I am in the midst of a cosmetic restoration on a 1956 Triumph TRW with 1700 miles on the clock. This military 500cc sidevalve 2-cylinder engine is very low compression and will be used very little. My first inclination is to go synthetic (even my lawn mower and generator have Mobil 1 in them)but I understand that the seals in the old girl just will not handle the newer oil. Does anyone have any suggestions for oil for this old girl? The manual calls for MIL-O-2104 AM.1 (G030) Believe me, I have no idea what that means.
1956 Military Triumph oil ?
- Thread starter DC_Stewart
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My first thought is Rotella 15W-40 (or maybe Delo 15W-40), which has been used successfully by a lot of us in our more modern motorcycles. But, I wonder if that "GO30" means a straight 30 weight oil, which might make sense for the 1950s. I think it has a wet clutch, meaning you don't want to use modern energy conserving car oils. HDEO diesel oils are probably your best bet.
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Hey, I was wrong about the wet clutch--separate gearbox oil, so find someone that knows a lot about these bikes. This website looks useful: http://sump-publishing.co.uk/triumph-trw.htm
I would recommend castrol 20w-50 conventional/ valvoline motorcycle 20-50 conventional or mobil 15w-50 if you wanted a synthetic. I have heard that a HDEO can do to much cleaning of the engine and sludge trap and clog the pickup screen on the bottom of the engine. With the way these engines are lubed and no oil filter short intervals are recommended >1000 miles. If you hav taken the engine apart/ rebuilt it would be most likely be ok.
I run the valvoline in my 1970 triumph and it works great, these do leak though even after replacing the seals still leaks some from the trans.
I run the valvoline in my 1970 triumph and it works great, these do leak though even after replacing the seals still leaks some from the trans.
If it called for a straight 30 weight, you could run Rotella straight 30 or any of the HD 30 weight oils. Just watch the API rating on them, as many straight 30 oils are SA or SB. Don't want that as it has no cleaning ability.
You could also run any of the 10w30 HDEO's out there or something like the Valvoline VR1 10w30.
I would run several short OCI's to gently clean out the motor though.
You could also run any of the 10w30 HDEO's out there or something like the Valvoline VR1 10w30.
I would run several short OCI's to gently clean out the motor though.
Anything modern you put in it will clean up 1700 miles worth of whatever deposits.
As far as the seals are concerned.....If it leaks with a conventional oil, then synthetic would not be a good idea. But if the seals hold the oil in, synthetic should be fine, as it has seal conditioners that will work, no matter when the seals were manufactured.
I am not familiar with that model, but oil leaks on old Brit bikes is often from where the case halves fit together, and no gaskets or seals are used. Good luck.
As far as the seals are concerned.....If it leaks with a conventional oil, then synthetic would not be a good idea. But if the seals hold the oil in, synthetic should be fine, as it has seal conditioners that will work, no matter when the seals were manufactured.
I am not familiar with that model, but oil leaks on old Brit bikes is often from where the case halves fit together, and no gaskets or seals are used. Good luck.
I guess I was kinda looking for someone with specific knowledge or experience with these pre-unit Triumphs. I don't want to ruin a great bike.
Originally Posted By: DC_Stewart
I guess I was kinda looking for someone with specific knowledge or experience with these pre-unit Triumphs. I don't want to ruin a great bike.
I would give these people a call and ask. They sell the new stuff, but they also deal in sales and restoration of vintage Brit iron. I bought my Triumph there and personally saw Triumphs as old as 1912 in there being worked on and restored. Also if you ever run into a situation where you need a part, they have a whole warehouse full of hard to get stuff.
http://baxtercycle.com/
I guess I was kinda looking for someone with specific knowledge or experience with these pre-unit Triumphs. I don't want to ruin a great bike.
I would give these people a call and ask. They sell the new stuff, but they also deal in sales and restoration of vintage Brit iron. I bought my Triumph there and personally saw Triumphs as old as 1912 in there being worked on and restored. Also if you ever run into a situation where you need a part, they have a whole warehouse full of hard to get stuff.
http://baxtercycle.com/
Many thanks ! I'll try them.
I had a buddy years ago that dealt with a firm in Wolfville NS for old English bike parts.
Are they still in business?
Are they still in business?
In the mid-70s we got our hands on a 56 TRW still in the crate. Some guy in Ontario had 6 of them from the military. The Mil-0-2104 spec is really old and is actually a diesel oil spec (with some use in light gasoline fueled vehicles). The G030 is a 30 grade oil.
Anything you use will be better than those late 40's oil specs. We ran ours for about 10 years on whatever oil was on sale. A friend riding from Toronto to Ottawa had the triple tree crack due to metal fatigue and he rode it off a few hundred feet into the bushes. He was OK but bike was junk so its probably still there.
G
Anything you use will be better than those late 40's oil specs. We ran ours for about 10 years on whatever oil was on sale. A friend riding from Toronto to Ottawa had the triple tree crack due to metal fatigue and he rode it off a few hundred feet into the bushes. He was OK but bike was junk so its probably still there.
G
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