We go 'round and 'round on here about this oil, that oil, whether to use synthetic, which synthetic, why synthetic, why not synthetic, and on and on and on and ...

But I've yet to see anyone on here tell how the oil in their very own muttersickle actually performed.

Without UOAs, everthing we say is like noxious gases escaping from that bloated dead sheep my buddy Wayne stabbed with a stick when we were kids. Without UOAs to show what is wearing out, andhow the oil is holding up (maintaining viscosity, preventing acid formation, and a slew of other stuff), all the claims made by any manufacturer are completely meaningless.

Has anybody ever had a UOA (Used Oil Analysis) performed on their oil? We can bandy about all the claims made for all these oils, but in the end the only thing that matters is how that oil performs in your bike. It's a good thing to try and make an intelligent choice based on whatever research available. But without doing an actual UOA, the research is absolutely meaningless.

I'll be sending in a sample from my THE MAMA's Nightster after I change the initial fill, and run 2500 miles on my choice.

 

This is a good point. But, were do you get a UOA done? What does it cost? How long do they take to get results back to you?
...gene

 

It's about time! I've been chewing on this for weeks now. I've searched for ANYONE who's made his oil choice based on tests, not advertisement, and find nothing. I'm sending in samples of all three: engine, trans and primary. I've waited for my brake-in period to finish, and am about to perform my third oil change, so results should be fair. After I pull the samples, I too will change brands for comparisons. All I'm willing to say now is that I'm pulling Redline out. I use it because two local mechanics (two shops) recommend it, and it's availible. For those concerned, I'll post the results when I get them back - should take about two weeks. Once I've analyzed the new oil, I'll post those too. Clearly, no one can claim theirs to be the best without testing.
Later.

 

No Fair, FOUL I cry!!!!!!!

How can you even suggest polluting these endless "Best Oil Threads" with something as logical as an actual UOA???

The shame of it all....

 

I've mentioned this on a few threads in the past, but I did an analysis on the oil I'm using now when I owned a '96 RK. The first test was in summer, the second in winter for a duration of 5k each. The oil was drained between tests, so each test was on oil run for 5k. Both tests showed that TBN was good, wear metals in line with expectations, and viscosity within specs. For the summer test I was told the oil would be good for about another 5k (10k) based on the TBN results, while the winter test showed about 2k remaining (7k total). The latter was expected since the oil temps on that Evo engine never ran >150° in winter, rarely >180° (200° max) in summer. Water and resulting acid formation will be greater in winter since the air-cooled engine takes much longer to warm up enough to evaporate the contaminants. While warming up, the additives are soaking up the acids and thus depleting them.

I would expect a TC engine to do better as far as TBN depletion goes, although I haven't run any tests on this new bike yet. My '07 SG runs 190-200° in summer and rarely more than 210° in traffic, although it still takes forever for the oil to heat up.

I'm not mentioning the brand, as I don't think it matters significantly, and am weary of the constant barrage of my-oil-is-best hyperbole. I believe any high-quality synthetic will perform as well in a similar oil test, and I wouldn't worry about running the oil 5k miles in a Harley.

 

Do a search for BlackstoneAND oil; you should find the site that'll get you directions for a UOA.

I would like to start a thread in the top section for UOAs. I'd want to set it up for UOAs only, with no comments, replies, etc. in the actual thread. That way it'd be easy to go through and look at actual results. If y'all are interested, let me know. Anybody with UOAs could send the results to me (PM or e-mail), along with your observations - OCI, type of riding, temperatures, etc. - and I'll stick 'em in the thread.

 

I have a Blackstone kit sitting on my shelf for the next oil change. I decided to extend the drain interval to 7K miles just to see what happens.

At the rate I'm going, it will be another 6 months before I hit that point. Just havn't had the time this year.

 

Bob, whenever you hit it, send me the results.

Thanks.

 

If you want UOAs go to the Motorcycle UOA forumon the BobistheOilGuy(aka BITOG) website.

For the VOAs, go to the BITOG VOA Library.

For general BS about bike oil, hit the BITOG Motorcycles and Motorcycle Lubricationforum.

 

Yup, great place. But too much non-HD muttersickle stuff. That's why I'd like to see some of our own members' UOAs.