As a Chemical Engineering graduate, I must state this:
..I know absolutely nothing about oils as I took Biochemical Engineering as a major option!
HOWEVER..........take heart, all is not lost.... I use the straight 50 - weight oil sold by Harley - Davidson dealers because:
- Its viscosity is high when cool, i.e. when the engine is being kicked over and first started. The stuff is like molasses at 85 degrees F. That is when a good thick coating of oil is really needed; when the cam followers are grinding it out on the cams, the pushrods are grinding it out in their cups and the pistons are screeching along up and down inside the barrels. The thicker the goo, the batter.
- If Harley Davidson feel that their 50 - weight stuff is good enough for their air - cooled V-twins then it must, surely, be good enough for our far more sophisticated, better - designed, more modern, better - looking, better - performing and far more desireable air - cooled V-twins. Oops, that was a rather partisan comment!
- The oil smears on my concrete garage floor look better with 50 - weight than other types, and the stuff is so thick I can alomst peel it off the floor prior to its becoming soaked - in.
- Its detergent properties may prevent a buildup of sludge in the UFM.
- By using Harley oil I am justified in parking a VINCENT outside the local dealer's showroom in order to go in and obtain the stuff, with the result that half their employees will filter out to admire the machine. I will then have the opportunity to point out to them the various and sundry ways in which the Phils, when designing our fine machines back in the 30's, out - thought their American counterparts.