Mobile 1 15W50 5,127 miles Kawasaki Concours motorcycle

[granitesun]

OK folks, I am no expert on these things, any feedback is welcome. Took a sample of oil from my last oil change and sent it to Blackstone. The oil was in the motorcyle for 6 months, 3,600 miles of the usage was in one 5 day trip. Total miles for the bikes is 41,619. Nothing but Mobil One since new.

Aluminum 40
Chromimium 1
Iron 28
Copper 24
Molybdenum 74
Nickel 1
Manganese 0
Silver 0
Titanium 0
Potassium 2
Boron 162
Silicon 10
Sodium 7
Calcium 3154
Magnesium 29
Phosphorus 1037
Zinc 1364

 

[road_rascal]

What type of Mobil 1 are you using (old red cap or new EP)? Aluminum and iron look kind of high, compared to the analysis I had on my Honda 750 which ran 6000 miles (16ppm Al and 13ppm Fe).

 

[nicrfe1370]

Did you get any other information from the UOA? I'm thinking of things like viscocity and oxidation. I'm wondering if in this particular situtation 5000 miles is too many, is the oil worn out. You mention this oil was in there for 6 months, did you put it in before starting the season, or was it in there even while not being used during part or all of the winter? Bottom line, while things maybe look a bit elevated, I think it's probably not a problem, and it will probably run like a champ forever.

 

[Gary Allan]

Did they have any universal averages for this engine? What were their comments?

 

[road_rascal]

Taken off of the concours.org website:

"There are camshafts that show scuffing and pitting of the lobes but I know of no engines self destructing because of it. General opinion is that its a result of Kawasaki's casting and plating methods and the stress of one cam lobe operating two valves, not rider abuse or deficient oiling."

This may be the cause of the high Al and Fe reading. I talked to a friend of mine who has a 2003 Connie and he noticed a slight bit of pitting on one of the cam lobes when doing a valve adjustment. Nothing to worry about.

 

[granitesun]

Here is what the additional info says:

Viscosity should be 78-95 - is 80.5
Flashpoint should be >380 - is 390
Fuel should be Antifreeeze 0 and 0
Water 0 and 0

In comments they said aluminum, iron, and copper are reading high. They said to run fewer miles on the next oil and retest.

Normally I run 3,000 miles. It had red cap oil in it.

The oil was changed before putting the bike away for the winter.

Cam pitting has not been an issue with this motor, of course that may be changing.

I'm guessing that as long as the fuel % is low, I'm in good shape, that if the fuel % goes up the rings aren't sealing well and start shopping for a new bike?

Thanks!

 

[nicrfe1370]

It looks like the oil is fine, so running fewer miles next time doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Yeah, if you run it 2500 miles your wear metals might be half what they were, but that's because the oil was run for half as long. I think numbers might be high because the bike sat for a while during the winter, or because the oil just isn't the best for this application. If you are really concerned, you can do a few follow-up analyses, maybe trying different oils (maybe something thinner, like an xW-40.) Otherwise, heck, just keeping using good oil like you have and drive it 'till it won't drive no more!

 

[SlowDave]

Hey fellow Connie-owner!

I would think that fuel in the oil would come from faulty carburetion (over rich) or from float bowl needles that won't seal and allow fuel into the cylinder when the engine is off.

Cam pitting is probably most affected by (in order of importance):
1. metal cleanliness (inclusions)
2. oil cleanliness (in the micron range)
3. oil quality.
This for a given cam surface loading pressure. My Connie has had pitting showing on the cams for as long as I can remember, but it doesn't seem to be progressing. Just ride it and don't worry. I'm much more worried about the intake valve recession or tuliping or whatever. ;-)

 

[wileyE]

Zg owner here too. With the balance shaft and extra gears and chains, bevel drive for the shaft, wider gears and 6spd, cam followers etc. There's more metal to metal stuff going on than the run of the mill 4 cyl, wouldn't suprise me to see some more wear metals.

I too think 40w is fine for that motor. My recent trip to the +100* desert I gave it 20w/50 thinking it might like it. Ha! Temp gauge only ran hair above normal and when I drained the oil hot after the (4000mi) trip was suprised how thick it came out (for hot used oil). The impression was enough, right or wrong, to make me forget about 50w in it. I will comment that 20/50 havo that was in it showed zero degradition in shift quality at the end of the trip, something that I couldn't say for other oils I have run.