OIF A65

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi,

I have run oil coolers in the past and ended up not bothering. Assuming all settings are correct the cooling of the engine will be adequate unless caught in very slow or stationary traffic on a hot day.
I always think that if I am not over heating then the bike isn't so ideally a powerful fan for when going slow or stationary. An advantage is that a bit more oil is needed to fill the system.
Liquid cooled bikes have fans on their radiators for such conditions and a small one could be mounted in the same place as an oil cooler would probably go. Manual or temp. triggered switch. 
Wouldn't it would great if some ducts could blow air up jacket sleeves at the same time.

Dave.

[limeyrob]

I fitted an oil pressure gauge on my A65 and found it very informative.  With 20-50 the oil pressure got alarmingly low and on one occasion I believe I boiled the oil on a very hot day. I took the filler off and a spurt of foaming oil came out.  On straight 50 the pressure was much more stable and held up even when everything got very hot.

[EDDIE SIMPSON]

what make of straight 50 did you use limeyrob ?

[limeyrob]

I used Castol Classic GP 50 but that's now £43 a gallon If I needed it now I would probably go for Smith and Allen Classic SAE 50 at £25 / 5L.  I now use Smith and Allen 20-50 in my Land Rover and its upped the oil pressure and reduced the oil consumption. Its also easy to get as they sell on e-bay.

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi,

I have always used 20/50.  Scorching weather in Italy and Spain including Alpine passes loaded with camping gear. High mileage and no premature wear.
The important thing is the pressure warning light as this is a 'give away' for worn shells.  Even in the hottest conditions the warning light would stay off at tick over indicating enough pressure and flow.  Only after well above 120,000 miles did the light start to flicker. Strip down and inspection revealed fatigued rather than totally knackered shells.
Too thick an oil will give good oil pressure but what about flow?  A multi grade is better at getting  in to the plain bearings when cold and still gives protection when hot.
I think Norton fitted a pressure gauge to a bike as standard but soon removed it due to adverse comments/complaints from riders.
Also, if the oil is too thick is it possible for the centrifugal affect of the crank at higher revs to pull the oil through faster than it can get through the pump?
When I had an oil pressure gauge fitted I noticed that the pressure dropped at higher revs due to centrifugal affect of the spinning crank only to come up again at slower engine speeds.

Dave.

[EDDIE SIMPSON]

120,000 A65 miles Dave. Can t argue with that.
i might try fitting an oil gauge to begin with then back to the warning light when happy with cruising performance.
20/50 was the OIF manual recommendation but ESSO and Elf brands seem thin on the ground..

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi Eddie,

For many years I used Duckhams but then because we were doing a lot of miles on two bikes I bought a 200l drum of commercial fleet oil. Now after finishing the second drum I am using Millars Classic Pistoneeze. Not quite a full detergent oil, which I prefer, but it does seem quite good.
I would think that most of the brands do a suitable oil.  Some of the 'classic' motorcycle oils are quite expensive but classic car oil seems to be cheaper.

A pressure gauge will confirm start up pressure and that the prv is working. What it will not tell you is if a cold thick oil is getting through the bush and to the bigends as it will offer more resistance and so the pressure will open the prv.
On a regularly used engine it would be less of a problem but an engine that has not been used could well have little oil in the crank for initial start up.

It is interesting that BSA fitted a 7psi warning light to indicate that there was enough pressure at tick over.  They must have considered that at about 700rpm this pressure and the resulting flow was enough. 

Dave.

[EDDIE SIMPSON]

BSA oil pressure to the bottom end has been well discussed by more informed people than me on forums.With your milage you must be doing something right and the basic oil system must be adequate. Good point about the oil on start up after a lay up. Can only rely on wet sumping for start up and running a tube and pipe from the breather to the oil tank for the oil to divert from the floor.. which i intend to do.
once left a feed tap closed on a A7 and it was the pistons that starved and nipped up first after 1 mile. The bottom end was fine. Not recommended though.

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi,

I always turn the engine a few times before kicking to start. The oil light will go off so at least 7psi. If the engine is cold it will stay off for a few seconds until the oil squeezes out through the   bush/big ends.  If the engine has not been run for a while it is worth doing this a few times so that oil will have reached the big ends. Depending on the position of the crank the sludge trap may have emptied so kicking it a few times will refill it.  Also, once started, holding the throttle open a bit rather than straight to tick over will get some oil up the bores.

Dave.