oil stories
Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2001 11:04 am
In response to the oil quandary, here is my 75 cents worth,
1. The clutch problems associated with synthetic oils is not one of the oil breaking down, but one of the oil being "too slippery". The clutches slip in some motorcycles after running a synthetic oil for a few hundred miles. For some reason this does not happen in the Mobil 1, KLR combination. It is common knowledge that in many other Japanese motorcycles, clutch slip is a common malady after running a synthetic oil, and their is no way around it. In most cases the friction plates have to be replaced before the slippage is remedied. They get really slippery and stay that way. There are no facts to back up motorcycle transmission breaking down synthetic oil, where the engine and transmission use a common oil supply. There is a great deal of trouble where transmissions using a separate oil supply that has required a "gear oil" have Mobil 1 dumped in them. The engineering specifications on the manufacture of gears is specific to the type of lubricant that they are meant to run. A gear meant to run in a hypoid lubricant such as in your car, is absolutely different than a gear meant to run in a 10W40 engine oil. Synthetic or conventional, try replacing the axle oil in a rear drive car with engine oil. Kiss the gears goodbye regardless of the weight used. Some motorcycle magazines have mentioned more than once that using a synthetic in the gearbox causes problems. Yes they are right because the gearboxes have called for "gear oil" which is not the same as engine oil, synthetic or otherwise. The specifications for a requiring a "gear oil" are different from a transmission that can use "engine oil". That's why Mobil does sell a synthetic gear oil.
2. The "too slippery" situation can cause other problems. Harley-Davidson has had a specific problem with synthetic based oils. The big end connection rod bearings do not get enough traction (coefficient of friction) between the rollers and the races when running a quality synthetic oil. The rollers actually stop turning and skid, develop flat spots and then problems really start. This is not speculation but actual fact and is the reason synthetic oils will void a factory warranty on any H-D.
I am not down on synthetic oils, but I wonder about their value when I see Japanese motorcycle engines running quality conventional oils that will never fail because of a lubrication related problem. The KLR is a perfect example of that. Valve guides are normally the first thing to fail on a properly lubricated large bore Japanese engine. And when the valve guides get bad on a KLR, it still keeps ticking away.
Tom McKenzie tom@...
A15, Drifter 1500, XS 650 Sidehack
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