Victory 20w-40, 4508 miles in a Cross Country Tour

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Rob, Is the Victory oil a blend? Whatever it is, with that good of a report, I'd stick with it. A syn "might" provide you a longer OCI but that certainly isn't needed in your case.

If its a blend, it might be this one packaged for Victory:
http://www.powersportsuperstore.com/Castrol-20W40-Synthetic-Blend-1qt-06394-p/4599614.htm

I've been testing some of this brand in my Can Am, a 50-50 mix of 10-40 and 20-50. Was tempted to order the 20-40 but didn't.
 
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tc1446. . .yeah. . .it's a syn-blend--the only oil offered by Victory for it's bikes. I'm not interested in extended OCIs--I just want the oil to last 5000 miles and give decent performance and it looks like it'll do that with no problem. The price for the oil change kit from my dealer is about $60 including an OEM filter, crush washer (and 4.5 quarts of oil)--not too bad for a motorcycle-specific oil in my opinion.

The Castrol oil you linked to is NOT used by Victory. Lubetech makes the Victory oil: http://www.lubetech.com/
 
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That oil kicked butt, I would stick with it for sure. Dang, a syn blend yet it smokes the Amsoil 10W40 I had analyzed after a similar mileage run.

Do they offer the 20W40 in a full syn as well?
 
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
That oil kicked butt, I would stick with it for sure. Dang, a syn blend yet it smokes the Amsoil 10W40 I had analyzed after a similar mileage run.



I thought you had a Ducati?

This bike looks like it's easy on oil. Links to other UOA's on the same engine would be cool.
 
I do, however I'm afraid the results of the analysis I had done made a bad first impression... and we know what they say about first impressions. To have had such high hopes as a first time user only to see the lab mark viscosity as almost two clicks out of grade (while showing fuel as trace) cast a shadow over it for me.
 
Is it easy on oil or is the oil just better? Conventional wisdom around this forum is that my bike should be harsh on oil:

--It's an air / oil -cooled v-twin
--It has a shared sump design (should chew up the oil more)
--It has a geared primary drive (should chew up the oil more)
--It has a 4.5 quart sump capacity (not huge considering it's for engine and transmission).

Pablo, have you seen any UOAs on Vics using recent Amsoil formulations? Were the results similar? I've used Amsoil in past bikes and I always thought they ran good with it, but I never had any UOAs done. I'd consider running a OCI of Amsoil for sake of comparison at some point.
 
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
I do, however I'm afraid the results of the analysis I had done made a bad first impression... and we know what they say about first impressions. To have had such high hopes as a first time user only to see the lab mark viscosity as almost two clicks out of grade (while showing fuel as trace) cast a shadow over it for me.


A single UOA can be brutal. Especially on a new bike. But when Blackstone picks up a trace, you do have fuel in your oil. My God man, the flash point was 370°F as I recall. Probably should read the comments on your UOA again, but my main point is, totally different engines. A comparison CAN be made however and I'll get to that below.

Originally Posted By: Robster
Is it easy on oil or is the oil just better? Conventional wisdom around this forum is that my bike should be harsh on oil:

--It's an air / oil -cooled v-twin
--It has a shared sump design (should chew up the oil more)
--It has a geared primary drive (should chew up the oil more)
--It has a 4.5 quart sump capacity (not huge considering it's for engine and transmission).

Pablo, have you seen any UOAs on Vics using recent Amsoil formulations? Were the results similar? I've used Amsoil in past bikes and I always thought they ran good with it, but I never had any UOAs done. I'd consider running a OCI of Amsoil for sake of comparison at some point.


Agree on the general factors. That said this bike does seem to be easy on the oil given the total lack of break in material, or it's just a well made engine. How many years have we been at this? No oil stops break in material, and this one seems low. That's the only thing we can compare to the Ducati, with it's relatively high break in material.

I have said nothing at all against this oil (have I?) I didn't even bring up Amsoil, actually. Kinda why I post less on BITOG anymore and only really post when Amsoil has already been brought up.

I have never seen a UOA of this oil before, and haven't seen an Amsoil UOA on the Victory 1731cc engine. What is the starting vis of this Victory 20W-40? Data sheet?
 
Hey Pablo. . . It seems like you may have taken my comments the wrong way:

"I have said nothing at all against this oil (have I?) I didn't even bring up Amsoil, actually. Kinda why I post less on BITOG anymore and only really post when Amsoil has already been brought up."

I appreciate your comments, as you clearly have a lot of experience in the consumer oil biz--no disrespect intended. When I said the Vic oil was "better", I meant it in reference to no specific brand. I do think that semi-syn oils can fare better in air-cooled engines than pure syn, but it's just a hunch with no scientific support.

--Rob
 
And all I'm saying is that Amsoil didn't impress in my Ducati. I could go into more detail but I don't want to thread hijack.
 
Originally Posted By: Robster
Hey Pablo. . . It seems like you may have taken my comments the wrong way:

"I have said nothing at all against this oil (have I?) I didn't even bring up Amsoil, actually. Kinda why I post less on BITOG anymore and only really post when Amsoil has already been brought up."

I appreciate your comments, as you clearly have a lot of experience in the consumer oil biz--no disrespect intended. When I said the Vic oil was "better", I meant it in reference to no specific brand. I do think that semi-syn oils can fare better in air-cooled engines than pure syn, but it's just a hunch with no scientific support.

--Rob


Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
And all I'm saying is that Amsoil didn't impress in my Ducati. I could go into more detail but I don't want to thread hijack.


Just trying to keep it apples to apples. One oil got "smoked" in another application isn't exactly relevant, or scientific especially when we get down to the details. A quick 370 vs 410°F FP comparison shows very little fuel here.

I've certainly heard people say that certain conventional or blend oils are "better" with little objective evidence. And I will also continue to point out single point UOA's are just a beginning guide about engine health, not for oil selection.
 
Pablo. . .I haven't been able to find specs for the Victory oil (no surprise there). . .similar to H-D's policy of non-disclosure.

@LoneRanger. . . it would be interesting if you tried some Victory oil in the Ducati and re-tested.
 
Originally Posted By: Robster

@LoneRanger. . . it would be interesting if you tried some Victory oil in the Ducati and re-tested.


I've gone back to Mobil 1 10W40 (4T) for now. Going to find out Blackstone's universal avg mileage for it and sample it at that mileage.
 
@LoneRanger. . . I looked at your Ducati test results. . .I don't think it's very abnormal, considering the fuel dilution and the break-in that's likely been going on. I've owned bikes in the past that consistently showed fuel dilution. . .some do, some don't. Are you running a stock fuel setup or have you added mods? I know next-to-nothing about Ducatis, but I have a friend that has one and he LOVES it--seems well-made.
 
It's stock. It can't be fuel dilution. The sequence was thus that day: Ride just over 100 miles on highway to dealer, between 90 minutes to hour. Idle in a construction zone maybe 5 minutes. Another few minutes riding urban speed to dealership, pull up to overhead doors at dealer, shut down, rolled inside, up onto the workstand. Made factory rated mpg all the way there (@ 42mpg). Any fuel should have been removed from the oil by the trip. I think the Amsoil just sheared.
 
OK. . .just re-read your report and Blackstone noted only trace amounts of fuel, so that makes sense. I agree, trace amounts of fuel shouldn't lower the flash point to that level.

What does Ducati recommend for this bike (specs)?

I found this analysis for Redline 20w-50 in a Duc that also sheared down--in fewer miles than your Amsoil it seems: http://www.ducati.ms/forums/92-hypermotard/101330-oil-analysis-1100-ds-08-a.html

It seems that the Ducatis may just pound any oil into pudding relatively quickly. Will be interesting to know what you end up settling on for an oil and OCI. --Rob
 
Sort of looked like a Grp III flashpoint, didn't it?
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This is the viscosity chart from the manual, I'm a bit surprised they allow 30 weight up to about 92 deg F:

Fig203_zps2301d2b0.jpg
 
Actevo 20W-40 looks interesting, don't recall seeing it on Castrol's site. For the time being though, I will probably stick with the Mobil 1 4T. Already have 250 miles on since pouring it in last weekend. Bike gets used consisently as long as the temp is above 36 F. I don't really store it.
 
Here's a link to the oil flow diagram for the Victory engine. It might help explain why this bike is easier on oil than expected. The first thing I noticed is high oil pressure and cooling jets at hot spots. . .even at idle. The oil is a primary part of the cooling system, unlike the Harleys and is circulated through the oil cooler and back to the sump. Interesting. . . .

Victory%20oil%20flow%20diagram.jpg
 
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