A65 OIF OIL & FILTER

[Bishop Beezer]

I am looking for advice on the best oil and filter for my A65 OIF 1971 Thunderbolt.
I have recently acquired it and it starts fine but kicks out smoke for a while after firing up .( SMOKE IS LIGHT GREY )
An oil change may be a good idea anyway.
Any thoughts or ideas welcome.
Thank you, Steven

[A10 JWO]

Is the engine new, could be bedding in for a few hundred miles. Valve guides ? Bit more history would be helpful.

[Bishop Beezer]

Thank you.
No it is the original engine.
It has a Lightning head though and Amal carbs.
It starts no problem.
It does vibrate quite a bit.
No oil loss anywhere .
Rear of exhaust quite coked up so I cleaned them out.
I thought an oil change initially may help.
Any advice welcome.

[wardy]

Might it be wet sumping? If this is the case, the problem will be worse if it's been stood for a while. Generally smoke generated by burning oil has a blueish colour.

[Roger the Bodger]

Hi. Does the engine carry on smoking,  or does it clear up? The normal reason for a smoky engine is oil leaking past piston rings or valves, but if that's the case, then i think the engine would carry on smoking. If it's wet sumping, then it should clear up.
Check the scavenge, the oil return to the OIF. Oil pumps are a weakness on the A65. Also check the tacho cable spins freely in its outer cover. It it has become jammed, it will put more load on the oil pump.  If you intend on putting some serious miles on the bike, you might consider a new oil pump, such as the SRM item. Its not cheap, but might safe an expensive rebuild.
Re. Filter, I'm considering putting a cartridge filter on my OIF Lightning. Obviously it has to go on the return side, so you need to have a good oil pump!!
Always a good idea to change the oil regularly, get the best you can afford!

[DAVE BRADY]

Good evening your reverence,

Do you know how many miles the engine has done?  This could indicate what the next step should be.
Low mileage and a thorough service would be a good start - all oils, filters, clean the carb etc.  As mentioned the smoke could be due to wet sumping so once the smoke clears, does it smoke again when started again.  If not then suspect wet sumping especially if it smokes after being left for a few days.
I think the '71 A65 has the cast iron oil pump as standard and this is more than good enough but it may need a service if many miles have been covered or the engine has not been run and the oil may have gone a bit gooey.
A65s do vibrate a bit but check for loose bolts and head steady.
I may be worth doing a compression test.

Dave.

[wardy]

I have a '71 A65 and it has the spigoted alloy oil pump. Dealt with it by buying an SRM spindle, they are made to the largest size tolerance so the pump body had to be reamed out a little to fit.

[Bishop Beezer]

Thank you all.
It has 26000 miles, hardly any use for years.
I will do all oil changes etc and see how it goes.
Carbs are fairly new.
It's a lovely bike, matching numbers and very clean overall.
Steve