www.DRRiders.com

G'day Riders......

Gee, not often a parts supplier rings me up and apologizes for having my parts in already....

But that's exactly what happened. I was told when getting quotes, and again when I ordered, that the parts would take a while, in particular, 6 weeks for the camshaft. I said that's okay as the 50% deposit has set me behind, and at this time of year it would take me six weeks to gather the rest of the funds, without juggling other things around.



So not only was it cheaper than online, but extremely quicker too, goes without saying the personal attention and firm guarantee on the parts. The cynic in me says this would not have happened if I were cashed up!


....now to appease the Landlord




Cheers,
Chris.

Some wear and tear comparison pics. Once through the hardening, it wears quickly.





The old camshaft has also eluded further work commitments....




No wonder I have had to set my valve clearances not quite at tdc lately......there would have to be over 2mm missing when combined with the cam.



Cheers,
Chris.

As far as the oils go with the removal of the Zinc, I run diesel oils for that very reason. The diesel oils are "dirty" oils (less detergents, more sulfur/zinc) that actually lubricate better. Technically they are only to be used in diesels, some kind of emissions thing here in the states. Plus the oil is 12 bucks a gallon so that's nice too. Works fine with the clutch too. I have been running it in all of my ATVS, as well as my truck and my Camaro, so 3 totally different classes of engine, and it's great. I plan on continuing to run it in everything I have that takes oil. I use Shell Rotella-T in particular.

Well I am going to buy another 4Lt of the oil I've been using to flush the engine through, (twice over) and then probably look into that Shell diesel oil. Thanks for the info......


Cheers,
Chris.

Chris,

I've been doing a lot of research on oil zinc content after finding a stuffed top end and gears in my engine. I don't think Rotella is available in AU and there is no equivalent from Shell Australia, so I have narrowed it down to either Caltex Delo 400, which is a 15W-40 mineral oil with 1500ppm (0.15%) zinc, or Penrite MC-4ST Premium Mineral 15 (15W-50, 0.148% zinc) or Penrite MC-4ST Full Synthetic 5 (5W-40, 0.124% zinc) It all boils down to whether you want to use mineral or synthetic. I've read good things about Delo 400 being used in modern 4 strokes with no ill effects. However, they change the oil after 5 to 10 hours use, so the effects of leaving it in for a few thousands k's are not really known. It is fairly cheap (around $100 for 20L) so changing it regularly won't break the bank.

Just did some more searching and found Maxima Maxum 4 Ultra 5W-50 has 2.163% zinc! I will look into this a bit more.

And some interesting reading about the test results of various motorcycle oils: http://www.amsoil.com/lit/g2156.pdf

Cheers,
David.

Thanks for all the info David, I have all the Amsoil spec's and comparisons, sent to me by an american wholesaler when they were entering the Oz market. Will ask a few of the older bike mechanics down at "the well" (a group of 12 bike shops in an adjacent suburb) of their experiences.

Leaning towards the Aussie brand Penrite.....


Cheers,
Chris.

I think shell Rimula R3 something is the same as shell rotella t. I used it in my bike for 2 oil changes, worked ok, just didn't like the feeling of the shifting with the oil. In fact I am still yet to find an oil I completely like even after 16,000kms on the clock, I might try royal purple full synthetic 10w-40 next - I wonder what the zinc content in that oil is.

Cheers,
nick

They are just talking about zinc oils on a TV show called "classic restos" (ch31 Melbourne) All very interesting and we should be aware of what is happening to our "shelf" oils. Looks like we have been dudded by the big oil companies again. Unless you have pnuematic lifters, I'd change my oil type to re-include zinc.

Cheers,
Chris.

Yet another reason to go overseas for our motorcycle products, America in particular, I think I might look into an American brand called Golden Spectro - you can get a bulk lot of semi-synthetic, A.P.I. SG/SH/JASO MA, 10w40 Golden Spectro motorcycle oil for 5 dollars a litre from a seller on ebay. If the zinc content is high enough, I'm going to buy enough for an oil change. If the motor feels good and the shifting feels good, then ultimately it's what I'll probably used for the rest of my DR650's life.

I have an Amsoil pdf sent to me from a happy yank customer, at the time there was no Amsoil agent in Australia. That has now changed judging by some advertising I've seen. I will check out this pdf as it has a full product range independent comparison. It also has a plethora of what I once loosely termed, bullshit....may have to re-phrase that term now to "must read info"......

I think this topic should be disseminated a lot more, we all have a lot to lose.

Cheers,
Chris.