Winter Service DONE!

[Semper Gumby]

Winter service is done on the R65.  Using Spectro 10W40 in the motor and the 80W90 in the dirve shaft, final drive and tranny.  Need to replace the rubber bell at the bottom of the speedo cable.  I might have to replace the speedo cable as well as oil that came out of drive shaft was decidedly milky.

Also treated my winter pants and jacket and sewed up a couple of holes in the pants.

Motor turns over so much faster with the 10W40!

[Bob_Roller]

Bill, was the transmission oil water contaminated as well ?

[Ed Miller]

My oil change will be due in a few hundred miles.  I may get some 10W 40 for that....  Around here my temperatures are on the line sometimes as to if it's cold enough to justify the switch.  I usually use 20W-50.  I'm probably fine either way.

[montmil]

Winter service? Whaz 'at?

Around these parts, winter service means exchanging my vented jacket for the leather one. Sometimes, I may even have to add the zip-in liner.

Bob Roller really knows "winter".

Monte

[Bob_Roller]

I lived in Chicago for 37 years, and worked outside for 22 of those years, I do know what winter is !!!!!

That's why I moved to a suburb of hell !!

[Semper Gumby]

No Bob. The tranny was clear.  Just the drive shaft was contaminated.  BTW - When servicing the BSA Thunderbolt the tranny fluid came out milky as well.  The BSA Transmission is vented at the fill dipstick on the top of the case.  I haven't figured that one out yet...  

Hey guys - Riddle me this:  Why do my valves sound quieter with the 10W40 than the 20W50?

[Bob_Roller]

I was just wondering about the drive shaft oil, it is separate from the transmission .

I wonder if there is water getting into the drive shaft cavity, via fill plug, rubber boot, clamp a bit loose, but you think you'd have had an oil leak with those .

I just had a transmission of of one of the bikes this week, I had mentioned a while back that the drive shaft is vented to the transmission via a hole in the area of the output flange .

I took a good look, and the vent orifice is a v shaped groove at the 12 o'clock position next to the rear seal of the transmission that is visible when you have the rubber boot over the universal joint removed .

Not a bad idea to put a thin wire through there when you have it opened up .

[Crossrodes]

"Riddle me this:  Why do my valves sound quieter with the 10W40 than the 20W50?"

I think I can answer that one...My wife had a Mazda Miata and when I used 10W30 in it the valves were noisy.  When I changed to 5W30 the valves quietened down.  I do believe I was getting and you are getting better oil flow (and lubrication) with the lighter viscosity oil.  I'd go back to the 20W50 in hot weather though.

[Semper Gumby]

OK - Get this after a 2 weeks (?) of running 10W40 I can report back these interesting details.  I don't need the choke if the OAT is up near 60'F (15'C).  The motor spins faster and is easier to start.  Crossroads - whe spring comes I will definetly head back to 20W50 but at the moment I really like the 10W40 in the bike.  I wonder if I can get the same result from a 10W50 oil?

Fingers crossed.

[Semper Gumby]

<snip>

Not a bad idea to put a thin wire through there when you have it opened up .

Hi Bob,  

I curious about your suggestion.  So you are blocking off or restricting the vent between the tranny and the drive shaft?  I would be worried that the wire would come loose and cause MAYHEM to appear.  The vent hole is not a problem if you limit the drive shaft oil to 100-120cc.  When you put the stock value of 150cc and run the bike at 70+ for extended periods of time is when the oil flows back into the tranny from the drive shaft.  

Oak says the drive shaft would work fine on 50cc of oil but I'm not that adventurous.

[Barry]

I really like the 10W40 in the bike.I wonder if I can get the same result from a 10W50 oil?

Bill

I've used 20W50, 10W40 and 15W40.

I also noticed better starting and even faster idling after my short commute when using the thinner oils. I will not be going back to 20W50 as I have compromised on 15W40 all year round. If I could be bothered changing the oil twice a year for the few hundred miles I do in the winter I would definitely use 10W40 in winter and with good reason. I've just come back from a 15 mile ride after changing the oil last weekend.  The sump temperature is only 65 deg C. (8 Deg C outside) Even in the summer I've never measured above 85 Deg C. That's down to my smaller engine but is does demonstrate for my bike at least that 20W50 is far to thick. In any case the difference in viscosity beteween these oils is not that much at high temperatures but there are big differences at low temperatures which aid starting and improve oil flow from cold. The chart plots Viscosity in cSt vs Temperture in Deg C.

To be honest the only reason I haven't gone with 10W40 year round is that the wider viscosity range of 10W40 is is said to be more prone to break down towards the thinner base oil and 15W40 tends to be heavy duty oil.

[Bob_Roller]

<snip>

Not a bad idea to put a thin wire through there when you have it opened up .

Hi Bob,  

I curious about your suggestion.  So you are blocking off or restricting the vent between the tranny and the drive shaft?  I would be worried that the wire would come loose and cause MAYHEM to appear.  The vent hole is not a problem if you limit the drive shaft oil to 100-120cc.  When you put the stock value of 150cc and run the bike at 70+ for extended periods of time is when the oil flows back into the tranny from the drive shaft.  

Oak says the drive shaft would work fine on 50cc of oil but I'm not that adventurous.

No Bill I'm not blocking off the vent, just making sure the vent is open between the transmission and driveshaft .

It looks like your transmission oil would have to be pretty bad to get this vent clogged .

[montmil]

...Not a bad idea to put a thin wire through there when you have it opened up .

Bob's suggestion is to confirm that the vent hole is venting. The wire is used only as a tool, not an added component.

Monte

[Dizerens5]

A-ha! So THAT'S where my missing drive shaft oil has gone to!

[Semper Gumby]

A-ha! So THAT'S where my missing drive shaft oil has gone to!

Yesh!  We here call that oil MIGRATION -- a design feature of the R65 Drive shaft Tranny combination.  However drive shaft oil has been known to go into the final drive past the seal there but that is not as likley.

Wire to UN-clogged (slaps head and yells "DOH").  

Cool diagram Barry.  I'm not ready to give up on 20W50 in the summer though but thanks -- Gives me the warm fuzzies about using 10W40 in the winter!