Having read a few of the threads about oil on this forum I thought I'd share my experience.  Most of the oil threads say things like "never had an oil related problem..."  Probably none of us ever will because we change our oil more often than the average bear.  When I was a kid I had a neighbor who had an "oil related problem..."  He bought a new (70's) Plymouth Satellite with a 318 V8 with automatic transmission.  He proceeded to drive it over 90,000 miles and NEVER changed the oil or filter,  added a quart every now and again.  Seemed to run fine until the day it threw a rod out the side of the block.
Also remember hearing on NPR, The Car Talk program, one of the brothers was running a car without cahanging the oil as an experiment.  Don't remember how that ended.

  I'd say it probably ended with the motor failing because of oil starvation.

I don't see an oil filter lasting 90,000 miles very well, so I agree with the above poster.  I could see the filter restricting the oil flow a bit, and debris (metal shavings, etc.) backing up behind the filter, constricting oil flow.  Or the filter element disintegrating, with pieces getting lodged in the oil channels along with other deposits.

Nice experiment.  I would have at least changed the filter a couple of times during that 90,000 miles, to prevent that.  While I do 'stretch' my oil changes occasionally, around 8,000 miles with the synthetic I am getting antsy, with a gasoline engine anyways (due to the nature of gasoline combustion, especially with a cold engine).  Diesel engines can stretch things a lot further, due to the 'oily' nature of diesel fuel.  But oil is much cheaper than a new engine, so I'm pretty religious about not pushing my luck too much r.e. oil changes.

As for the Connie, while I'm sure we've had an oil pump or two fail over the many years of the C10 within our little group here, I haven't read this myself.  Hence, I worry about oil starvation (oil level dropping due to leaks, etc.) a lot more than oil pump failure.  That being said, my bike is relatively 'oil tight' at the moment, so I haven't needed to add any oil between oil changes.  Hydrolock, on the other hand, is a vicious killer of Connies, and I really need to get those overflow tubes soon (procrastination at work)!

I agree, there is a lot of ' I used this oil and never had a problem'.
I send my oil out to BlackStone and they tell me how my oil is doing. I wonder how many scored cams and cam followers are out there and they 'never had a problem' either.
Same thing with engine mods, I use dyno's to tell me how my air/fuel ratio and HP is doing.

I agree, there is a lot of ' I used this oil and never had a problem'.
I send my oil out to BlackStone and they tell me how my oil is doing. I wonder how many scored cams and cam followers are out there and they 'never had a problem' either.
Same thing with engine mods, I use dyno's to tell me how my air/fuel ratio and HP is doing.

Hey Mike, I just had a Blackstone report done on my last oil change. 4K miles on dino Rotella 15w40 came back with good viscosity, not worn out yet. (engine or oil )

My last report from Blackstone was 10k mile  on Amsoil 10wx40 on the C10 with their premium 100% synthetic.
Very little shearing and all other metals within spec for a bike with 110k on it.  I pay the extra fee for the more in depth diagnosis.They recommended I go  an extra 2k more. . I dont think I will be doing that.
I  just switched both the C10 and C14  over to Motul 5100.
I can really notice  the difference in how much better and  smoother the tranny shifts. 

I can really notice  the difference in how much better and  smoother the tranny shifts.

Couldn't agree more and my brother who at the time rode a VFR800 commented how smooth my gear shift was for an old bike. I also use Motul 5100 in my DR650 which mainly does hot weather outback trips. No oil usage and nice smooth gear shifts.

Regards, Russell

I don't see an oil filter lasting 90,000 miles very well, so I agree with the above poster.  I could see the filter restricting the oil flow a bit, and debris (metal shavings, etc.) backing up behind the filter, constricting oil flow.  Or the filter element disintegrating, with pieces getting lodged in the oil channels along with other deposits.


automotive oil filters have a pressure relief valve, and if the filter becomes clogged the valve will open and let unfiltered oil pump through the engine.

Having built hundreds of engines, I can tell you that engines w/o oil changes develop a large amount of sludge, and the failures are usually because the sludge blocks the oil pickup, or the oil pumps to the top of the engine and doesn't drain back, leaving an oil starvation issue from an empty pan. Steve

But that isn't an oil related failure. It's a LACK of oil related failure.
I can relate a story about oil related failures.

A friend in TX races two dirt cars, a late model and a Modified. Both have 400+ ci engines. One runs P66 race gas, the other alky.
He spoke with an engineer from a company that makes oil for a na$car team that has the team's name on it. He was told to use their synthetic oil. Each time he uses it the bearings let go. This na$car team had problems with their own engines when the switch was made to E15. Since then they said they changed their oil. Still, bearing failures from fuel contamination.
So my friend changed his oil to Rotella on break in as usual but went back to Royal Purple. Bearing failures stopped and so did the fuel contamination. That oil works fine in the gas engine. He switched it to the RP, too.

  Why do I read these oil threads??

  Why do I read these oil threads??

Glutton for punishment?

  Why do I read these oil threads??

Because there's new and exciting info in every one?