I believe Kevin wrote for Cycle magazine. Then, he went over to Cycle World.... something like that. Had five magazine subscriptions arriving every month. Early '80s. Loved my KZ550 !!
Outstanding! Kevin Cameron brought me in like a guest speaker in a college seminar. I didn’t tap FFWD once; listened to every second. I will listen to any further discussion from you two. Thank you
I’m a retired mechanical engineer and started reading Kevin’s technical articles before I graduated. Kevin, your technical knowledge is absolutely amazing. Thanks so much for continuing to teach me after all these decades.
Been using Mobil products since before synthetics. I did have a Suzuki Hayabusa that went 70,000 miles without needing valve shims (checked every ~12K and it was within Spec). It ran Mobil 1 MX4RT racing 10w40 the whole time. My ZX-14R has 30K on it.. same thing.. the cool thing? it's not that expensive.. cheaper than Motul, Royal Purple, Amsoil, etc.. I own a motorcycle for about 70K miles, then sell it. Other tried to tell me to use Shell Rotella T6 5w40 (diesel oil). I'm happy with what works.. Just change your oil before it goes black, or when you can feel the transmission feels notchy..use the recommended viscosity... and don't forget the filter... you'll be fine
I bought new a 79 xs1100 special that has been my only road bike,and still running great. I used automobile oil for the first 15,000 miles according to the manual, now use motorcycle oil which quieted it down and even shifts better. The old ride benefiting from New oil technology. Things are going great for the retro bike.
Dear Mark and Kevin, it is a pleasure to watch your videos!! I would have loved Kevin to keep going into Group IV, V and the new VI !! greetings from Mexico!! I started reading Cycle World (at the magazine shop, not being able to purchase yet) since 1978. Big fan of you all. When will we have Peter Egan also jump in!!
I have been reading Cycle World since 1962 ( first issue Triumph Bonneville, third issue Norton Atlas). It is good to hear you young fellas, ( Hoyer and Cameron ) talking oil and life. I promise to keep riding, if you two promise to keep doing these discussions. Mr. Parkhurst is proud of you two.
Excellent, just a note, I remember as a kid in the 50's my Dad would always say " gimme a quart of Quaker State 30 weight nondetergent" Of course in the 50's we thought ourselves winners if our cars made it to 100,000 miles
One thing I wish you had covered is that an oil like Castrol GTX 20-50 that Iranian my Norton Commando is not the same formula because of catalytic converters. I just found Castrol GTX 20-50 Classic which has the high levels of ZDDP needed for my flat tappit Commando. Do not use with cats.
Mark, so happy to have met you on that rainy Saturday at Road America. Your were driving your golf cart wearing the shirt that I recognized from this video. So cool how you handed the #33 victory-lap-flag to Kyle Wyman down in turn 5 after Sunday's spectacular King of the Baggers race! The information I get from these podcast videos with Kevin make a huge contribution to my overall enjoyment of motorcycling.
Rotella T6 synthetic. Meets all the specs for motorcycles. I've seen many people online say they've taken bikes to 200,000+ miles with zero issues running nothing else. Never seen anyone say they had any trouble associated with it. Can buy it almost anywhere even home improvement stores in the US. $24 a gallon.
I don't want whizz-bang features, I just want a saddle that I can sit on all day ;-) Listening to KC is like listening to Grandpa tell a really great story from the old days. Just love it. Here's a question, an engine designed for mono grade oil, is it bad to use multi-grade?
I have had my Sportster for 25 years and 400,000 miles on the original engine and 37 back tires and 17 front ones and 3 belts in 25 years. I have had my Triumph Tr-6 with a hard tail and magneto for 40 years.
@@josephstratti52 people think I'm lying when I go on about how reliable my Sportster has been phenomenally reliable for the last 25 years people think I'm lying but I'm telling the truth
This is a good vid and very informative if one is a PHD. I change my MC oil and filter at 3000 miles . I have a Honda Rebel 500 and a Grom. I use Honda synthetic in both. In researching oil filters I watched Project Farm channel and he proved that Honda oil filters are better than all the others. I also use a Mag Filter on the Rebel and an mag drain plug on the Grom. I have reached the point in my life where these two bikes will be my last ones and I expect them to last till I die. So yeah it's important.
I raced a TZ350 A and C at Bathurst over a few years. Manual recommended R30 at 15 to 20 to one. This mix carboned up the cylinder. Castrol and Bel Ray brought out low ash oils which were great until it got cold and wet. The carb slides would freeze full open. We soon went back to R30 when the weather got cold.
About synthetic oil.. I was working for a contractor at the Marathon oil refinery as an electrician.. I was running conduit in the product line pipe racks... What the difference was between regular oil and synthetic as it was told to me by a Marathon oil refinery engineer who should know.... What it boils down to pardon the pond,, synthetic oil molecules are all exactly the same size.... Petroleum oil is all different sized molecules from big to little and guess which ones break down first ..
I use mobile one V-Twin oil in my XR 1200 Harley Davidson. I use this in the engine only that is 20 w 50 model 1 v-twin oil.. the transmission and the primary are connected together and share the same oil as there's no separation between the two.. Harley-Davidson says to use 80 weight gear oil ... This stuff makes your clutch plates stick together, so the clutch plates are still stuck together and engaged when you put it in first gear.. this is what causes that horrible clunking sound when you first put your new Harley in gear.. this noise is caused by the dog engaging on the gear sides without disengaging the clutch plates that will eventually destroy the transmission of your new Harley.. on a Sportster you do not have much choice because the transmission share with the primary.... So I use 10 w 40 engine oil formulated for a Japanese motorcycle with the clutch transmission and engine all one oil that is made for clutch plates to disengage.., I have nowhere no noise and my clutch works perfectly.... As long as you have an MA endorsement on the back of the bottle you're fine... Or a big twin Harley use what they say to use in the transmission...but for the primary that is separate oil use automatic transmission oil that won't cause the clutch plates to stick together ... And enjoy your Harley for the very first time with no noise, nowhere and tear on the transmission at all.... In your primary all your lubricating is your primary chain and clutch bearing . And this is what automatic transmission fluid is designed to do... And the plates in your clutch will work perfectly just like they do in an automatic transmission
On my new vstrom 800de i plan on using moutul 7100 20w50. Its working fine on the oem 10w40 synthetic but after doing a valve set on my old vstrom with the 20w50 at 50'000km mid winter and seeing how much oil was still clining to the cams ect.... i was impressed.
I had a 1976 Yamaha DT 400cc2 stroke. When the engine was cold, unless I pulled the clutch in,out , the clutch plates would stick when put in gear engine would stall. Started using mobile 1 synthetic motor oil in gearbox. Never stalled cold again! And much better shifting!
In a Motorcycle it costs less to change the Oil than the Oil sample costs.. My Local Power Sports dealer raised the price for a Fram Filter for my Buell or a Kawasaki Mule from $8.00 to $12.00 I searched the Part # and Walmart sells the same part# Fram filter for $4.11 I used to buy Aftermarket Filters for my Yamaha for $4.50 the same filter fits my snowmobile that uses a Genesis Motor based on the R-1
Mobil 1 used to be a PAO, or PolyAlphaOlefin, but today is a group 3 hydrocracked mineral oil. If you want a PAO, you need Motul, Amsoil or Kawasaki synthetic. I use the Amsoil in my 1050 Vstrom. With 25,000 miles on it, I have no clutch basket chudder they are famous for, shifts great up and down, and uses no oil at all. After 3000 miles, is still right on the full line.
Very informative and enjoyable. What wasn't talked about was what happens when a motor is run for short journeys in cold weather: condensation forms, which is acidic, and the motor doesn't get hot enough to evaporate the condensation, which results in contamination of the oil. In cold weather, a motor needs to run for about ten miles after it has reached optimum operating temperature to allow the condensation to evaporate. This is why buying a car with very low mileage from a little old lady is probably not a wise thing to do!
For my first 20+ years of riding i put castro gtx in everything, bikes included. Still have my wes cooley zuke with no issues. Went to motorcycle oil in the last couple of decades to improve shifting due to better shear characteristics but couldn’t say I noticed any difference
Hi from the uk I used to own a couple of T140 Bonnie's I ran ep85w140 in the gearboxes and never had any issues with them. The engines ran a 20w50 from various manufacturers again with no issues but I did make sure that I used reputable brands
Gentleman, Always GREAT work!!! Regarding the detergent component, vas-a-vis engines with no oil filter. Think vintage British twins or BMW pre-/5: Does the detergent 'break up' accumulated sludge. in the sludge-trap or 'slingers'? Thereby placing that terrible 'abrasive' back into the engine's bloodstream? Keep up the fantastic conversations. Cheers.
You guys are wonderful to listen to and then the Brain gets going and I love it so thank you so much for your input and your video's I look forward thanks once again.......
Well , thanks for this , wasn't quite what i was hoping for , but i heard , the right oil for your Velocette is 20/50 . That's good enough for me and my '65 AJS 16 . The hard part is my supplier can no longer get any Castro oil in any weight .
Great content, thank you for the detailed explanations and teaching the viewer what to pick, why and how to pick the correct oil for their engine. Is there a reason why you don't allow captions?
1978 XS750, 1999 Valkyrie Interstate, 2011 KLR750, all with Honda GN4 oil. Nice black and red bottle and it smells good too. Has Kevin Cameron been around forever?
The best oil to use is the one that results in the least wear. It would really help if these discussions included some oil analysis to justify the comments. 🙂
Mineral oil < Semi Synthetic < Synthetic A full synthetic always gives you better results than a mineral or semi-synthetic oil. The semi-synthetic is a good compromise if you can't afford a full synthetic. 🙂
After measuring wear on lots of motorcycles there's a negligible difference between a motorcycle specific oil and a car oil: Assuming you compare similar oils :-)
I was laughing with a technical oil video! Thanks for making my day after chemo a little easier. These days I just buy my oil and oil filter at the dealership based on the manufacturer's recommendation. One question, how come the 701 used to say use Bel-Ray and now it says to use Motorex?
Simple endorsement deal between the manufacturer and the oil company. Here in europe all brands of the Pierer Mobility Group recommend the use of Motorex oils but, for the 2024 MOTOGP season, KTM has a Mobil sponsorship while GasGas is sponsored by ELF 🤷🏻♂️
Steen C synthetic. Ran this in a YM1 305 Yamaha Cataliina in the early 70's. The model with iron barrels. Yes there was a Yamaha 305 that came with aluminum barrels too. One year i put near 30000 miles on that bike. Pulled the heads and you could see clean aluminum on the tops of the pistons with just a slight dark swirl on them leading to the exhaust port. Steen ran clean. I ran it through the Yama-Lube system. Didn't much like pre-mix on a street bike. I had raised and widened the exhaust ports and smoothed the transfers. Heads were milled a little. Carbs were bored a MM or two as were the mounting spigots on the barrels. Had J&R chambers on it. Man I miss two stroke twins.
Awesome topic, I use Honda GN4 oil and I'm happy with it. However when I first started riding in the 80s I used regular Castrol oil and that worked good too
One of the best Harley mechanics I knew also used to build short-track small-block V8s for several racers. He swore by the old 240/360 HD 50wt. He showed me several motors torn down, bearings, cranks, pistons, cylinder bore run with HD 50wt and those run with ''racing'' oil. It was obvious the HD oil was far superior. This was before synthetics became widespread. I knew some motorcycle drag-racers that ran big-bore GS and KZ/GPz motors and used Pennzoil for air-cooled aircraft engines.
These videos are priceless! I'd love to hear opinions about reuseable filters and using the same oil for the engine, primary and transmission on some Harleys. I use specific Redline oils.
I have 2018 Ducati Supersport with wet cable operated clutch. Clutch would need to be warmed up before it grabbed without stalling. Stalling 4 or 5 times usually did it with recommended Shell Advanced. Tried Ipone 0W50 racing oil… no more grabby cold clutch.
It was explained to me by the wise oldtimers that many of the older style engines design were made to utilize the accumulated vanishing to help mainting the engine to run smoothly much like a automatic transmission that if you change the automatic fluid to often you rinse the clutch packs to the point that friction material that it no longer functions
If you're bored one late evening, get on a motorcycle forum and tell them that Rotella Diesel oil is inferior stuff, even if it passes wet clutch requirements, and people would be better off using a motorcycle specific full synthetic racing oil. I'm sure you'll be entertained for weeks in that thread.
In the UK we had a company called Chatsworth, their first pressing 40 grade oil saved a lot of money and costs for anyone who knew about it. If you had an ordinary wet sump oil pump the oil pressure release valve needed extra flow or very carefull warm up.
Great... questions what is motorcycle engine oil ?? I am asking about air-cooled dry clutch motorcycles BMW Ducati etc. I don't need/want any JASO standard in it. Why pay for something you don't need and you don't have what you need (good ZDDP , flash point, NOACK) Thanks!!
Another great conversation. You mentioned use what is recommended in your manual several times. But what about when your manual is for a 50 years old R90S with 115k miles? I’ve been using 20-50 synthetic. Hope that is close enough. Thanks again.
I think another video on bearing types in engines would be interesting. Such as why dirtbikes/singles use roller bearings and none seem to use journal bearings? Journal bearing sensitivity to momentary oil pressure loss could be a factor with normal oil pump offroad, but couldn't you use journal bearings with drysump system? Many dirtbike engine failures I read about online seem to be from roller bearing failures, they don't seem to last super long like journal bearings. I know it's cheaper to use roller bearings, and you don't see car engines using them...
Back in the 60s and 70s in Vancouver bc canada there was a company that took used lube oil as feed stock rerefined it and resold it cheap,a lot of mechanics at the time said it was better than the rest too.Douglas rerefined oil it was called glass bottles plastic spouts .
I use Rotella T4 in my 2001 VMax bought new. It isn’t pricey so I can afford to change it often, as a motorcycle which runs its engine oil through the gearbox will shear pretty quickly. I chainge the oil every 3k.
My daily driver a 1980s Royal enfield uses any old shyte I can find and gets an oil change when I feel like it takes all of 1.5 litres and is still going strong I hear "snake oil" works well in modern bikes
Couldn't find a viscosity/T chart in a Honda manual. Someone on a forum from Florida used a viscosity higher than the only viscosity recommended in the manual. In extreme conditions, would oil pressure be an indicator?
Can you ask Kevin to do a video on how he went about the process of getting an H1R back in the day in any factory support and just elaborate more. I've always wanted to find an old h2r or make an h2r replica. The best thing I have is a set of factory denco racing carburetors.
For many years now, I have simply used the cheapest, full synthetic motorcycle oil from the big box store. In my estimation, any full synthetic motorcycle oil is several times better than even the best dinosaur oil and that’s good enough for me.
I had a 1974 Honda Civic in the mid-70s and I drove well over the speed limit at 4000 RPMs. I tried every brand of oil and weight. The best was any single weight heavy duty. Best oil type produce the highest oil pressure at operating temperature.
ATF kinda is a gear box oil right? I have been in my transmission (automatic car) a few times and I see plenty of planetary gears. What am I a missing?
Absolutely love hearing you guys share your knowledge. It is a rare talent and we are losing so much from the old days. Sad to say I used to consume every Moto mag until all the old experienced smart guys began to fade away. No interest in young guys who know nothing & have no pizazz or heart & soul in the MC space. I’ve become the old guy now myself. I really miss so many previous valuable contributors of the old days. Please keep this up and train or apprentice people to carry on every chance you get. God be with you. Gary / a motorcycle enthusiast of 66 years & counting. God bless you~
Good conversation with history and development of oil but I started using Amsoil like 40 years ago and back then many people and even oil companies told people that synthetic oil could cause problems? I have used Amsoil in everything I own with zero issues. As a pioneer of putting synthetic oil in to mainstream I can’t believe you didn’t even mention that??
I was told many years ago by an oil company rep that mixing Pennsylvania crude with Texas crude caused sludge to develop because of a chemical reaction, is that true?
I've been a professional repair tech for over 45 years. One of my first run ins with a customer who thought he knew more than the manufacturer was this guy that had decided he was going to get rid of "all that emissions crap". It's the early eighties and manufacturers were really struggling to meet emissions standards and this can be seen with a mess of vacuum hoses, controls, air pumps and the advent of electronic spark control relying on info from a knock sensor. This guy disconnected and threw away every single vacuum hose he could find (including the choke pull off). He disconnected the ESC connector from the distributor and unplugged the knock sensor (it'll still run). The cherry on top was turning the air cleaner lid upside down. By the way, I'm in Michigan, you don't get to remove your choke pull off and you don't get to remove the heat riser that keeps your carb from freezing over. Not sure how I didn't get fired but I went off on this guy for claiming that his brand new truck was a piece of crap and warranty better be taking care of it. I told him in front of his wife and my service manager that he was without a doubt the dumbest guy I had ever dealt with. I know this isn't a response about oil, it's a response in regard to how many people think they know better than a team of very bright people that actually can build a machine that will perform amazingly well in spite of stupid people. In regard to motorcycle owners (and I've ridden my whole life) removing your exhaust system that has been engineered to get the best performance and putting on a system that is chosen specifically for the way it sounds may be the dumbest thing I've witnessed.
Amazing. I could listen to Kevin 24/7. Followed him since the early 80’s magazines. Even better in person, a legend.
I believe Kevin wrote for Cycle magazine. Then, he went over to Cycle World.... something like that. Had five magazine subscriptions arriving every month. Early '80s. Loved my KZ550 !!
Love Kevin’s sense of humor, and similes!
These podcasts are fantastic! This duo is a perfect combo, technically and historically fascinating while being witty and well spoken. Great stuff!
Now I know what I've been missing my whole life. It's this podcast right here.
came for the subject... stayed for the anecdotes!
Outstanding! Kevin Cameron brought me in like a guest speaker in a college seminar. I didn’t tap FFWD once; listened to every second. I will listen to any further discussion from you two. Thank you
I’m a retired mechanical engineer and started reading Kevin’s technical articles before I graduated. Kevin, your technical knowledge is absolutely amazing. Thanks so much for continuing to teach me after all these decades.
Been using Mobil products since before synthetics. I did have a Suzuki Hayabusa that went 70,000 miles without needing valve shims (checked every ~12K and it was within Spec). It ran Mobil 1 MX4RT racing 10w40 the whole time. My ZX-14R has 30K on it.. same thing.. the cool thing? it's not that expensive.. cheaper than Motul, Royal Purple, Amsoil, etc.. I own a motorcycle for about 70K miles, then sell it. Other tried to tell me to use Shell Rotella T6 5w40 (diesel oil). I'm happy with what works.. Just change your oil before it goes black, or when you can feel the transmission feels notchy..use the recommended viscosity... and don't forget the filter... you'll be fine
I bought new a 79 xs1100 special that has been my only road bike,and still running great. I used automobile oil for the first 15,000 miles according to the manual, now use motorcycle oil which quieted it down and even shifts better. The old ride benefiting from New oil technology. Things are going great for the retro bike.
Kevin’s book on motorcycle racing engines is fantastic. He is such a gem.
Dear Mark and Kevin, it is a pleasure to watch your videos!! I would have loved Kevin to keep going into Group IV, V and the new VI !! greetings from Mexico!! I started reading Cycle World (at the magazine shop, not being able to purchase yet) since 1978. Big fan of you all. When will we have Peter Egan also jump in!!
I have been reading Cycle World since 1962 ( first issue Triumph Bonneville, third issue Norton Atlas). It is good to hear you young fellas, ( Hoyer and Cameron ) talking oil and life. I promise to keep riding, if you two promise to keep doing these discussions. Mr. Parkhurst is proud of you two.
Great video, love the explanations & anecdotes from Kevin, lots of experience there.
this is just AMAZING. absolutely AMAZING info here.. i feel like i just took a master-class
Oil wedge hydroplaning to keep metal surfaces apart is achievable by running the engine always at red line. Got it. 👍
Kevin is a wizard at articulating such complex topics.
Really enjoying these podcasts. Love KC's stories and explanations!
Excellent, just a note, I remember as a kid in the 50's my Dad would always say " gimme a quart of Quaker State 30 weight nondetergent" Of course in the 50's we thought ourselves winners if our cars made it to 100,000 miles
Great episode. Enlightening and entertaining. Thank you.
I'm liking all the organic chemistry here. Kevin sounds like a chemist - he needs a chalkboard.
One thing I wish you had covered is that an oil like Castrol GTX 20-50 that Iranian my Norton Commando is not the same formula because of catalytic converters. I just found Castrol GTX 20-50 Classic which has the high levels of ZDDP needed for my flat tappit Commando. Do not use with cats.
Im blowm away how cool these podcasts are, and how interesting stuff! 🎉 And kevin 😎🤘
Love these detailed talks 👍🏻
Mark, so happy to have met you on that rainy Saturday at Road America. Your were driving your golf cart wearing the shirt that I recognized from this video. So cool how you handed the #33 victory-lap-flag to Kyle Wyman down in turn 5 after Sunday's spectacular King of the Baggers race! The information I get from these podcast videos with Kevin make a huge contribution to my overall enjoyment of motorcycling.
Rotella T6 synthetic. Meets all the specs for motorcycles. I've seen many people online say they've taken bikes to 200,000+ miles with zero issues running nothing else. Never seen anyone say they had any trouble associated with it. Can buy it almost anywhere even home improvement stores in the US. $24 a gallon.
07 FJR1300 going on 110k miles on it using T6. I think that’s Yamaha engineering but I change it at 5k miles religiously
I didn't know people used anything besides Rotella.
I JUST KNEW I'd find this comment if I looked for it. The Rotella diesel boyz.
Really? My Superduty and Supersport can use same oil.??
I don't want whizz-bang features, I just want a saddle that I can sit on all day ;-) Listening to KC is like listening to Grandpa tell a really great story from the old days. Just love it.
Here's a question, an engine designed for mono grade oil, is it bad to use multi-grade?
Appreciate the content, thanks. Educational.
I have had my Sportster for 25 years and 400,000 miles on the original engine and 37 back tires and 17 front ones and 3 belts in 25 years. I have had my Triumph Tr-6 with a hard tail and magneto for 40 years.
That’s awesome 😎 !!!
Your body must be permanently formed to the riding position of that sportster 😂
That's allot of seat time!
Sportster has a great engine,4 cams each with its own bushings more durable than an evo or twin cam !
@@josephstratti52 people think I'm lying when I go on about how reliable my Sportster has been phenomenally reliable for the last 25 years people think I'm lying but I'm telling the truth
Out of any Magazine on bike I loved Cycle World the best ,great writers and the photography so great....
Still riding my 1985 Honda vf750f interceptor! Excellent information!
Still riding my 84 500 Interceptor that I bought new and a 1970 350 Ducati Mark lll that I bought in 78.
I love Kevin!
I love the way you bat back and forth. What a interesting story.
This is a good vid and very informative if one is a PHD. I change my MC oil and filter at 3000 miles . I have a Honda Rebel 500 and a Grom. I use Honda synthetic in both. In researching oil filters I watched Project Farm channel and he proved that Honda oil filters are better than all the others. I also use a Mag Filter on the Rebel and an mag drain plug on the Grom. I have reached the point in my life where these two bikes will be my last ones and I expect them to last till I die. So yeah it's important.
Thank you... Love nerding out with Kevin. Wanted to hear about the relationship with the wet clutch and hydroplaning effect
There's not a pumped oil supply to the clutch, and it's continually picking up oil and flinging it off. Nothing happening to form a wedge.
I raced a TZ350 A and C at Bathurst over a few years. Manual recommended R30 at 15 to 20 to one. This mix carboned up the cylinder. Castrol and Bel Ray brought out low ash oils which were great until it got cold and wet. The carb slides would freeze full open. We soon went back to R30 when the weather got cold.
Brass slides would have been a better fix.
About synthetic oil.. I was working for a contractor at the Marathon oil refinery as an electrician.. I was running conduit in the product line pipe racks... What the difference was between regular oil and synthetic as it was told to me by a Marathon oil refinery engineer who should know.... What it boils down to pardon the pond,, synthetic oil molecules are all exactly the same size.... Petroleum oil is all different sized molecules from big to little and guess which ones break down first
..
I use mobile one V-Twin oil in my XR 1200 Harley Davidson. I use this in the engine only that is 20 w 50 model 1 v-twin oil.. the transmission and the primary are connected together and share the same oil as there's no separation between the two.. Harley-Davidson says to use 80 weight gear oil ... This stuff makes your clutch plates stick together, so the clutch plates are still stuck together and engaged when you put it in first gear.. this is what causes that horrible clunking sound when you first put your new Harley in gear.. this noise is caused by the dog engaging on the gear sides without disengaging the clutch plates that will eventually destroy the transmission of your new Harley.. on a Sportster you do not have much choice because the transmission share with the primary.... So I use 10 w 40 engine oil formulated for a Japanese motorcycle with the clutch transmission and engine all one oil that is made for clutch plates to disengage.., I have nowhere no noise and my clutch works perfectly.... As long as you have an MA endorsement on the back of the bottle you're fine... Or a big twin Harley use what they say to use in the transmission...but for the primary that is separate oil use automatic transmission oil that won't cause the clutch plates to stick together ... And enjoy your Harley for the very first time with no noise, nowhere and tear on the transmission at all.... In your primary all your lubricating is your primary chain and clutch bearing
. And this is what automatic transmission fluid is designed to do... And the plates in your clutch will work perfectly just like they do in an automatic transmission
Sorry to say I JUST found this channel. Have listened to to 4 episodes. Really like the content and the knowledge you guys have. I’m a follower now!!!
Kevin is a genius and is fantastic to listen to 👍 thank you
On my new vstrom 800de i plan on using moutul 7100 20w50. Its working fine on the oem 10w40 synthetic but after doing a valve set on my old vstrom with the 20w50 at 50'000km mid winter and seeing how much oil was still clining to the cams ect.... i was impressed.
I had a 1976 Yamaha DT 400cc2 stroke. When the engine was cold, unless I pulled the clutch in,out , the clutch plates would stick when put in gear engine would stall. Started using mobile 1 synthetic motor oil in gearbox. Never stalled cold again! And much better shifting!
In a Motorcycle it costs less to change the Oil than the Oil sample costs.. My Local Power Sports dealer raised the price for a Fram Filter for my Buell or a Kawasaki Mule from $8.00 to $12.00 I searched the Part # and Walmart sells the same part# Fram filter for $4.11 I used to buy Aftermarket Filters for my Yamaha for $4.50 the same filter fits my snowmobile that uses a Genesis Motor based on the R-1
Listening to Kevin talking about Oil is much more informative than reading a book.👍
Mobil 1 used to be a PAO, or PolyAlphaOlefin, but today is a group 3 hydrocracked mineral oil. If you want a PAO, you need Motul, Amsoil or Kawasaki synthetic. I use the Amsoil in my 1050 Vstrom. With 25,000 miles on it, I have no clutch basket chudder they are famous for, shifts great up and down, and uses no oil at all. After 3000 miles, is still right on the full line.
Very informative and enjoyable. What wasn't talked about was what happens when a motor is run for short journeys in cold weather: condensation forms, which is acidic, and the motor doesn't get hot enough to evaporate the condensation, which results in contamination of the oil. In cold weather, a motor needs to run for about ten miles after it has reached optimum operating temperature to allow the condensation to evaporate. This is why buying a car with very low mileage from a little old lady is probably not a wise thing to do!
For my first 20+ years of riding i put castro gtx in everything, bikes included. Still have my wes cooley zuke with no issues. Went to motorcycle oil in the last couple of decades to improve shifting due to better shear characteristics but couldn’t say I noticed any difference
Hi from the uk
I used to own a couple of T140 Bonnie's I ran ep85w140 in the gearboxes and never had any issues with them. The engines ran a 20w50 from various manufacturers again with no issues but I did make sure that I used reputable brands
How about an episode devoted to anecdotes involving Kenny Roberts? Erv Kanemoto? Kel Carruthers?
I recently switched from Kawasaki Synthetic to Motul V300. So far, so good. I'm going to use it on my next bike
Very informative, thank you.
Gentleman, Always GREAT work!!! Regarding the detergent component, vas-a-vis engines with no oil filter. Think vintage British twins or BMW pre-/5: Does the detergent 'break up' accumulated sludge. in the sludge-trap or 'slingers'? Thereby placing that terrible 'abrasive' back into the engine's bloodstream? Keep up the fantastic conversations. Cheers.
Fantastic podcast!!
You guys are wonderful to listen to and then the Brain gets going and I love it so thank you so much for your input and your video's I look forward thanks once again.......
Don't you guys work in the same Office? And what's with the Cyberman Ear phones?
Good to see CycleWorld on its way back.
Those are pistons.
Well , thanks for this , wasn't quite what i was hoping for , but i heard , the right oil for your Velocette is 20/50 . That's good enough for me and my '65 AJS 16 . The hard part is my supplier can no longer get any Castro oil in any weight .
Amsoil - Forever in everything I own
These guys are great, been reading CW since the 80s… but that may be the first Vintage Jaguar reference- nice work
two legends, one yt vid. Thanks!!!
Great content, thank you for the detailed explanations and teaching the viewer what to pick, why and how to pick the correct oil for their engine.
Is there a reason why you don't allow captions?
Pet peeve, “W” is not “weight!l
Rant off!
Been a CW reader for longer than I can remember, this podcast is spectacular!
Its "winter"
1978 XS750, 1999 Valkyrie Interstate, 2011 KLR750, all with Honda GN4 oil. Nice black and red bottle and it smells good too. Has Kevin Cameron been around forever?
The best oil to use is the one that results in the least wear.
It would really help if these discussions included some oil analysis to justify the comments.
🙂
Mineral oil < Semi Synthetic < Synthetic
A full synthetic always gives you better results than a mineral or semi-synthetic oil.
The semi-synthetic is a good compromise if you can't afford a full synthetic.
🙂
After measuring wear on lots of motorcycles there's a negligible difference between a motorcycle specific oil and a car oil:
Assuming you compare similar oils
:-)
I was laughing with a technical oil video!
Thanks for making my day after chemo a little easier.
These days I just buy my oil and oil filter at the dealership based on the manufacturer's recommendation.
One question, how come the 701 used to say use Bel-Ray and now it says to use Motorex?
Simple endorsement deal between the manufacturer and the oil company. Here in europe all brands of the Pierer Mobility Group recommend the use of Motorex oils but, for the 2024 MOTOGP season, KTM has a Mobil sponsorship while GasGas is sponsored by ELF 🤷🏻♂️
Steen C synthetic. Ran this in a YM1 305 Yamaha Cataliina in the early 70's. The model with iron barrels. Yes there was a Yamaha 305 that came with aluminum barrels too. One year i put near 30000 miles on that bike. Pulled the heads and you could see clean aluminum on the tops of the pistons with just a slight dark swirl on them leading to the exhaust port. Steen ran clean. I ran it through the Yama-Lube system. Didn't much like pre-mix on a street bike. I had raised and widened the exhaust ports and smoothed the transfers. Heads were milled a little. Carbs were bored a MM or two as were the mounting spigots on the barrels. Had J&R chambers on it. Man I miss two stroke twins.
I should add prior to using Steen C all the the other 2 stroke oils left carbon on the tops of the pistons. Some worse than others.
Awesome topic, I use Honda GN4 oil and I'm happy with it. However when I first started riding in the 80s I used regular Castrol oil and that worked good too
One of the best Harley mechanics I knew also used to build short-track small-block V8s for several racers. He swore by the old 240/360 HD 50wt. He showed me several motors torn down, bearings, cranks, pistons, cylinder bore run with HD 50wt and those run with ''racing'' oil. It was obvious the HD oil was far superior. This was before synthetics became widespread.
I knew some motorcycle drag-racers that ran big-bore GS and KZ/GPz motors and used Pennzoil for air-cooled aircraft engines.
Another information packed podcast! Amazing! What are your thoughts on aftermarket oil filters? Seems like specs don’t always match up to the factory?
These videos are priceless! I'd love to hear opinions about reuseable filters and using the same oil for the engine, primary and transmission on some Harleys. I use specific Redline oils.
I have 2018 Ducati Supersport with wet cable operated clutch. Clutch would need to be warmed up before it grabbed without stalling. Stalling 4 or 5 times usually did it with recommended Shell Advanced. Tried Ipone 0W50 racing oil… no more grabby cold clutch.
Mark and Cameron, I've learned the secret to unlimited tire mileage...drive at 58 plus mph in the rain. Who knew? Love the videos gents.
These guys know what they're talking about. Very rare on you tube.
It was explained to me by the wise oldtimers that many of the older style engines design were made to utilize the accumulated vanishing to help mainting the engine to run smoothly much like a automatic transmission that if you change the automatic fluid to often you rinse the clutch packs to the point that friction material that it no longer functions
If you're bored one late evening, get on a motorcycle forum and tell them that Rotella Diesel oil is inferior stuff, even if it passes wet clutch requirements, and people would be better off using a motorcycle specific full synthetic racing oil.
I'm sure you'll be entertained for weeks in that thread.
So... please answer the titled question. What oil do you use in your motorcycle then?
Change is often, use an oil for high temp and it doesn’t matter
In the UK we had a company called Chatsworth, their first pressing 40 grade oil saved a lot of money and costs for anyone who knew about it.
If you had an ordinary wet sump oil pump the oil pressure release valve needed extra flow or very carefull warm up.
Great... questions what is motorcycle engine oil ?? I am asking about air-cooled dry clutch motorcycles BMW Ducati etc. I don't need/want any JASO standard in it. Why pay for something you don't need and you don't have what you need (good ZDDP , flash point, NOACK) Thanks!!
True, but our dry clutch bikes are the exception.
Another great conversation. You mentioned use what is recommended in your manual several times. But what about when your manual is for a 50 years old R90S with 115k miles? I’ve been using 20-50 synthetic. Hope that is close enough. Thanks again.
I think another video on bearing types in engines would be interesting. Such as why dirtbikes/singles use roller bearings and none seem to use journal bearings? Journal bearing sensitivity to momentary oil pressure loss could be a factor with normal oil pump offroad, but couldn't you use journal bearings with drysump system? Many dirtbike engine failures I read about online seem to be from roller bearing failures, they don't seem to last super long like journal bearings. I know it's cheaper to use roller bearings, and you don't see car engines using them...
Roller brgs r definitely more expensive to use
Love to hear Kevins' analysis of the supercharged BMW boxer engines, and why the technology faded and never returned to motorcycles.
will the VVT cam be different with diff oil ? timing advanced shift ? light/heavy oil/
I recently installed K & N 20w/50 in my Shadow. Pleased so far.
Thank you for all the info but was disappointed you did not tell us which oil to use or really any guidance on this, or how often to change it.
Back in the 60s and 70s in Vancouver bc canada there was a company that took used lube oil as feed stock rerefined it and resold it cheap,a lot of mechanics at the time said it was better than the rest too.Douglas rerefined oil it was called glass bottles plastic spouts .
I use Rotella T4 in my 2001 VMax bought new. It isn’t pricey so I can afford to change it often, as a motorcycle which runs its engine oil through the gearbox will shear pretty quickly. I chainge the oil every 3k.
Use inexpensive Shell Rotella T6 Full Synthetic and change oil more often. It meets Jaso MA/MA2.
*only 5w-40 and 15w-40 weights
I too use T6, in all my bikes.
Need KC in the thumbnail...almost missed this. TDC rules!
My daily driver a 1980s Royal enfield uses any old shyte I can find and gets an oil change when I feel like it takes all of 1.5 litres and is still going strong I hear "snake oil" works well in modern bikes
Couldn't find a viscosity/T chart in a Honda manual. Someone on a forum from Florida used a viscosity higher than the only viscosity recommended in the manual. In extreme conditions, would oil pressure be an indicator?
Can you ask Kevin to do a video on how he went about the process of getting an H1R back in the day in any factory support and just elaborate more. I've always wanted to find an old h2r or make an h2r replica. The best thing I have is a set of factory denco racing carburetors.
For many years now, I have simply used the cheapest, full synthetic motorcycle oil from the big box store. In my estimation, any full synthetic motorcycle oil is several times better than even the best dinosaur oil and that’s good enough for me.
I had a 1974 Honda Civic in the mid-70s and I drove well over the speed limit at 4000 RPMs. I tried every brand of oil and weight. The best was any single weight heavy duty. Best oil type produce the highest oil pressure at operating temperature.
ATF kinda is a gear box oil right? I have been in my transmission (automatic car) a few times and I see plenty of planetary gears. What am I a missing?
I use shell rotella t4 15 w 40 in my Suzuki
Absolutely love hearing you guys share your knowledge. It is a rare talent and we are losing so much from the old days. Sad to say I used to consume every Moto mag until all the old experienced smart guys began to fade away. No interest in young guys who know nothing & have no pizazz or heart & soul in the MC space. I’ve become the old guy now myself. I really miss so many previous valuable contributors of the old days. Please keep this up and train or apprentice people to carry on every chance you get. God be with you. Gary / a motorcycle enthusiast of 66 years & counting. God bless you~
Base stocks for synthetics can come from various sources eg pao are a byproduct of biodiesel mfgr.
Good conversation with history and development of oil but I started using Amsoil like 40 years ago and back then many people and even oil companies told people that synthetic oil could cause problems? I have used Amsoil in everything I own with zero issues. As a pioneer of putting synthetic oil in to mainstream I can’t believe you didn’t even mention that??
Excellent, thanks
I was told many years ago by an oil company rep that mixing Pennsylvania crude with Texas crude caused sludge to develop because of a chemical reaction, is that true?
I've been a professional repair tech for over 45 years. One of my first run ins with a customer who thought he knew more than the manufacturer was this guy that had decided he was going to get rid of "all that emissions crap". It's the early eighties and manufacturers were really struggling to meet emissions standards and this can be seen with a mess of vacuum hoses, controls, air pumps and the advent of electronic spark control relying on info from a knock sensor. This guy disconnected and threw away every single vacuum hose he could find (including the choke pull off). He disconnected the ESC connector from the distributor and unplugged the knock sensor (it'll still run). The cherry on top was turning the air cleaner lid upside down. By the way, I'm in Michigan, you don't get to remove your choke pull off and you don't get to remove the heat riser that keeps your carb from freezing over. Not sure how I didn't get fired but I went off on this guy for claiming that his brand new truck was a piece of crap and warranty better be taking care of it. I told him in front of his wife and my service manager that he was without a doubt the dumbest guy I had ever dealt with. I know this isn't a response about oil, it's a response in regard to how many people think they know better than a team of very bright people that actually can build a machine that will perform amazingly well in spite of stupid people. In regard to motorcycle owners (and I've ridden my whole life) removing your exhaust system that has been engineered to get the best performance and putting on a system that is chosen specifically for the way it sounds may be the dumbest thing I've witnessed.
Awesome guys!!!
Kevin Cameron made a rather dry subject and turned it into a slapper show. Good going