2005 kawasaki vulcan 2000/amsoil mco

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This is my first time ever at having a oil sample done on anything ive owned. This sample was done on my 2005 kawasaki vulcan 2000 (2053cc Vtwin). I did a 50%/50% mixture of amsoil 10w40 and 20w50 motorcycle oil. (new stuff). I also use the amsoil motorcycle oil filter.

Miles on oil 3071
miles on unit 8271

alum 5 6
chrom 1 2
iron 55 36
copper 17 28
lead 5 10
tin 0 2
Moly 47 6
nickle 2 0
mag 0 0
silver 0 0
titan 0 0
potas 0 0
boron 0 0
silcion 6 6
sodium 2 7
calcium 2257 2089
magnes 17 459
phos 1279 828
zinc 1391 960
barium 0 0

sus@ 210 71.7 flashpoint 380

fuel%
here is what blackstone labs had to say...

we dont have any way to list multiple oils though we do note you are blending an experimental package. The end viscosity was in the SAE 40W range when checked @ 210F, just a little higher than the usual 10w/40. Iron wear is above average after the 3,071 mile oil use run, and we think the fact that the engine is still undergoing wear-in explains that. The other metals are easily in line with what universal averages suggest we should be finding after 3,950 mile oil use run. The TBN was 8.6, still quite high. Go to 3,500 mile oil use next sample.


Ok i wanted to hear what you guys think or have to say..

chris
 
i dont know if i needed to include this or not as i am a oil sample virgin, but the first numbers on the left were MY numbers and the ones too the right were universal averages according to ** labs.. if this is common knowledge then sorry... 8)

chris
 
Chris, I'm ordering some 20-50 to mix with my 10-40. Amsoil. Same bike. That mileage is impressive to me for the oil to be holding up as a solid 40 weight range with a very, very nice TBN. I have been using a mix of Rotella 15-40 and 5-40 Synthetic Rotella...and it has been holding up better than Rotella 15-40 alone. At least, according to my poor-man's viscosity reader...my shifting foot. But, over 3000 miles and still holding up...like I said before...very nice.
 
hey Titan, should i loose any sleep over them IRON numbers? i guess the bike was still a puppy when i did the test. whats your thoughts on the iron. i was happy with all the other numbers and the Vis was a nice surprise also.. 8) it wasnt even a weak 40W!!

chris
 
I'd have to defer to someone like Terry Dyson for the correct answer. Personally, I wouldn't worry a hoot about it! BTW, I ordered the 20-50 Amsoil to mix with my 10-40 Amsoil!
 
yeah i was shocked to see how much life was left to the oil after 3000+ miles! and tons of additives and tbn left too!

chris
 
Right now, I have a mix of Rotella 15-40 and Synthetic Rotella 5-40...I'm impressed how long the shifting is holding up compared to straight 15-40! The synthetic component must really hold it's viscosity better....or, maybe the transmission is just getting better "run-in". I don't like to use the term "broken-in"...bad karma! Anyway, I use shift quality to determine when it's time to change. Poor-man's viscosity meter.
 
Chris,

I'd say the bulk of the iron is break in wear from the transmission gears and the wear rate should drop the next time around. Air filtration looks to be excellent, since the oil contains about 4 ppm of silicone as an anti-foam additive. Bearing wear looks very low already, as does ring/cylinder and piston wear. If you run this bike year round, I'd try the 20w-50 for summertime use and the 10w-40 the rest of the time.

This used oil sample has plenty of life left and you could safely step out to a 5k-6k service interval the next time around. A TBN of 8.6 from Blackstone is about a 10.0 from any other lab and the virgin TBN of this formulation is in the 11.0-11.5 range.

If Amsoil makes and EAO oil filter for this application, that should keep the total solids level very low, no matter how long you run the oil. In particular, it should catch the bulk of the very fine organic material from the clutch facing.

TS
 
hey too slick thats for the advice. i am using the amsoil EAO on this oil thats in the engine now. not in the sample. you mentioned about the air fitration. and that it looks excellent. i am completely amazed at this.. here is a picture of my bike. take a look at the air filter.. i thought this thing would let in a ton of dirt. its a k&n. http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/arkainzeye
i also must say i am shocked at how much life the oil had left. this is a BIG vtwin engine with straight cut transmission gears. i thought it would have destoried this oil.

chris
 
Chris,

I should qualify that and say there's very little dirt getting past the rings. However this analysis does show a trace of nickel, which typically indicates abrasive wear of the intake/exhaust valves. These are made out of stainless steel, which is about 95% Fe and alloyed with Ni and Cr. Some of this 55 ppm of Fe is also probably valve wear....

If you continue to see several ppm of Ni after break in (and continued high Fe levels), it would be worth while trying a paper air filter just for comparison purposes.

TS
 
Titan,

This is the first one of these I've seen, so I have no basis for comparison as to the wear rates. However the blackstone averages indicate that a fair amount of Fe is normal for this engine.

The transmission wear should stabilize after 10,000 miles and two oil changes and I'd suspect dirt ingestion if you're still seeing high iron past that point - regardless of how much silicon is in the samples. New engines with tight piston ring seals keep the bulk of dust out of the sump, but you can still be grit blasting the valves and upper cylinders and not suspect a thing.
 
i was wondering how this works. i am completely new to sampling oil and whatnot. but you said regardless of how much silicon is in the samples. New engines with tight piston ring seals keep the bulk of dust out of the sump, but you can still be grit blasting the valves and upper cylinders and not suspect a thing.

if the tight piston rings keeps the dirt out of the sump but yet the dirt blasts the valves how does the metal get into the oil. Im just asking. as i said im a newbie at this.

chris
 
Chris,
Just changed to a 50-50 mix of Amsoil 10-40 and 20-50 Motorcycle oils. NICE shifting. I'm going to leave it for several thousand miles based upon your results. I used a Wix filter. Thanks for posting these results.
 
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