Oilyness

[Greystokes]

I have to ask, what about motorcycle oils that manage engine revs in excess of 10k and lubricate the gearbox at the same time. In theory the perfect oil for a mini??

Simon

[peasantslife]

I've had zero exposure to motorcycle engine development, so from a purely hypothetical perspective, I'd imagine the shear forces being developed in a motorcycles gearbox are tiny compared to a car weighing 3/4 tonne...Of course the gearboxes will be designed down to minimum size and weight so perhaps they do suffer high stress - especially the superbikes for short bursts? Probably a single thumper will have greater shear than a multi? What is the design durability life of a motorbike? I know some apparently do moderate miles, but it seems o many get scrapped at next to nothing miles?Motorbikes also have followed class M1 emissions standards a few years behind, so I presume the last 20 years of bike engines have also needed a cat? Engine rotational speed is probably irrelevant, but the way its achieved may have bearing! Rollers as opposed to plain crank journals, but the ZDDP actually gets embedded in the surface of the gears so again I wonder if that has any consequence.
I was actually at an event only 10 days ago, next to the Opie brand promo teams stand. Had this come up last week I'd have asked them. Cant imagine they will be at Gaydon on Sunday!

[Exminiman]

I have to ask, what about motorcycle oils that manage engine revs in excess of 10k and lubricate the gearbox at the same time. In theory the perfect oil for a mini??

Simon

The other, and possibly main reason for high ZDDP is because the A Series is a “flat tappet” engine. So idea could only work, in theory, if the motorcycle engine has flat tappets as well.