'69 bonneville

[castor]

hi all, any educated guesses what i should run in my old girl when i restore her? i used valvoline 20/50 on a rebuild in 1986 and wiped out new cams,new followers and new stainless valves ( all norman hyde stuff) so a little reluctant to use his stuff or valvo again. p.s. it has a shared engine-primary and separate gearbox, and recomendation was for 50 mono in gearbox, and 20, 30 or 40 mono in engine and primary depending on season (can i use gear oil in box, no guesses please) thanx in advance, john

 

[jimcor]

Right off the bat, your engine and primary drive do not have a shared oil supply. Engine, primary, and gearbox have separate supplies. My recomendations are. 15W40 HDEO in the engine. Shell Rotella T or Mobil Delvac 1300S. Changed every 800 to 1000 miles. The frequent changes is why I'd use a dino rather than a synthetic in your old nail, makes it affordable. Your Bonneville does not have a filter, you might consider adding one, keeping the oil clean is a must for longevity. The 15W40 can also be used in the primary drive chaincase. 50 mono is what the old manuals called for in the gearbox. That is what I would use. I would not use gear oil in the transmission. Although I have an old BSA single that uses gear oil in the transmission.

Also if I was going to continue to ride in the winter I might use Shell's Synthetic Rotella, their 5W40 synthetic, for the coldest months.

Keep that 69 running! One of the best years made.

[ January 19, 2006, 02:18 PM: Message edited by: jimcor ]

 

[Silk]

Someone may have updated the breather and primary to later specs,I know I did it a few times.Later model engines have a solid inlet cam and no breather on the end,the drive side seal is removed and holes drilled into the crankcase for an oil supply and level,then the breather is taken off the top of the chain case - check to see if your's has this mod.I'd run a GL4 75/80 in the gearbox.I'd go for the 15/40 HDEO too.

 

[David in Sugar Land]

Yep, HDEO would be good.

I have hear some rather disappointing things about Norman Hyde products. I must say that the Norton's peashooters are holding up well, although I believe they were made by a small firm and sold by Norman Hyde. I got 'em at a rally...

 

[castor]

hmmm, i may have been a little ambiguous on data. bike is a '70 model built in october '69 engine and frame nos ND xxxxx, so it does have the shared engine and primary supply. now folks, my specific query is "what are the current recomendations for gear lube that was originally spec'd at 50 engine oil, and if a change is indicated, what is the reason i.e. does all modern gear lube cause none of the yellow metal corrosion that it did in the past?"
over here, i cannot find shell rotella, but i may have to check some of the truck stops
p.s. thanx for all your interest, silk, i am a kiwi, been here 5 years, can ride ALL year round

 

[Silk]

We can ride all year too! It only rains 52 days a year - every weekend! You should know that...

These modern synth GL4 gear oils work well in all gearboxes - a couple of weeks ago in a mad panic before a ride the next day I rushed into a bike shop for some gearoil (I normaly run ATF or 10/30 in my 2 stroke gearbox) and picked up a litre of Putoline racing gear oil,when I opened it I smelt the EP and had second thoughts...but to late I just poured it in and went.It's great,shifts well and gives good clutch feel.

Your Triumph will have needle rollers in the layshaft,I don't there would be much yellow metal to worry about.

 

[castor]

no mate, i think it's only the thrust washers, though i have an earlier set of shifter forks and they seem to be made of a goldy coloured metal, i got them in a basket of '66 stuff so who knows???