What is your Engine Oil choice?

Fast Eddie said:

gortnipper said:

Great article.

These points are interesting to me and run contrary to what Grandpa The Machinist taught me (except for the last one):


5) There is a “sweet spot” where the equipment and lube perform better together

6) That start of that “sweet spot” is unique to each piece of equipment, and lasts much longer than many people would suspect

7) Wear rates will generally shrink as the oil is used, contrary to popular belief

8) Changing oil frequently does not reduce wear in healthy engines with healthy oil

9) Changing oil too soon is a waste of product, regardless of what brand/grade/base stock of lube you choose to utilize

13) To realize the claimed benefit of any premium product, one must operate in a conditional set of circumstances that manifests into statistically distinguishable differences; the benefit must be tangible, otherwise the benefit does not exist

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"9) Changing oil too soon is a waste of product, regardless of what brand/grade/base stock of lube you choose to utilize"...
Indeed. But changing oil too infrequently is a waste of engine!

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And that takes us back to 5, 6, 7, 8... to ask, where is the "sweet spot" for a C'do engine?

I cant help but think that 1-2k (per http://www.inoanorton.com/docs/OilTemp.pdf) is too short given BITOG's analysis yielding to assertions 7 & 8.

My Grandpa swore by Rislone and that it made a difference, and used it in all his cars. I took his advice and used their standard oil treatment in my old Mk3 and my Mk2a when I lived in the states. I see they have a supplement with zinc - http://rislone.co.nz/system/pdfs/989/or ... 1389717259

Can you have too much zinc? I went with the Valvoline VR-1 Racing Oil, as they claim high zinc content and are at the local shop. They also have the Rislone additive with a recommended dose of 2 OZ per Quart Oil

pete.v said:

jeffmack said:

Shell rotella 15-40 straight. 22.00 for. 4qt jug at Walmart. Zinc content high.

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They claim 1378ppm of zinc. That's not bad. About 100ppm less than Amsoil at half the cost.


Just to add to this chart, Redline is 2500ppm

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Yes sir. I've used it on all my bikes as it's Jaso-ma rated and works great for wet clutches. 80000 miles in the Victory, 7,000 in the Norton.
Sent it off for analysis after a 4000 mile oil change in the Vic, came back with a clean bill of health and still had just a little less than half life left.
As long as we keep new oil and filters I don't think any of us can go wrong. But for the money and zinc content the rotella is hard to beat.

mooskie said:

Can you have too much zinc? I went with the Valvoline VR-1 Racing Oil, as they claim high zinc content and are at the local shop. They also have the Rislone additive with a recommended dose of 2 OZ per Quart Oil

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I am not sure. I just read http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-107/ which said:

"Some newer oils do not have any ZDDP, and they are excellent products. Just the same, I prefer oils with ZDP for now. The research shows that 0.03 is all that is needed and has the same function as higher levels. The only reason to have more is because your engine is consuming the ZDDP secondary to borderline lubrication from oil alone.

And lastly, too much can be corrosive itself and has shown in some tests to actually increase wear."

Not exactly sure by how this is written if he is referring to ZDDP or ZDP for the latter comments.

When I'm researching oil to run in my Dodge truck, I'll use the wisdom found with the Oil Guy. For my Commando, this information is simply not relevant. The three most important features that differentiate my truck engine operation from that of my Commando are, in order:

1. Temperature,
2. Temperature,
3. Temperature.

My truck engine temperature rarely exceeds 200F. My Commando engine temperature rarely drops below 300F. When Goldwater presented his results, he included only one non-syn oil, Golden Specto, a dino-syn blend used by many riders because of its zinc content. After 1000 miles, the dino oil was 100% oxidized, chemist-speak for burned. All the lighter components were gone, and a heavy viscous fluid remained. After 1000 miles, his syn oils were still intact, and Redline was nearly in a virgin state. These dino products may be rich in zinc, but after 1000 miles, they don't appear to be lubricating.

"Was your friend at the 2004 INOA Rally Round the Races? I'll assume you probably were not or you might remember where that saying came from one of the tech sessions I hosted at the rally."

I've never been to a Norton rally but he was probably there. I believe he was a former INOA president though I don't know what year(s) that would have been. I didn't meet him until 2008 but we ride together fairly regularly now.

One of my main concerns in these older air cooled engines with fairly high wear rates is blowby. To me this is every reason to change the oil at least every 1000 miles and get those acidic nasties out of there. Especially when we have a tendency to jet to the rich side for fear of detonation and chasing the elusive chocolate plug color.
My 70 BSA Thunderbolt is nearing the need for a rebuild, compression is 120 psi on each side and it's using a pint of oil every 100 miles. Every time I change the oil it contains much more visible sludge than the other bikes.
Modern car engines have much tighter machining specs and better metallurgy which has substantially reduced wear rates. Back in the sixties and seventies a car engine rebuild at 80-90,000 miles was not unusual, now you never hear of one.
I think that's one reason oil changes can be extended. I go 5k for city driving and 7K for highway in my cars now versus 3K back then. In terms of the article they have a large "sweet spot". A newly rebuilt Brit bike may too, but not one with a few miles on it.
With three bikes on the road and changing oil every thousand miles, cost is a factor. I have been using 20/50 Valvolene 4 stroke MC, because its readily available at the auto parts store and relatively cheap. Nice to see it at least somes up mid pack on the zinc ratings.

" I go 5k for city driving and 7K for highway in my cars now versus 3K back then"

Factory recommended oil change (Mobil 1 10W40) on my 1999 Porsche 911 was 15k miles so, as noted, is a clearance/metals/oil thing that has allowed that. (It never used any oil between changes). We considered a muscle car back in the day to be used up at 50 k miles. Though I never knew anyone that kept one that long before buying a new one!

I believe the filter that was mentioned is HD part# 63810-80A (black). They are cheap and readily available. I don't know if Dynodave has ever tested one.

rick in seattle said:

When I'm researching oil to run in my Dodge truck, I'll use the wisdom found with the Oil Guy. For my Commando, this information is simply not relevant. The three most important features that differentiate my truck engine operation from that of my Commando are, in order:

1. Temperature,
2. Temperature,
3. Temperature.

My truck engine temperature rarely exceeds 200F. My Commando engine temperature rarely drops below 300F. When Goldwater presented his results, he included only one non-syn oil, Golden Specto, a dino-syn blend used by many riders because of its zinc content. After 1000 miles, the dino oil was 100% oxidized, chemist-speak for burned. All the lighter components were gone, and a heavy viscous fluid remained. After 1000 miles, his syn oils were still intact, and Redline was nearly in a virgin state. These dino products may be rich in zinc, but after 1000 miles, they don't appear to be lubricating.

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That's good info Rick, so Redline performed best in heat resilience. Redline motorcycle oil (not car oil) has highest levels of Zinc as well. Not really sure what else can be done to prove that this is probably the best oil for a Commando!
I shall certainly continue to use it in my bikes.
I don't even see it as expensive, as I only change it once a year, any small extra cost, especially when spread over a year, is insignificant in the overall cost of this damned hobby.
Anyway, I prefer to view it as cheap insurance against premature engine rebuilds!
Plus, it has to be worth some extra cost just to make you feel good knowing that its in there!!

In no particular ordering and not all the good ones out there. Help find more.
Youtube oil friction testing for some eye opening on other famous brands mentioned above to decide what to spend on if seeking best ya can.

http://www.panolin.com/inten/

http://www.lubricants.elf.com/products- ... llium.html

https://www.motul.com/us/en-us

http://www.royalpurple.com/