Sounds like good advice, only now Ive got to do a 20 mile round trip into Leeds to return the bloody oil! Ah well. Sounds like like you know a bit about twitching too. I shall keep a look out for Blackbirds when going into Leeds, Although most of the time travelling through the city all you tend to spot is pairs of Great Tits.
Running fully synthetic is an expense that's not needed and as long as you drain the old oil and re-fill with fresh oil it really doesn't matter what brand oil you use. Obviously you want motorcycle oil but that's all that really matters.
And yes your mate is right about clutches, you will have problems running fully synthetic, the clutch is more likely to keep slipping than wear out. If you run the bike for a few minutes before draining the oil it will heat up and thin out enabling pretty much every last drop to be drained. You can post now and register later.
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Reply to this topic Start new topic. Recommended Posts. A good engine oil lubricates, protects, cleans, and cools the engine to keep it running smoothly. Engine oil provides lubrication between the individual engine components, reducing friction. It does so by providing a slippery film between the moving parts in the running engine.
This ensures that the engine can run efficiently, at optimal performance and with increased power. Lubrication is also vitally important at start-up. Here, the cold oil in the oil sump needs to be quickly pumped back into the engine so that it can provide lubrication. This allows for an ideal cranking speed to turn over the engine. In order to ensure that that oil can flow quickly at start-up, but also provide enough of a film to protect the engine when running, an engine needs an oil with different viscosity ranges.
Engine oil creates a film on moving parts in the engine, which acts as a protective layer. By preventing and minimising metal-to-metal contact, wear of these components is reduced. Engine oil has another way it protects the engine. Combustion by-products, oxidation and contamination from condensation all form acids.
If left unchecked, these acids can cause corrosion in the engine, which can lead to components failing. Engine oil ensures that this does not happen and so protects the engine. For an engine to run optimally, it needs to be clean. Deposits in the engine can gum it up and reduce its performance.
Further, unnecessary wear and damage in an engine can be caused by microscopic contaminants. For perspective, a single hair is microns thick. Contaminants as small as 5 to 20 microns could easily cause damage to an engine. Engine oil keeps the engine clean by holding these contaminants in suspension until they can be removed via the oil filter.
Engine oil also prevents damaging deposits from forming. Finally, engine oil also helps to keep the engine cool. Heat is caused by the friction between the moving parts as well as by combustion.
The radiator is responsible for cooling the top part of the engine. Cooling the rest of the engine, like the pistons, rod bearings, timing gears, crankshaft, camshaft etc.
As oil passes over these heated surfaces, it absorbs the heat. This hot oil then travels to the oil sump, where it is cooled by the air surrounding it. Oil is thick and viscous when it is cold and then thins as it warms up. Cold thick oil struggles to circulate as the engine is started, but using a thinner oil here would mean that, once heated, the oil would be too thin to adequately protect the engine. The answer is using a multigrade oil.
This oil, due to the addition of polymer, has two different viscosity grades. By adding a polymer to a thin oil base, it is possible to have an oil that performs well in both hot and cold conditions. The polymer ensures that as the oil is heated, the rate of thinning is slowed down. It also ensures that, as the oil cools, the rate of thickening is slowed too. Multigrade oil is identifiable by its two numbers, say 10W The first number 10W W stands for Winter refers to the viscosity of the oil at a low temperature.
A lower number would mean a thinner oil, so a 5W would be thinner than a 10W. A 0W oil would be the thinnest at cold temperature. It is, of course, important to follow the guidelines of the manufacturer in choosing the correct multigrade oil for your motorcycle. Not likely. In modern engines, most oil consumption happens due to evaporation at high temperatures. Synthetic oils, however, tend to be far more resistant to evaporation, especially if they contain ester and PAO, so oil consumption should be lower with a synthetic.
Irrelevant of oil type, oil consumption will go up in engines with defective seals, and worn valve guides and piston rings. Here, one might as well use a cheaper oil instead of a synthetic one. Synthetic oil is fully compatible with any other engine oil. Provided the oil is for a 4- stroke engine, one can safely mix any type of oil irrelevant of what its base is or what it contains, be it mineral, semi-synthetic, hydrocracked synthetic, PAO, ester, etc. The exception here would be Castor-oil-based racing oils.
As long as you follow the instructions in your handbook in regards to the viscosity ranges and API of an oil, you can use whichever oil you choose, including synthetics, without affecting your warranty. The choice of brand is also up to you as OEMs, by law, cannot prescribe this. This depends.
For a great bike in a great condition, the right synthetic oil will help keep maintenance costs down, lower fuel costs, and keep it running like new. For an oil-guzzling older model, synthetic oils may just not be worth the price. Can I use car engine oil in my motorcycle?
This can be risky. Even though you can and will find car oil with the same viscosity ratings i. Most cars use a separate gearbox oil and most cars have a dry clutch. So a car oil could make your clutch slip or knacker your gearbox. If you're buying a bike that's been run on car oil, beware! Does engine oil have an expiry date? Engine oils have an expiry date which means the performance levels can no longer be guaranteed.
However if your oil hasn't been opened, it'll take years and years for it to degrade. If your oil has been opened and is a couple of years out of date, it'll most likely be absolutely fine. However, if you've already opened it and it's 5 years out of date you'll be better off buying fresh oil as the additives in the oil may have oxidised and lost their qualities.
What are the most critical areas where the oil flows? For a motorcycle engine, the critical engine areas are the piston assembly, bearings and valve train. The engine oill also lubricates the clutch but not if your motorcycle has a dry clutch and your motorcycle's gearbox.
What does my oil filter do and do I need to replace it? The oil filter traps foreign particles and debris that are introduced into the oil by normal riding. These particles can be anything from carbon deposits to small metal particles from your motorcycle's engine. These particles can lead to engine damage, while a blocked filter may lead to oil starvation and ultimately engine failure. An oil filter costs just a few pounds, so it makes sense to change this every time you do an oil change.
What is the difference between a mineral, semi-synthetic, and full-synthetic engine oil? Why does a 2-stroke oil have to be mixed with fuel? A 2-stroke engine is built and runs differently to a 4-stroke one. A 4-stroke engine keeps most of its oil in its crankcase and oil sump and recirculates this oil to lubricate the engine.
With a 2-stroke engine, the process is somewhat different. The only way, therefore, to provide oil to the engine for lubrication is by adding it to the fuel. A specific 2-stroke oil is needed as 4-stroke oil would leave damaging deposits behind when it burns. Is any engine oil better than no engine oil? Yes, but when it comes to motorcycles, the 'right' engine oil is better than 'any' engine oil!
Why do some engines burn oil? Unfortunately, some types of engines just use more oil than others due to their design. Here, the burnt oil can leave damaging deposits behind, meaning these engines often need more top overhauls.
However, if a touring engine uses more oil than is necessary, changing to a lighter grade of oil often solves the problem. Can I top up my engine with a different type of oil? Do I need to warm up my engine before riding? The oil needs to be warm, but, even better, hot, especially when riding at speed. When cold oil is pumped into an engine, cavitation bubbles of vacuum within the oil is likely to occur.
This, in essence, means that the engine does not receive enough oil for it to run optimally at speed. Warmer, and so thinner, oil ensures that the engine not only receives enough oil, but that all moving parts within it can work optimally. Ideally, use a 5W or 10W oil and ensure the engine warms up properly for a few km before speeding up. Do I need to regularly change my oil?
If you tend to drive short distances with a low annual mileage, regular oil changes are vital, irrelevant of whether the minimum mileage for an oil change was reached or not. Water vapour and fuel tend to make their way into the oil, and, unless you drive long distances, they never have the chance to evaporate.
This can cause damages like corrosion, gear tooth pitting, and ring and bore wear. Long-distance riders with a high annual mileage who use a high-quality oil can afford to be a little more relaxed on the oil changes. What's the best type of oil to use in a road bike? How does oil 'cling' onto the engine's internals? Where there is high-speed rotation in the engine, e. Here, this oil supports and carries the load of these surfaces.
As soon as the spinning stops, however, either due to the slowing down or stopping of the engine, this wedged oil gives way. Where no rotation occurs in an engine, oil cannot form this thick wedged layer to protect metal surfaces. Here, oil provides a thin protective film and often relies on anti-wear agents, detergents, and anti-oxidant chemicals to help protect from metal-to-metal contact.
When it comes to motorcycle engine oil, there are a lot of terms that get thrown around. Anti-Wear Agent In boundary lubrication conditions, this additive reduces the amount of wear caused by metal-to-metal contact by chemically reacting with the metal surfaces and forming a film between them. Corrosion Inhibitor This engine oil additive helps to protect metal surfaces by inhibiting corrosion caused by contaminants. It usually does so through a chemical reaction that forms a protective film over the metal surfaces.
Detergent This engine oil additive chemically reacts with acidic, sludge-forming contaminants in the oil to neutralise them.
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