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Short List

This is where I think I'm heading. There's a mixture of car and motorcycle oils, as well as petro and synthetics here. Some stuff was tested before and there's new stuff on the market. Unless specified, these will be 20w50 grades:

- BMW (petro)
- Golden Spectro 4 (blend)
- Castrol 4T (petro)
- Valvoline 4-Stroke (petro?)
- Mobil 1 V-Twin (synth)
- AMSOIL Motorcycle (synth)
- Brad Penn (blend)
- Castrol GTX (petro)
- Valvoline VR-1 (petro)
- Castrol Power RS V-Twin 4T (synth)
- Shell Rotella T 10w40 (petro)
- Liqui Moly Racing 4T (petro)
- Redline Motorcycle (synth)
- Harley H-D 360 (petro)

That's the current thinking!
 
Since I also own a hexhead I am interested in the synthetics oil, but how many people run Synthetic in Airheads successfully, with no seal leaks?

I recently had all the oil seals replaced in the /6 and really don't want to start anything since it is pretty oil tight now (except I am still losing oil through the updated breather).

On the other hand it seems to be a no brainer that the synthetics test better than conventional oils in wear tests and resistance to shear and thermal breakdown that would be really good in an engine that only uses 2 quarts of oil.

Try syn's and see how it goes. With all new seals it should be fairly safe, but I'm going to bet that it will seep in some places. From what I've read the early K bikes will seep with syn's and they are a better sealed engine.

If you are getting that much oil into the breather area you have either an overfill condition or you are getting some blow by into the crankcase. Take the inlet tubes off between the breather and the carb and see if there is any quantity of oil on the breather side of the slide. You shouldn't have that much pressure in the engine. The breather is just a vent for vapours ( condensation etc ).
 
The Mobil 1 synthetic 15W-50 oil is an auto oil, but seems appropriate for airheads and is relatively easy to find (sold in 5 quart jugs at Walmart). It would be interesting to see the oil analysis compared to the Mobil 1 oil information, specifically regarding ZDDP.
 
Recent OIl Tests

First this is a good read if you like statistics: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/used-oil-analysis-how-to-decide-what-is-normal/ This link seems to say there's not a lot of difference in wear metals be it dino or sync.

I was on that site and did a couple of quick searches and came up with the following:

Valvoline MC 20-50
Zinc 1121
Phos 980

Mobile 1 15-50
Zinc 1160
Phos 1076

Amsoil MC 10-40
Zinc 1281
Phos 1073

Rotella T6 5-40 ( Diesel oil )
Zinc 1248
Phos 1051

All of these samples I viewed ( where done in the last 3 months ) where from used oil samples on mc mostly from water cooled engines. If somebody wants to spend a bit of time on this site you can find out just about anything you want to know about oil.

It was kind of interesting to see a diesel oil ( popular with some bike owners ) have very similar levels as Amsoil's mc oil.

If you look at a sample from a 5-20 you'll see that the zinc level is lower, probably in the 7-800 range. What I think is going on is that as the zinc level is lowered the manufactures have to lower the viscosity. The wear issue is always with cold starts. That is where the additives like zinc are important. ( You have metal to metal contact with no oil pressure ) Once the engine is up to operating temp then the zinc level is not as important. The additives like zinc etc get used up through the life of the oil and that is why the manufacturers specify a certain distance/time between oil changes. To me that seems to be the way the oil world is going.

Oil threads are always interesting. Must be a winter exercise as we got about 8 inches of snow up here last night.
 
I agree there's a bunch of information out there...the only "issue" I have is that they represent different tests at different times with different companies, and not necessarily independent tests. As was the case with the past oil testing, it was a pure snapshot in time for direct comparison. That was my intention here...take the popular oils that we like to use or that are recommended and do a head-to-head test without any vested interested in the outcome.
 
http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Files/Mobil_1_Product_Guide.pdf

the levels in the motorcycle oil are quite a bit higher than the 15w50 car oil.
actually quite a bit higher than in the amzoil advertisement / oil analysis.

Oh and about blowby, I sure hope not with new pistons, rings, valves, guides and way more money invested than the bike is worth.

I run the Mobil 20-50 in my Harley but up here in Canada it is getting very hard to find as none of the big retailers like Walmart carry the stuff, so I'm going to have to switch to a different brand. Not sure where I'll go. They also stopped carrying the 15-50 as well.

I think also that the Mobil 20-50 is going to drop its Zinc content as all the new Harleys have catalytic converters and from what I read Zinc & Phos are hard on cats.

Yep your right about the blowby, shouldn't be happening, but something isn't adding up.
 
just returned from a 2k trip on my /6. Checked oil at approx 700 miles and it showed almost no consumption. Ran the bike pretty hard at Barber raceway (kept up with Ducati) and a couple of trips on the dragon tail and a long day at 70mph the oil light flashed on at stoplight. Checked and level was just above minimum. added 3/4 qt of Castrol 4t. Looks like the oil went through the right carb.

Question is this; Valvoline claims it has anti foaming ingredients. If crank ventilation is source of oil loss is there any data on what oil prevents foaming the best? I was using Spectro gold.

Some dragracing fiends (friends) seem to believe that synthetic oil doesn't absorbe engine heat as well as conventional. Any data on that?

Sorry if I hijacked zddp thread with other questions but since the topic is oil....

My R90/6 varies on oil consumption based on what I put in it and how hard I ride it. Like you, I have a new top end, just replaced the major seals at the end of August, my bike doesn't drip a drop of oil, and doesn't smoke the least bit out of the exhaust at any time.

Before I replaced the major seals, I used to run BMW conv. 20w50 and oil consumption was normal from what I understand through other people's experiences. I should add that it only seemed to consume oil when I ran the bike in the 80-100mph range for an extended period of time (like a 20-30 mile trip down the parkway). Switched to Liqui Moly 20w50 Racing 4T and my oil consumption significantly dropped, it seemed like no matter how long or hard I rode it the level would never fall below halfway on the dipstick.

After I replaced the seals (again in late August) I put in Castrol 4T 20w50 because that's what I had on the shelf at the time since I used to use it in my VW Thing which I had just recently sold. This stuff seems to disappear quicker than I'd like it to at extended high speeds which are mostly my commuting conditions. Again, no smoke, no signs of leakage anywhere on the case, but when you take off the right side intake duct you can see that the oil is from blowby and going through the right carb.

I'll be switching my oil again in the next couple weeks and this time I'm going to experiment with BMW conv. 10w50 for the first time. I ride through the winter and the lighter cold weight is attractive to me since the bike sees plenty of startups in 20 some degree weather throughout the winter. When it gets warmer I plan on putting the Liqui Moly 20w50 back in because I really liked that oil (and the price of it via Beemer Boneyard).

Of course the results of this oil analysis may change all those plans ;)

You mentioned you ran the bike hard at Barber, that could definitely contribute to blowby through the right carb as that's pretty much the only time/way I consume oil
 
oil lost through breather

well the Barber trip was just 2-3 laps and probably didn't get over 70, but lots of rpm's.
Never have heard of Liqui Moly before. Just riding arround home it just didn't seem to be using any oil. I am looking forward to Kurt's results. A truly independant comparison by one of us is interesting.

Kurt, thanks for the work. I noticed you are planning on testing Spectro and Brad Penn semi synthetics. Castrol and Valvoline also makes semi syn, I would assume if you see an improvement in the Spectro semi syn over the conventional oil maybe the extra cost is money well spent, even though it seems we are paying too much for only 25% synthetics in the blend.

I do have a little concern with running a 10 or 15w50 down here in the heat. The 10w50 is a 10w with a lot of viscosity modifier, which if it does break down means you are actually running a 10w base oil. Wouldn't want to do that in the summertime in Texas.
 
Kurt, looks like it's going to cost at least $350 to test the 14-15 oils you last listed. If some of us want to share your expense where would one mail a check?
 
Milo -

Not to mention the cost of the oil, although I did score a free quart of AMSOIL from my neighbor who is a dealer!

Thanks for the offer...not really sure how to deal with that. Let me just see how this goes and we can consider something down the line. If you're inclined, PM me with an email address and I'll keep the information for contact later.

Thanks...
 
Just my 2 cents here... this information is probably valuable to a large portion of our MOA membership, particularly if you are willing to expand it slightly to include viscosities/grades for the other BMW models (Oilheads, K-bikes, etc.). I wonder if the MOA would be willing to pay the cost as a service to the membership if it addressed a wider audience than just the airhead community? That cost is probably small for the association given the level of interest in oils by the members on the forums. Could make for a neat Owner's News article as well (to sweeten the pot :)).
 
Jim -

The thought has crossed my mind. These oil analyses have always been conducted with the Airhead-type engine in mind. The first analysis was 1998 and the second in 2002. Certainly a lot of the newer BMW bikes are just fine using what is called for in their manuals which is readily available. That probably also applies to the Oilheads...maybe even the earlier K-Bikes (water cooled). For bikes with catalytic converters, no problem with current oils. I don't know the specifics, but how many BMW motorcycles being produced right now share engine and transmission oil? I would think the S1000RR does. Those types of configurations have a completely different requirement for lubrication.

But open your Airhead manual and you're kind of hosed. There probably are only a limited number of oils that can still function to meet the demands for wear and corrosion on these older engines. So, I think because of this, this update has to be somewhat focused.
 
Hi Kurt-
Yes, your explanation makes sense. It seems like I have seen oil threads on the oilhead and k-bike forums related to wear additives (my memory is notoriously questionable though :doh), but they may likely have lesser issues regarding oil additives/grades as you suggest.
 
Collection Has Begun

I've started getting the oils for the test...got a real nice donation from Cycle Gear here in San Antonio on Interstate 10 (thanks, Joe!) who let me have the six quarts that I was looking for provided I let him in on the results. I already mentioned that my next door neighbor let me have a quart of AMSOIL with the same "payment". The BMW dealer gave me a bit of a discount, too. I've found a few other oils while out looking that seemed interesting, so I've added to the initial list. The last few oils I might have to order on-line, but I'll do some more looking.

I need to start a spreadsheet of info about each oil including price, where purchased, quantity (quart vs liter), and info about ratings. I think I'm even going to photograph each bottle so I can be sure I know what was tested.
 
oil

This is my first post. I would like you to consider testing Harley Davidson 20w50 engine oil. I have used it extensively on three airheads for many years. I have put about 300,000 miles on this oil with no problems. Thanks,Terry.
 
This is my first post. I would like you to consider testing Harley Davidson 20w50 engine oil.

Terry -

Welcome! I did pick up a bottle of HD oil yesterday...it's 20w50 and I believe it is the petro variety. I was a little disappointed with the knowledge that the counter people had when I asked about their oils. The bottle doesn't say squat about API and the standard ratings...just that it meets Harley standards and is OK for any Harley engine. All their oils have the "HD 360" logo on it.

So, I do plan on testing at least that version of Harley oil.
 
From what I gather on HD forums most aren't impressed with either HD360 or their synthetic oil. They're both regarded as just average oil made by Citgo then sold at a premium price. I see Mobil 1 V-Twin and Amsoil mentioned as much as any.
 
My offer to donate a quart or so of liqui moly racing 4t 20w50 still stands if you want it. Since cycle gear made a donation maybe you could persuade beemer boneyard to donate some other liqui moly grades
 
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