Golden Varnish 1998 Valkyrie (pics)

[Scout1]

Recently bought a 1998 Valkyrie with 36K miles on her. Just did a valve check and found this; I can easily wipe it off so it is really just a slimy coating. You can see the line of heavier sludge on the valve cover which is to the downhill side when you put the bike on the center stand. I assume oil pools there and cools when the bike is shut down leading to the build-up. The bike supposedly had regular maintenance but I never saw any records. The PO said he had Amsoil in it when I bought it. I now have RTS in it. Bike runs fine and everything else on the bike seems to have been well maintained. Think they just went too far between oil changes or is this normal for a Honda flat six engine?

 

[JohnMc]

I have exactly the same bike with 42,000 and I just replaced the valve stem seals. I believe the level of varnish in your engine is a bit extensive. Mine is much less golden. I have been running Rotella T6. I would'nt worry though. With regular oil changes you will be fine. Don't forget that engine is a tank and can take a lot of abuse.

 

[bvance554]

I'm shocked it is even running.

 

[Robenstein]

Meh...for a nearly 20 year old machine that is nothing. Especially since aluminum is porous and just loves to stain easy.

Keep good oil in it for sane OCI's and don't worry....be happy.

 

[alarmguy]

Too far between changes, only 2000 or so miles a year for 17 years is severe use, most likely they changed the oil every year or two, maybe more.

I wouldnt be concerned about it at all.
If it was me (not knowing what oil weight is required) I would use a C rated oil, any 15/40 brand API CH to CJ4 to speed up the cleanup, or just use what you are and change 2 times a year or more. First fill would be the C rated oil and I would change after 2000 miles or so.

 

[Shannow]

That rocker cover pic is great.

Shows clearly that varnish is a temperature solubility thing.

You'll likely have similar in the sump.

 

[demarpaint]

Considering the age, and that it is aluminum I'd say not bad.

 

[BigCahuna]

I know that motor is historically easy on oil. The early wings used to have an issue with oil burning from the left side cylinders, after the bike was parked in the side stand. Oil from the crank case would seep past the rings. Being that looks like the left side cylinders, I would say the valve cover buildup is caused by oil pooling up in the valve area after the bike was parked on the side stand. It seems to bother the owners of motors, more then the motors themselves.,,

 

[Scout1]

I'm not too worried about it, just a bit disappointed I guess... I do remember the guy saying he changed it at 5K intervals, but he was the second owner so I'm not sure how long he had it. I notice the tires have 2009 date codes on them and they were only half worn, so that means around 7 or 8k miles in the last six years assuming the tires were put on fresh. I think there may have been more than two years between changes!

 

[Scout1]

Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
I know that motor is historically easy on oil. The early wings used to have an issue with oil burning from the left side cylinders, after the bike was parked in the side stand. Oil from the crank case would seep past the rings. Being that looks like the left side cylinders, I would say the valve cover buildup is caused by oil pooling up in the valve area after the bike was parked on the side stand. It seems to bother the owners of motors, more then the motors themselves.,,


Yeah, I meant to say "side-stand" in my initial post... the bike doesn't have a center stand! I haven't noticed any smoke from the bike, either when starting or when jumping on it. Seems really tight! My other bike is an FJR and really a very fast bike. This Valkyrie is kind of a sleeper though, putts around all day at low RPM but when you grab a handful in the lower gears, it really takes off pretty well!

 

[Falken]

I haven't ever seen Amsoil leave that kind of varnish behind before on BITOG.

I'd say he used a mixture of Ashland, Castrol and some Shell products over the years.

Amsoil? I'm calling baloney on the seller.

Maybe the Amsoil went into his OTHER bike, but I don't think it got very close to this bike, but I don't really know I guess.

It DOES still look very good IMO, but I haven't ever seen Amsoil leave that yellow type of varnish behind, I just don't think Amsoil has it in it's chemistry to leave Devil Snot behind.

 

[Scout1]

Originally Posted By: Falken

Amsoil? I'm calling baloney on the seller.



Right, I'm not bad mouthing Amsoil at all. It may have been what he had in it at the time but over the life of the bike, it's clearly had other oil in there. I had an old XS1100 and ran it on Castrol for 33k miles and it too had the golden slime! I figured it was because it was air cooled and ran hotter... but maybe it was the Castrol, donno.

 

[gman2304]

It looks like the previous owner used Castrol. The dipstick on my old turbo Subaru was the same color from using Castrol. Castrol makes very good oil but I didn't like the gold 'stain'. It'll be fine, no harm done.

 

[webfors]

Cosmetic, nothing to worry about unless you enter these pics into a beauty contest.

As others have said run a good oil and enjoy!

 

[Silverado12]

That engine looks good. Just clean up the valve cover and put it back together. I wouldn't worry at all.

 

[kmrcstintn]

if you feel the buildup in other parts of the engine is bad you might want to invest in enough oil & filters for 3 oil changes (your choice of products...Shell Rotella T 15w-40 & HiFlo Filtro offer great 'bang for the buck' performance);

plan on 2 consecutive 1000 mile interval oil changes to clean out the engine and then use the 3rd as a 'normal use' oil change...

 

[StraightWings]

This mess needs an immediate response with an integral cleaner.

Get a can of Sea Foam & put 1/4 can in the tranny with a fresh oil and filter. Run it 200 miles. Dump the oil and filter, do the 1/4 can again for 400 miles. Dump it again, add 1/8 can and let it go a full 3000 miles cycle. Dump it then and your engine interior should be clean, but still add 1/8 can to finish the job. Add the last 1/8 can that's left to a full tank of fuel to clean out the fuel line and throttle-body orifices.

Leaving that sludge in there attracts more sludge until the goo starts clogging oil channels, hence burning out the motor due to lack of proper circulation caused by semi-clogged oil-circulation channels.

I repeat:: clean the sludge out of there. It is an indication of a poorly maintained engine, and can only compound itself and kill the engine if not removed. Period.

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: StraightWings
This mess needs an immediate response with an integral cleaner.

Get a can of Sea Foam & put 1/4 can in the tranny with a fresh oil and filter. Run it 200 miles. Dump the oil and filter, do the 1/4 can again for 400 miles. Dump it again, add 1/8 can and let it go a full 3000 miles cycle. Dump it then and your engine interior should be clean, but still add 1/8 can to finish the job. Add the last 1/8 can that's left to a full tank of fuel to clean out the fuel line and throttle-body orifices.

Leaving that sludge in there attracts more sludge until the goo starts clogging oil channels, hence burning out the motor due to lack of proper circulation caused by semi-clogged oil-circulation channels.

I repeat:: clean the sludge out of there. It is an indication of a poorly maintained engine, and can only compound itself and kill the engine if not removed. Period.



The sky is falling...the sky is falling.

I have seen much worse engines clean themselves out with just high quality oils at reasonable oil change intervals. Not like this thing is coated in a black tarlike sludge.

 

[BusyLittleShop]

I've witnessed that level of discoloration only a couple of times on flat 6 Honda... one the
owner ran non detergent oil and the other was prolong over heating... I wouldn't worry
because the detergent quality of a good synthetic will eventually suspend the majority of
those unwanted particles...

Witness Mr.RC45's cool cams versus the oil coloration on the hot running alternator...