Date: Fri, 15 Mar 1996 09:10:15 -0800 (PST)
From: Peter Snidal
OLD WIVE'S TALE #3: ALWAYS CHANGE YOUR OIL BEFORE A RACE
You know the scene: There's a Castrol (or other) rep at the racetrack, and he's giving away free oil to the racers. Wanting to give Your Baby the best, you drop the oil right after the last practice session, and top 'er up with some Brand New Oil. Hopefully, you have enough sense to warm said oil up a little before your first heat race, but since the engine's all hot and bothered by then, it doesn't take much.
A good idea? Don't want that old oil breaking down on us, now, do we? Well, as it turns out, this last of the OWT's is another loser.
It seems that some engineer or another, at Ford in my failing recollection, got his ugly butt published after doing a study to which he was attracted after seemingly noticing a trend in test-stand engine blowups: it looked to him as if a large proportion of these were happening within 500 (simulated) miles of an oil change!
Could this be? Could it be that oil, too, somehow, has to "break in?" It seems that it does. He dug into the records, and the analysis proved beyond a doubt that you should be Taking It Easy on a motor that has just had its oil changed. The corollary being, of course, that if you're not planning on taking it easy on an engine, you shouldn't change the oil until you are.
I can't remember all the details of the study - whether he took the research to their race track records, for instance, but I remember that at the time I read his results, I was convinced. No pre-pounding oil changes for this kid, not even before a hot-weather mountain highway trip. I do all my oil changes a) as soon as it gets dirty and b) when I don't anticipate any big loads on the unit for a few hundred miles.
Come to think on it, I do believe he found that some of their factory racers (he had the records available) blew up more than others, and that the larger proportion of them also were in the habit of changing oil before a race.
So be warned. Just cause momma always did it don't make it right.
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 22:10:03 -0400
From: Eric Goforth
Eric William Lamberts wrote:
>The only difference I noticed this time when I pulled the heads was
an oil
>passage running from beneath the right intake valve, through the head
and
>cylinder and continuing into the crankcase. The head and cylinder
passed
>a wire (were open), although the passage in the crankcase did not
pass
>more than 3/4" of wire. When I put oil in it, however, it did disappear
>down the passage. Could this have anything to do with my problem?
There
>is no oil passage on the left side...
That hole is the drain from the intake side of the head, it runs down into the timing cover and dribbles on the timing chain. It's supposed to be a good idea to pull the intake rocker cover and pour a little oil in here to lube the timing chain on an engine that's sat a long time. This hole makes a pretty sharp turn (actually runs into a more horizontal hole) into the timing case. So I don't think that I'd worry about it.
I assume that you've changed the seals on the inlet valve guides. Are the flats on the rocker spindles facing outward? If you disconnected the oil feed to the head and it still smoked it seems like it would have to be rings or breathing to me.
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 1996 15:03:35 -0800 (PST)
From: Colin Bryant
>Does anyone know if SAE J844 polyamide, aka "virgin nylon", air
>brake hose line is a suitable substitute for Norton top-end oil
>supply line? The SAE standard says it's good for 150 psi and up
>to 230 degrees F. It's also only 25 cents a foot. Or does anyone
>have a good source for the correct diameter of braided stainless
>steel clad Airoquip type hose? It's about L50 w/fittings for the
>needed 3 feet from Fair Spares Britain.
I know several people who have been using air brake hose on Nortons for quite a few years.
Colin Bryant
Date: Thu, 8 Feb 1996 01:39:47 -0500
From: Mike Taglieri
>>Does anyone know if SAE J844 polyamide, aka "virgin nylon",
>>air brake hose line is a suitable substitute for Norton top-
>>end oil supply line? The SAE standard says it's good for 150
>>psi and up to 230 degrees F. It's also only 25 cents a foot.
>I know several people who have been using air brake hose on
>Nortons for quite a few years.
Now you know another one, because that's what I use. It's a hell of a job getting it on, however. I heated the ends of the tube over a gas flame to soften them slightly before pushing them on (cut the tube a little long in case you heat one end TOO much). After they cool, ain't no way they'll come loose again, even though the fittings can still be twisted to line up the banjos.
Did that job nearly 8 years ago, the tubing is still flexible, and the burns all healed within a few days. . . .
Mike Taglieri
Raul -- '72 Commando Interstate
Date: Thu, 8 Feb 1996 15:39:46 -0500
From: Gary Slabaugh
In a message dated 96-02-07 17:03:17 EST, you write:
>Does anyone know if SAE J844 polyamide, aka "virgin nylon", air
>brake hose line is a suitable substitute for Norton top-end oil
>supply line?
My local purveyor of brit parts uses air brake line to renew Norton overhead lines using the original fittings at a fraction of the cost of new genuine oil lines. I have been using them for 5 years now. I can't remember what they use to install the banjos but I always use additional insurance in the form of a wrap of safety wire around the ends of the hose. I renew the lines every other year.
Gary
68 Atlas
69 Commando Fastback
71 Commando Roadster
73 850 Commando Interstate
75 850 Commando MK 3 Roadster
Commando powered featherbed>>>>see you at Daytona
AHRMA F750 #355
Date: Wed, 1 May 96 08:58:23 PDT
From: Jerry Jensen
Randy K wrote
>What have you brit-ironers seen/tried as an improvement to the black
plastic
>rocker oil lines. Last year while sitting in traffic and 100F at the
London
>Classic one of the lines melted, oil pouring all over the very hot
engine (no
>fire :-)) Not many Brits sitting in the traffic, just 35000 hogs,
several of
>which pulled over to help and provide oil (they ALL seem to carry
extra oil)
>BTW the ones pulling over and offering to help were definitely not
RUBS!
>
>Heaven forbid if I was on a Ja* bike - they probably would have thrown
lit
>matches at me. I've wondered if the metal lines as fitted to Bonnies
would
>work? Any advice out there??
I don't think it is possible for these lines to melt under any survivable conditions. What does happen is that they fracture due to constant vibration and the resulting flex cycles. This usually happens where the line joins a fitting. The line flexes back and forth at these points and eventually breaks. A high pressure oil leak results. The solution is to replace these lines every couple of years. Tourers carry a spare line coiled up in the headlight or some other convenient place. There are also vendors who carry Airoquip type lines. In addition to being made of better materials they also look neat. These lines carry hot oil at galley pressure (not really that high). When they break they create a real mess as well as bleeding off the oil pressure critical to the rod bearings. These lines are critical engine parts. I've seen lots of bikes with rubber lines and hose clamps or baling wire??? As for metal lines. Late model Atlases (high pressure oil to the rockers) used these. They broke. Norton replaced the metal pipes with the black plastic (nylon?). As you know these last longer (long enough to make you think they don't need regular replacement)but still break thus adding another unnecessary item to their poor reliability reputation.
Jerry Jensen
USNOA 1326
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 15:23:59 -0600 (MDT)
From: Mike J Andrusiewicz
Thanks to all that replied on the break-in method post....but this leads to another question!
As background, I rebuilt my 750 Tiger motor a few years back. The bike smoked for almost 2K miles....(I was running Lubriplate Super GPO oil). (The smoking was AFTER the rebuild, mind you!) :(
I then read a tech bulletin that said when breaking a motor in, to use SB grade or SA grade for the first 1000 miles or so. The Lubriplate is SH grade. I switched to a sh*tty grade SB Valv*line oil, and within 500 miles, the rings seated and the smoking subsided. I then returned to the Lubriplate oil. I figure I was lucky not to seize the pistons during the first 2K miles. Has anyone read the Tech tip I'm referring to? What is the best oil to use (grade wise) during break-in?
(Gregg, I'm on shot 33 of a 36 shot roll, (pictures soon!) (Start up expected mid May sometime.)
Thanks, Mike A