delicious. I'm thinking I should put in something a little fresher, and it sounds like most are advising going with the diesel oil, so I'll probably go with that for the engine, and the 10w-30 for the forks for the time being.

Not a bad call. Just curious do you have a bulk plant that might carry Chevron products?

Thanks rvich. No, there are no plants here other than a power generating station that runs on diesel. We've just got 4 pretty small general stores.

Sounds like you are pretty remote, can you say where? Sounds like you are pretty close to the Arctic Circle, based on your climatological description. Being a fan of "Ice Road Truckers", I'd guess that you have one, maybe two roads in your town, and the next town is at least 50 miles away, and the nearest large town is, maybe 100 miles away?

I'm impressed that you choose a Norton, I would think that a dual sport would be more useful/reliable? Maybe you have a stable.

I wish you the best of the Norton riding experience, the scenery up there must be breath taking.

It's pretty remote. It's an Inuit community called Nain and it's the furthest north permanent community in Newfoundland and Labrador (eastern Canada). The latitude is only 56 degrees, but it's a fairly arctic-like place because of the Labrador Current. There is a road here in town, but it doesn't connect to any other communities. There are no ice roads here, but in the winter everyone travels all over the land and the sea ice on snowmobiles. The nearest large town is about 300 km away. And yeah, it is absolutely beautiful here.

A dual sport, or straight up dirt bike is what most people who are into motorcycles use around here. But those aren't really my cup of tea. I've always been interested in older bikes and I was keeping my eyes open for a reasonably priced project bike for years, and last year my dream motorcycle happened to be up for sale here in the province for an excellent price. I would have paid as much or more for a decent dual purpose, and Norton Commandos are probably the coolest bikes ever made. I wanted something with a bit of history and character that I could work on, bring back to life, make my own and use anywhere. I'm not too interested in getting something that I would replace with something else in a couple of years. I wanted something I could keep on using as long as I feel like it.

There is a passenger ferry that comes up and down the coast during the shipping season, and although you can't drive cars or trucks onto it, you can put a motorcycle onboard. So I can ride the Norton here everyday back and forth to work and wherever, and I can get onto the coastal boat with it and use it in any community on the coast. The ferry goes all the way to Goose Bay where you're connected by highway to the rest of North America. I do a good bit of traveling in the summer, and I should have a fine way to get around now shortly .

SuperCat,

Nain. I would say that is remote. You would have to dodge the occasional crossing caribou or Polar bear ask your general stores if they could bring the type of oil you want on a special order if you order lets say 2-3 cases. Or ask one of the charter air flights at the airport to get you something when they go south. Back in the early 80's We had a beech 18 charter crew who would on a regular basis fly to the east coast and come back empty. We got them to pickup fresh lobster on their return. The last three letters on the A/C was LLF. It became known as Lovely lobster freighter.
Thomas

After my two local parts stores quit carrying Valvoline VR-1 in 50wt, I bought a case of six from Amazon. They both still carry VR-1 in 20w50, that I use in my Trident, Z1, and R90S. But, they changed the label on it, and now have it with the motorcycle oils, in a different aisle.

I was primarily posting for other users than the original post, but also are finding limited options to finding oil locally.

Napa carries VR1, as does Walmart.
There are about a billion Napas out there and maybe a million Walmart's, although probably none in Nain.
You might find it when out touring however. Or do the Amazon thing.
Its reasonably priced so I end up changing the oil often, which in my view is a really important factor in the oil discussion.
I ride quite a few miles most years ,maybe do six or seven oil changes on all of the old bikes. I don't want to spend $150 for each change.
Vr1 is formulated for our old engines.

Glen

Yep, there are caribou and polar bears to keep an eye out for. Those are good ideas CanukNortonNut. I bet either of the businesses here would probably order in a few liters of oil if I asked. And thanks Brithit and worntorn. Napa was one of the places I was dealing with in Goose Bay but they won't send oil up on a plane because it's considered dangerous goods.

I checked another store today and found Cobra diesel multi-grade 15w-40 oil for half the price of the other diesel oil. I imagine this is probably as good an option as the other diesel eh?

Supercat said:

Napa was one of the places I was dealing with in Goose Bay but they won't send oil up on a plane because it's considered dangerous goods.

I checked another store today and found Cobra diesel multi-grade 15w-40 oil for half the price of the other diesel oil. I imagine this is probably as good an option as the other diesel eh?

Click to expand...

"If you choose to use a diesel or mixed fleet oil, stick to an a CI-4 rated oil."
This was taken from the link that was sent to you earlier from Ken.
Isn't it ironic that the very similar oils operating at engine operating temps to keep the wirlie bits running at the wings all of a sudden become dangerous goods if placed in the fuselage at ambient temps. Some bureaucrat comes up with a great idea to cover all bases which then becomes:
"Das ist streng verboten!"
On a lighter note, I bet you can see the northern lights up there just great. Do you even have paved road? If not Hobot could recommend some tires for you.
Cheers
Thomas

Thanks Thomas. Good stuff, yeah it is CI-4 rated. Ironic indeed... stupid bureaucrats ...

Yes, the northern lights up here are really something for sure. No paved roads in these parts . I've got a beautiful new Avon Roadrunner tire on the front, but the back tire is pretty smooth and not the best for dirt roads. It should be ok for now for the speeds I'll be driving at around here, but before long I'll probably invest in a better tire for the back wheel. Hobot does some off-road driving does he?