Can you get a thermomter & tell exactly what it is ?
Last Shovel I had I ran the stock tank with an cap & built in gauge/dipstick...summers in Florida normal was 180-190...def warm to touch. Never had a temp gauge on a Brit but same deal, tank is warm at operating temperature (and definitely need room for expansion when oil warms)...if you've ever been in the situation to find an oil line come off at running temp you find that stuff is thin and blazing hot.
Ya i don't know if I'm just being a bike-ochondriac or what.
The only other thing I haven't got around to is running an external oil filter, but I'm not sure how much a difference in temp. that would make.
My other thought is maybe I should run a different weight oil. Does anyone have experience or recommendations on oil besides the old 10-40 standard. Keeping in mind its a brit and not a harley...
I think most in the warmer areas run 20w50...but then the original manuals and old-time wrenches will tell you they (Brits) need straight-grade, like 30 or 40...yet another aspect in the endless mc oil debates.
A cooler might affect more change than a filter (likewise in the return line), & wouldnt hurt.
Speaking of the oil debates, I have heard guys running diesel oil on brits with an inline filter, and going thru a series of oil changes.
for instance:
run 20-50 miles. Oil change
run 20-50 again. Oil change
run a further 100 miles. oil change.
then proceed to run the diesel oil as you would normal oil. The thought behind it being it cleans anything and everything out of your engine, but that might all be hocus pocus too...
I run diesel 15w40 in my bikes, maybe pick up a infared thermometer and check the oil tank after a ride. I bet most bikes run around high 190's Fahrenheit. operating temp on a water cooled engine is usually 195-205 or so. So the oil tank will be very hot to touch when warmed up.
Plugs look good, if your pipes weren't wrapped you could see if they're getting discolored. Is it running good when warmed up?
Now after the eternal shakedown.
Ya, the bike runs really well when its warm or cold.
Since changing the head and re-jetting/sliding the carb its a little finicky on the first kick. Sometimes it will stall out and then take another 3 kicks to get it fired again. Then it needs about a minute to idle, but that could be a little off on the air screw.
Keeping in mind I'm wide open at both ends. I'm running a cocktail shaker with only a tiny 4" mini baffle (which does f*ck all for restriction) and a mini stack with no screen.
The tank is steel, fairly thick steel. And I think that might be an issue to. Its not like the heavy grade steel is going to cool very well with hot oil...
plus its a vertical bag as well
try straight 30wt, add a cooler, and a filter in the return. The larger volume of oil will help as well as the cooler. 10w40 is fine in your car, but that is an air cooled engine and will run hotter with that thin oil in it. That oil not only serves as lube, but as coolant, so both a cooler, and a larger volume will help. Of course, a filter never ever hurts anything.....
Glider is right to a point. 30w shoudl be plenty though. That bushing isn't gonna hold up with thin oil trying to support that heavy crank.
I have 2 A65's, and both will be getting the SRM roller conversion done upon rebuild. I like rollers, not bushings, and I'd still run 30w Royal Purple in it....from day one.
I have the header clamps on. I took it for a couple of different distance rides, and it seems to get up to a certain temp and hold steady there. So I guess it's just the nature of the bike.
I'll switch over to a straight weight oil and get an inline filter on there since the bottom weld on the oil back cracked on the way into work this morning and it'll force me to get into the shop tonite and make things right again
Here she sits just after I overfilled her with oil the other day and the breather decided to cascade the overfill all over the garage and driveway...
I use an IR temp gun to tune all my motors. The hottest normal temp I've seen them run is around 315F right at the exhaust port on my hopped-up panhead after a hard run. Bike is in perfect tune and has over 100K under my ass so I trust this as a reference value.
Anywhere between 180F and there should be fine. The temp gun is also useful for relative measurements between cylinders when tracking down ignition and carburation issues.
Don't run straight weight oil. Use 20/50 Castrol or other oil made for air cooled engines. If you really believe some engines were "engineered" for straight weight oil I've got a nice stone inter-borough bridge in NYC to sell you. That might have been all that was available back then but modern quality oils are quite an improvement. It's all I use and I've built quite a few motors and had no failures or undue wear from it.
Jason
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Jockey Journal Forum
994.9K posts
82.4K members
Since 2005
A forum community dedicated to Jockey motorcycle owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, restorations, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!