oil stories

[grantcanada@hotmail.com]

I have to quickly say what great travelling can be done on the Canadian East Coast. Being a Western Canadian myself I will often pitch the Canadian experience to everyone, but even I was not prepared for the land and the people in Newfoundland and Labrador. If your next KLR travel plans are up in the air, give this some thought. Labrador has been opened by the Trans-Labrador highway - a real blast. Have to mention the hospitality extended to my riding partner and myself following a breakdown in Newfoundland. Steve has posted already letting riders know he is in Goose Bay, Labrador. I encourage you to look him up. I can not thank Steve in Goose and Doug in St. Johns, Newfoundland enough for getting me out of a jam and back on the road. Thanks guys. I am now in Halifax, Nova Scotia and on my way back to Winnipeg. Loving the Maritimes. Check it out. Grant

[RichardM]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "Tom McKenzie" wrote:

>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.

I beg to differ. I spend a lot of time reading rec.motorcycles and alt.motorcycles.sportbike. From what I've seen, clutch slippage due to synthetic oil tends to happen to only a small handful of bikes, the most well-known recent example being the Bandit 1200. Even then, not all B12 owners report slippage. Synth BIKE OIL is just as bad as synth CAR OIL on the affected bikes, and aftermarket clutch upgrades will nearly always solve the problem. B12's are known for having marginal clutch capacity anyway.

>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.

Viscosity breakdown is a normal yet undesirable characteristic that occurs in all IC engines and to all oil types. There *is* data to support a more rapid viscosity breakdown in combined engines when compared to conventional engines. There is also data to support the notion that synthetic oils are superior to conventional oils in the area of viscosity retention.

>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.

Where are all the affected Harley owners, then? They must be a pretty quiet bunch... I want to see an instrumented and unbiased 3rd party test, and even then I'd point my finger more at HD's lack of engineering prowess and less at the lubricant in question. HD's are garbage and are a bad example. RM