Hello,
I got my used oil analysis back from Blackstone today on a Norton 850 Commando.
The other Norton oil analyses that I've seen were done by another Norton enthusiast and had a number referring to oxidation. This other enthusiast said that the oxidized oil had basically been "cooked" after 1 or 2 thousand miles.
I know that oxidized generally means that something has reacted with oxygen. Iron oxidizes (rusts), magnesium oxidizes (corrodes). I guess that if you set fire to a bottle of oil it could be said to have oxidized.
He recommended not going longer than 1000 mile intervals with conventional oils or 2000 with synthetics.
Another Norton rider who used to work for a company that made motor oil (Duckhams), thought that it was safe to go much longer: 3000 miles or so oil change intervals in a Norton.
I think that Norton recommended 2500 mile oil change intervals back in the early seventies, with the oils that were available then.
I didn't see anything on the test I got from Blackstone related to oxidation. From doing a little reading on the internet, it appears that TBN and TAN are related to oxidation.
Is there any way to tell if the oil has been damaged by excessive heat from the Blackstone test results?
How much affect would oxidation have on the ability to lubricate and cool an air-cooled engine?
I'd think that Harleys, with the rear cylinder hiding behind the front one, would be even harder on oil that my parallel twin Norton, and I see they routinely use much longer oil change intervals on bobistheoilguy.com
It looks like Polaris will do an oil analysis including oxidation. How do tests from one lab compare to another typically?
I ran Valvoline 20w50 motorcycle oil, which was on sale for $3 per quart. It typically runs $4 per quart. It has a nice zinc number. I've probably run Mobil 1 more than anything else in this engine. It has around 40,000 miles on it in this iteration, which is pretty high mileage for a Norton.
Here's my oil analysis:
I got my used oil analysis back from Blackstone today on a Norton 850 Commando.
The other Norton oil analyses that I've seen were done by another Norton enthusiast and had a number referring to oxidation. This other enthusiast said that the oxidized oil had basically been "cooked" after 1 or 2 thousand miles.
I know that oxidized generally means that something has reacted with oxygen. Iron oxidizes (rusts), magnesium oxidizes (corrodes). I guess that if you set fire to a bottle of oil it could be said to have oxidized.
He recommended not going longer than 1000 mile intervals with conventional oils or 2000 with synthetics.
Another Norton rider who used to work for a company that made motor oil (Duckhams), thought that it was safe to go much longer: 3000 miles or so oil change intervals in a Norton.
I think that Norton recommended 2500 mile oil change intervals back in the early seventies, with the oils that were available then.
I didn't see anything on the test I got from Blackstone related to oxidation. From doing a little reading on the internet, it appears that TBN and TAN are related to oxidation.
Is there any way to tell if the oil has been damaged by excessive heat from the Blackstone test results?
How much affect would oxidation have on the ability to lubricate and cool an air-cooled engine?
I'd think that Harleys, with the rear cylinder hiding behind the front one, would be even harder on oil that my parallel twin Norton, and I see they routinely use much longer oil change intervals on bobistheoilguy.com
It looks like Polaris will do an oil analysis including oxidation. How do tests from one lab compare to another typically?
I ran Valvoline 20w50 motorcycle oil, which was on sale for $3 per quart. It typically runs $4 per quart. It has a nice zinc number. I've probably run Mobil 1 more than anything else in this engine. It has around 40,000 miles on it in this iteration, which is pretty high mileage for a Norton.
Here's my oil analysis:
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