Oil advice and Recommendation

Finding the correct bike oil can be difficult and frustrating.

Why struggle alone? Opie Oils are here to help! Our expert advice is free and impartial. From the most extreme modern motorcycles to vintage, veteran and classic we are able to help. With the added peace of mind knowing you have the best oil in your bike.

Please send in your question to [email]sales@opieoils.co.uk[/email] or rinf us on 01209 101949 Monday - Friday, 8:30-5:30 or just reply to this thread.

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Cheers
Oilman

First of all we have to remember which engine you have. But no Guzzi has a capacity greater than 3 litres.

Anyone have an oil recommendation available in the US?  Engine oil for a convert, it's other oils should be easy to find.  I think the book states 10-50 or maybe 10-60 which I don't recall ever seeing here.  I assume that any good quality 20-50 should be fine for it, but thought I'd ask.

oilman wrote: Finding the correct bike oil can be difficult and frustrating. Why struggle alone? Opie Oils are here to help! Our expert advice is free and impartial. From the most extreme modern motorcycles to vintage, veteran and classic we are able to help. With the added peace of mind knowing you have the best oil in your bike. Please send in your question to [email]sales@opieoils.co.uk[/email] or rinf us on 01209 101949 Monday - Friday, 8:30-5:30 or just reply to this thread. That's all from us today Cheers Oilman

Dear Oilman, here's a dumb-sounding question...

The manual says change the oil every 10,000km or annually. Why annually? What happens to an oil to make it "go off" in one year, even if the bike isn't used?

I guess I'm asking, do I have to change the oil, even if I don't do 10,000km? I suspect I know the answer already, but why?

And if it "goes off" in an engine, does it have a shelf life in a sealed container? So, if I have left-over new oil after an oil change, can I keep it, and use it a year later?

Yours in tribological confusion,
Ade.

 

Once oil is exposed to the byproducts of combustion it starts to break down, it can become acidic along with other potential problems.  Filters also start breaking down and can disintegrate, I've found a few that did.  Oil on a shelf also breaks down but not as badly.  Having used old oil with no problem doesn't mean it didn't do some damage, just that you didn't know whether it was doing damage.  I would avoid storing oil and filters long term for future use, buy them as you need them.

It's not just the combustion byproducts that are the issue, once the oil is opened, oxidisation of the additives in the oil start to break it down, so a can that has been opened and then put in the shed for a couple of years will not be as effective as a sealed can. Also, the additives can settle over time, so giving it a good shake to get the additives back into suspension can be necessary.