oil weight for Vmax ?

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J

jinks

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I have been using AMZOIL 10-40 in my 98 max. A few I have made a run to the big City,...it is 90 miles away and the highway is new & double lane with very few curves. You can really get smoking. Most traffic is zooming along at 75mph with others going faster.
I have done this trip at 100 to 115 mph all the way. But I notice after a Round trip, my Max is 1/2 a quart down.
So is it -too light of oil ?
should I run 20-50 ?
OR.. is it because of the high RPM for extended periods ?

I never see any smoke out of the pipes at any rpm.:ummm:
 
No smell, no leaks, no smoke of any color. even If I rev it up in my shop...nothing.
 
jinks said:
No smell, no leaks, no smoke of any color. even If I rev it up in my shop...nothing.
Click to expand...



Pull your spark plugs and see if there is any evidence of burning oil.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I feel much better now? Apologizes.
My bike uses about 1 quart every 1000 miles which I though was a lot. Jinks is using about a quart every 200 miles. That is a lot. Make sure you keep it full. Sorry I have no additional advise. That said, I might go with the 15wx40 as suggested in my own bike, maybe it will burn less.
 
I use 15-40.
Plenty of guys run 10-40 and 20-50 also so I don't think that its going to make much difference.

Take the lid off your airbox and see if there are signs of oil in the bottom.
 
How are you measuring the half to quart low? On the center stand? Balancing the bike and bending down to look at the sight glass?
 
davesax36 said:
How are you measuring the half to quart low? On the center stand? Balancing the bike and bending down to look at the sight glass?
Click to expand...

Measuring bike with center stand.
If I ride the bike at 75 to 80mph it wont touch a drop all summer. At 100mph+ for extended periods, it does.
Checked the air box and there is a Very light film.
 
I would say that 90 miles to the pint is excessive and whilst changing to a thicker oil may reduce this it won't solve the issue.
Are you giving the motor time to get to operating temperature (5 - 10 miles depending on ambient temperatures) to get optimum ring sealing?
Cruising at high(ish) revs. before this won't help the oil consumption.

Make sure when you top up you don't over fill, just below the maximum is sufficient.

I'd be inclined to have a cylinder leakage test undertaken to ensure you have good piston to bore sealing but I suspect you have the answer to your conundrum....ride a little slower!

It would only add about ten minutes to your journey, your life expectancy will be extended and you won't have to change you underpants so often as you will have a little more time to avoid the inattentive tosser that pulls into your lane.
 
Yea slowing down would be would help, but I have this bike for 1 purpose, for speed. I just cant seem to restrain my self on that flat straight brand new stretch of black asphalt, LOL . Its just so tempting to twist the wick. I have been passed a few times last summer by much faster Sport Bikes . They flew by me like I was parked.! I'll do a comp & leak down & see what I come up with.
Now the oil level.....I was always filling it slightly Above the line. I guess its to high by what some of you have said.
 
Last edited:
I have had two Vmaxes over the years, both had stage 7 and piped and both consumed 1 liter on average between oil changes.

My second Vmax was pretty much brand new when I bought it and it consumed the same amount of oil as the first Vmax with 82,ooo miles on the clock.

But burning/consuming half a quart in a 100-200miles seems excessive.

Mike
 
My '85 never used enough oil to notice in 132,000 miles. Do an oil change a few times a year.. 4 quarts come out, 4 quarts go in.. I've been using Rotella for a few years now, with good results.
 
are the oil semi or full synthetic?
i had used motorex 10w40 semi but now at the shop we have changed to motul 10w40 fully synthetic.
will it be ok or clutch will suffer?

thanks
 
carrizog60 said:
are the oil semi or full synthetic?
i had used motorex 10w40 semi but now at the shop we have changed to motul 10w40 fully synthetic.

If you meant the Rotella 15-40w, it isn't synthetic. Keep in mind we are also lubing our transmissions with the engine oil. The high zinc
content is beneficial for that. Synthetic oil (Mobil 1) used by the previous owner caused me clutch slipping issues.
Click to expand...
 
well, I ran a Comp test - they are 185 to 190 . Plugs look fine. I'm switching to a different oil manufacture. There is no reason I should be using 1/2 a litre to 200 miles at high speeds. Unless that is the nature of the beast.
Still would like to hear from others that have actually ran their Max at 100+mph for Long periods of time, not just gunning it for 5 or 10 miles. Any one ??



May have found my problem. the oil I'm using "amzoil " is for V twin touring bikes, and is not suited for high performance high revving engines. gonna go to the bike shop & pic up some crotch rocket Oil. Something that's actually designed for harsh conditions & rpms above 4500.
 
jinks said:
well, I ran a Comp test - they are 185 to 190 . Plugs look fine. I'm switching to a different oil manufacture. There is no reason I should be using 1/2 a litre to 200 miles at high speeds. Unless that is the nature of the beast.
Still would like to hear from others that have actually ran their Max at 100+mph for Long periods of time, not just gunning it for 5 or 10 miles. Any one ??



May have found my problem. the oil I'm using "amzoil " is for V twin touring bikes, and is not suited for high performance high revving engines. gonna go to the bike shop & pic up some crotch rocket Oil. Something that's actually designed for harsh conditions & rpms above 4500.
Click to expand...

If you can find it.....Rotella 15-40 DIESEL oil. Literally THOUSANDS of Vmaxs have used it for years, with no issues. Stay away from synthetics, they will make you clutch slip.
 
I keep my oil between the lines on the oil window, no more than 2/3's of the way between the lines to be more specific. I have an oil breather line off of my oil cap to my air box which will pull some oil into the air box if I happen to overfill. 15/40 Rotella has been used since 2008 with great results.
 
If I were in colder climate driving, just hovering over freezing 0-10 celsius I might use 10-40. I use old dino oil since I had issue with the started clutch and synthetic oil. Castrol Motorcycle GP 20w50 seems to be nicely accepted by my '06 gearbox.
 
I was over talking to Len down the street. He races a Harley sportster at the track. Runs 11.8 in the 1/4 mile. He is sponsored by "lucas OILS". He swears by it. He said once I try it, I'll never go back. He gave me 4 quarts and said if it wasn't as good as he claimes.....I owe him nothing. Fair enough I thought. So I went home, dumped the Amzoil & poured in the Lucas. I let it warm up & I swear the motor was quieter hot. What I really noticed is how Quick & Hard the Clutch grabbed. I tried starting out in 2nd & 3rd,..and the motor just died,...clutch would NOT slip. I walked
over to lens place & paid him for the Oil.
lucas_oil_001.jpg
 
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