oil pressure gauge install

[snarleybill08]

,i installed an autometer 100 psi electric oil pressure gauge on my 08 nomad today. thought i would pass on some interesting observations. autometer is always my choice of gauges, i think they are about as good and accurate as you can get. first i am running 15w-40 rotella t dino. the outside temp was about 45 degrees and i took it for a ride. the start up idle pressure was 75 lbs. not to bad for a cold bike motor. went for a long ride to warm up the oil. pressure never got below 75 lbs above 2000 rpm. totally unacceptable. to high. idle pressure never got below 25 psi. at 1000 rpm. so i decided the 15w40 is to thick for this engine. since i was due for an oil change i came home and put the winter fill in 5w- 40 rotella t synthetic. i think i will stick with this year round in my 2 v-twins. with the close tolerance these metric engines run thick oil is unacceptable for proper lubrication. by the way when i drained the 15w- 40 it was exceptionally thick for being hot. just thought i would pass it along. another thing that i found out is the threads on the kawasaki oil sending unit are not 1/8 npt. they are a british thread. the diameter is about .013" smaller than 1/8" npt, and is 28 threads per inch as apposed to 1/8 npt 27 threads per inch. i chased the threads on the autometer sending unit with the british die and it screwed in perfect. i will repost the oil pressure with the thinner oil, although i don't expect a big change. i can see why the early models ate nylon gears. im surprised there aren't oil pump failures.bill

[dogdoc]

Good info Bill, thx for your post. Your right about needing thinner oil for these bikes. The book says 10W-40 which I am returning to after numerous different oils.

[macmac]

Doc, I tolley u so

snarleybill08, you don't know it, but you just backed up my bull..... ain't that right Doc?

[snarleybill08]

hey mac and doc, i have always been a low viscosity oil advocate. i run 10w-30 mobil1 energy conserving in my wing, and, z-x 14. alot of guys are running mobil1 5w- 20 in there zx-14 and busa dragbikes for less drag and more horsepower. when you are running .001 to .0015 rod and main bearing clearance. thick oil just don't cut it. won't use the energy conserving in my nomad after hearing all the clutch slip issues. but never had a clutch issue after years of use with my other bikes. bill

[billz410]

HMMM, so you're saying Mobil 1 20W50 for V-Twins is a no-no? I believe my manual states 20W50 is OK for extreme temps... which we DO get down here. I understand the close tolerance/thinner oil thing. Our Honda cars call for 5W20 all year round. Seems like an insanely thin oil for 110 degree ambient weather. Engines built with closer tolerances than 30 years ago, I guess.........

[snarleybill08]

Originally Posted by billz410

HMMM, so you're saying Mobil 1 20W50 for V-Twins is a no-no? I believe my manual states 20W50 is OK for extreme temps... which we DO get down here. I understand the close tolerance/thinner oil thing. Our Honda cars call for 5W20 all year round. Seems like an insanely thin oil for 110 degree ambient weather. Engines built with closer tolerances than 30 years ago, I guess.........

just my opinion, but i think the v-twin mobil1 was designed for harleys. they have a very low pressure lubrication system. here is some food for thought on the viscosity thing. think about your weed eater , chain saw, and out board motor that run very high constant rpms on highly diluted gas and oil mix. yes they do have roller and needle bearings but the early ones back in the fifties and before used bronze rods and the crank ran right in the bronze. the oil back then was so inferior to what is available now. thinner oil will form a more efficient hydraulic wedge in the bearing than thick oil. automotive race engines run a thicker oil because they often run .002 to .003 bearing clearance , so they need the viscosity cushion. alot of racers are finding that low viscosity provides better lubrication. oil is my alltime favorite topic. for anyone that is interested, and has'nt already done it, check out www.bobtheoilguy.com . i think it is about the best oil info site on the net. bill

[billz410]

Ya, I kind of gathered it was maybe for HD's, too. Although we all know you can't run nothing but Harley oil in a Harley or it will blow up, void the warranty, leave you stranded, start leaking oil, and twelve other things they try to tell you. Wait a minute, maybe that'd happen with any oil.....

[snarleybill08]

Originally Posted by billz410

Ya, I kind of gathered it was maybe for HD's, too. Although we all know you can't run nothing but Harley oil in a Harley or it will blow up, void the warranty, leave you stranded, start leaking oil, and twelve other things they try to tell you. Wait a minute, maybe that'd happen with any oil.....

it is also hard to keep oil in the crankcase of the older harleys they had major breather design problems. another reason they need thick oil. i had 4 sportsters , they would eat lower ends cuz the oil was so thick the roller bearings would slide instead of roll. roller and ball bearings work best at high rpm with a very low viscosity oil.

[dogdoc]

Your right mac. Im going to the Mobil-1 10W-40 racing oil at wally world this time. Its $9 a qt but only need 3 and some left over oil. Full syn.

[ringadingh]

The thinner oils are probably good or better for the motor part of our bikes, but in our engines the same oil is used in the transmissions as well. I wonder if the lighter viscosity's would cause the gears to wear a little quicker, or the shear strength be weaker than some of the other oils.

[snarleybill08]

Originally Posted by Ringadingh

The thinner oils are probably good or better for the motor part of our bikes, but in our engines the same oil is used in the transmissions as well. I wonder if the lighter viscosity's would cause the gears to wear a little quicker, or the shear strength be weaker than some of the other oils.

thats where the zinc and phosphorous come into play. they are the last resort shield to help avoid metal to metal contact. there are alot of automotive manual transmissions that call for 10w-30 oil. gear teeth have a very high rockwell surface hardness and will probably be the last thing you will have to worry about wearing out. their biggest enemy is pitting, from the acid in old oil. the reason final drive gears need such a heavy oil and are loaded with zinc and phosphorus, (the reason for the bad odor) are they are hypoid gears and half a totally diferent contact wear pattern than the straight cut transmission gears. they have a very small contact patch and a tremendous amount of friction do to the sliding action between the teeth. they also operate at a very low rpm compared to the transmission gears. bill

[Top Cat]

snarley, since you say oil is one of your favorite topics and you seem to know alot about the subject, what is your opinion on winterizing a bike?
Some say change oil when putting it away for winter and then change the oil again in the spring when getting the bike out of storage.
Some say change oil when putting bike away and then just ride with that oil in the spring.
Some say just put the bike away with the old oil in it and change it in the spring.
What do ya think ???

[snarleybill08]

i did'nt mean to come on as a know it all, i just can't pass up technical discussions with out getting carried away. first off i don't winterize my bikes, i ride all year round. but here is my view on winterizing. change the oil and filter at the end of the season. mainly to get the old oil out that may contain acid. acid loves heat treated steel like gears and ball bearings. extreme temperature changes are very hard on engines do to intrernal condensation. keep it in a heated area if possible. my zx- 14 spends the winter in my heated shop. i still start it every couple of weeks to keep the oil up in it. put a battery tender on it. walmart has them cheap. heres a fact, i had a cb750 in my younger days, that i was going to do a complete yoshmura build and bigbore kit on. i rode it, and it sat in my garage for several weeks before i pulled the motor. when i pulled the cyl. off, the bores had a very light haze of rust on them. this was after sittng for only a couple of weeks. and it was'nt that cold yet. even when there is snow on the ground i start my bikes and warm them up every week. if you do start them when it is cold. warm them up completely. if you ride them warm them up completely. ride them if you can. it's the best thing you can do for that motor. i might add, pour some oil in the cyl. and crank the motor if your not going to start it that may help a little. the valve faces and seats will still rust a little. bill

[lomax]

...So where did you mount your gauge and what did you mount it in? Got any pics?

[snarleybill08]

Originally Posted by lomax

...So where did you mount your gauge and what did you mount it in? Got any pics?

i bought a kuryakyn handle bar mount and made the reast for the gauge. i am not good with pic's, but wil try to get my neighbor to help me. bill