Snowbum, oil and Mobil 1 for Vtwins

[20774]

I never them by that name. To me, that's what oil is all about...staying within spec for the life of the oil change. I didn't think mineral oils had that kind of longevity...synthetics yes. For me my oils get changed for time, not mileage.

 

[brant914]

I'm certainly not an Airhead expert...


but I do have a lot of experience with oils on air cooled motors
I also race a vintage porsche and have been monitoring oils religiously
(rebuilds are $$$$ and happen regularly with a race car)


So one important piece of info that feels left out in this discussion
oil manufacturers change their formula's all of the time

I used to use mobil 1 in the race car (20/50) back when zinc was common and before we all learned about the effects of removing the zinc in flat tappet engines
back then, I had friends and my mechanic doing oil analysis consistently.
Mobil 1 changed their formula about 5 times in 10 years.

so when you read an article or get advice from a forum about any particular oil
note the date on the article... the information may have been correct the day they sampled/tested it... may have been accurate the day someone spoke with an engineer

but my builder lost motors (cams and lifters) when manufacturers changed formulas without announcing it
and since the 90's... I think this formula change just keeps happening.

we run royal purple in the race car now
the boutique brands were built for zinc levels that are more consistent.

VR1 is in my air cooled street car
but even VR1 has changed formulas a couple of times

brant

 

[gregfeeler]

I'm certainly not an Airhead expert...


but I do have a lot of experience with oils on air cooled motors
I also race a vintage porsche and have been monitoring oils religiously
(rebuilds are $$$$ and happen regularly with a race car)


So one important piece of info that feels left out in this discussion
oil manufacturers change their formula's all of the time

I used to use mobil 1 in the race car (20/50) back when zinc was common and before we all learned about the effects of removing the zinc in flat tappet engines
back then, I had friends and my mechanic doing oil analysis consistently.
Mobil 1 changed their formula about 5 times in 10 years.

so when you read an article or get advice from a forum about any particular oil
note the date on the article... the information may have been correct the day they sampled/tested it... may have been accurate the day someone spoke with an engineer

but my builder lost motors (cams and lifters) when manufacturers changed formulas without announcing it
and since the 90's... I think this formula change just keeps happening.

we run royal purple in the race car now
the boutique brands were built for zinc levels that are more consistent.

VR1 is in my air cooled street car
but even VR1 has changed formulas a couple of times

brant

A bump on an old thread - just what Brant said! You do need to check formulations frequently. I often buy enough oil for several changes in a given vehicle, but when I need more I check on the formulation to make sure the refiner hasn't moved my cheese.

 

[VIEJO]

Thanks for the informative post. One thing about VR1 (dino and synthetic) is it is very good it oil for Airheads but it is recommended to be changed frequently, like 90 days, as it's a racing oil and doesn't incorporate additives for extended changes. This is from a Valvoline tech I spoke with.

I've been using Valvoline Racing (mineral) 20W50 for years in both airheads and an '03 K1200RS and always changed at 3K miles..... no drips, no runs, no errors. I replaced the insert bearings on my '76 R90/6 at 140K..... didn't really need to but as long as the top end was off why not.

 

[gregfeeler]

You have to check oil specifications

I've been using Valvoline Racing (mineral) 20W50 for years in both airheads and an '03 K1200RS and always changed at 3K miles..... no drips, no runs, no errors. I replaced the insert bearings on my '76 R90/6 at 140K..... didn't really need to but as long as the top end was off why not.

Valvoline has several lines of "racing oil", which one did/do you use? In my experience you can not rely on reputation, marketing descriptions, or what you ran it something years ago. There continue to be many changes to oil "standards" and formulations, and almost all are driven in one way or the other for environmental considerations. The newest is GF-6A and GF-6B (specific to 0-16 weight). You must frequently check the ZDDP levels in any oil you plan on using in a flat tappet engine because companies can, and will, change formulations.

Take Valvoline for example, their 4-Stroke Synthetic Motorcycle Oil has less zinc and phosphorous then the standard "automotive" Mobile1 20-50 by a significant amount. It's designed for bikes with a wet clutch, but classic BMW's all have a dry clutch, so in this case Mobi1 20w-50 is the better lubricant, and less expensive. This pattern is generally true of all wet-clutch compatible "motorcycle" oils.

Valvoline 4-Stroke Synthetic Motorcycle Oil:
Zinc: 1,120 ppm
Phosphorous: 1,000 ppm

Mobile1 15w-50
Zinc: 1,200 ppm
Phosphorous: 1,300 ppm

 

[lkchris]

BMW has "classic" motor oil for Airheads.

Porsche has classic oil for old 911 and 356.

I think Motul just released a classic oil.



I'm a long time German vehicle owner and always urge others to forget the notion these vehicles can be maintained from your local FLAPS. (friendly local auto parts store) I also majored in Marketing and understand clearly that these vehicles represent an extremely small bit of these stores' market and they really aren't catering to you. To top this all off, you here are dealing with 40+ year old vintage machines ... also not something of much interest to FLAPS.

It's a labor of love and effort is required. Wasting time trying to force 'merikun stuff on to German stuff, especially classic German stuff.