[Technocrat]

So I simply ride/ drive is very low traffic situations.
And usually I take longer (far longer) routes just to avoid traffic.

Good to know that I am not the only one who does this

With the newer and extended drain period oils, 2,500 - 3,000 km oil changes are waste of good oil.

While I agree, My experience over the past years Plus talking to some veterans says that early oil changes go a long way in keeping your engine fit for a long long time to come. Besides I ride enthusiastically & rarely in economy mode, so its a must do for me

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by bblost

The oil btw is Castrol Magnatec.

Are you sure this oil is suitable for bikes?

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

I'v heard of Shoguns lasting more than that and less too.

Nulon... why would I even think about it?? But now that you mentioned it, I did use some PTFE based additive (in the 2t tank) when my Shogun was new. I actually wanted Nulon, but could not get it anywhere. Don't remember the brand now. Feel v guilty about it now, as I think about it... but I was a school kid with a new bike and I guess I fell for the advertising... :(

Right. 40,000 may be a mean figure.

As for Nulon, it was a famous product at that time. I have used it in all my 2T bikes. But it should be mixed in the petrol tank when you have just a couple of litres of petrol and not in the 2T oil tank. The procedure was as follows:

a) Decarb the engine first.

b) Start the bike and run it for a few KM to bring engine to operating temp.

c) Shake the can of Nulon (can size is different for bikes and cars) thoroughly, open it and mix to the petrol tank. The qty of petrol not to exceed 2 - 3 litres.

d) Start the bike and rip it for at least 10 KM, maintaining 80 - 100 KMPH as far as possible. Should be done on an empty stretch of highway. If you have to slow down for some reason, shift down to a lower gear and do the max speed for that gear - do 80 KM in 4th / 60 KM in third / 40 KM in second and so on till you can go fast again. The idea is to keep engine revs high. There will be a perceptible smoothness in the engine immediately after this. There will be a measurable increase in compression, as well as power. The process should be repeated once every 10K Km, ideally.

Shoguns came with a PTFE coating in the piston which will wear off after 10K KM, so Nulon should be used after crossing this KM. For a 4 stroke bike, it should be added to the engine oil sump and not the petrol tank.

If you wish, I can procure Nulon here and send it to you!

[bblost]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Are you sure this oil is suitable for bikes?

I use it in my Tbird.
Atleast 5 other long distance tourers use it in their bikes (all RE's).

No issues in the last 2 years of usage.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by bblost

I use it in my Tbird.
Atleast 5 other long distance tourers use it in their bikes (all RE's).

No issues in the last 2 years of usage.

Thanks. I read somewhere that car engine oils should not be used for bikes and vice versa. What type of clutch is employed in RE bikes?

[bblost]

Gansan.
While I love to talk and talk and talk about my bike and RE's in general. I guess we are moving way OT here.
Can you move on to the TB Service thread that I have created. The link is available in one of my earlier posts.

Lets leave this thread to the Honda Engines, or in general how to get maximum life out of an engine.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by bblost

Gansan.
While I love to talk and talk and talk about my bike and RE's in general. I guess we are moving way OT here.
Can you move on to the TB Service thread that I have created. The link is available in one of my earlier posts.

Lets leave this thread to the Honda Engines, or in general how to get maximum life out of an engine.

That was my intention too, my friend! I did not want anyone to pour a car's engine oil in their bike's sump after reading this thread. Generally bikes employ a wet clutch with the oil being common for both the engine and gear box, and the wrong oil can play havoc here.

I found your thread about the TB's service. It shows separate oils for gear box and engine, so this oil is suited for RE bikes.

[bblost]

Good Point.

The very reason why I love my bike. Everything in separate compartments. Working in harmony with each other.

Get yourself some very strong coffee.
Trust me, you will need it.
The coffee so strong that its preferably the same color as used engine oil.
and start reading
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...must-read.html

[Pretorian]

Originally Posted by Gansan

My Splendor has crossed 76950 KM and is still untouched. I expect it to cross 100,000 KM easily.

The only time my splendor did not start was when the engine got seized at 85K kms, got the engine serviced for Rs. 7k, now its on 1.2L kms, btw its a 1999 splendor and the baby still rocks

Cheers.

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Shoguns came with a PTFE coating in the piston which will wear off after 10K KM, so Nulon should be used after crossing this KM. For a 4 stroke bike, it should be added to the engine oil sump and not the petrol tank.

If you wish, I can procure Nulon here and send it to you!

Shogun with PTFE coating on the piston?!?! Never heard of that! Never heard of PTFE coating on any cylinder!! Are you sure? I do recall something about a plasma coating. Are you sure you aren't mixing them up?

And wearing off after just 10k km?! If ANY coating on cylinders or rings wears of that soon, it will likely increase tolerances and will lead to compression loss.

And thanks a heap for the Nulon offer. But I'm not gonna use it even if somone pays me to do so. I'd suggest you not use it either. PTFE has no business in an IC engine.

You have mentioned about a measurable increase in compression and power. Have you actually measured the compression no a gauge and the power on a dyno??

As for my adding that additive to the 2t tank, it was mentioned on the can to use it in 2t tank.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Shogun with PTFE coating on the piston?!?! Never heard of that! Never heard of PTFE coating on any cylinder!! Are you sure? I do recall something about a plasma coating. Are you sure you aren't mixing them up?

And wearing off after just 10k km?! If ANY coating on cylinders or rings wears of that soon, it will likely increase tolerances and will lead to compression loss.

And thanks a heap for the Nulon offer. But I'm not gonna use it even if somone pays me to do so. I'd suggest you not use it either. PTFE has no business in an IC engine.

You have mentioned about a measurable increase in compression and power. Have you actually measured the compression no a gauge and the power on a dyno??

As for my adding that additive to the 2t tank, it was mentioned on the can to use it in 2t tank.

That is what my mechanic told me, and I think he did say Teflon coating. It had to do something or other with extra tolerance required for the Shogun piston, I don't remember correctly after a decade. And he advised me to use Nulon after 10K Km.

I watched them measure the compression before and after Nulon treatment of one RX 100. They had a small gauge with a rubber tip which was inserted in to the spark plug thread after removing the plug. The rubber will tightly seal the gap and when the starter is kicked, it will show a reading on the dial. This was done both before and after, and the increase in compression was measurable. I don't remember the figures though.

[Raccoon]

^^^ Didn't get that - "It had to do something or other with extra tolerance required for the Shogun piston". Do you mean you had excess tolerance between the piston and cylinder which you felt you had to do something about?

There has to be some other explaination about the increase in compression you saw. Maybe the very fast riding heated things up and as metals expand compression readings can differ. Do you recall what the difference was?

And gawd... mechanics!!! Mebbe for them all kinds of coatings are Teflon coatings... not surprising!

Btw, since you have used the Shogun so extensively, can you tell us which oil you used for the gearbox? You never had any issue or part replaced in the gearbox, right? Ever replaced the clutch plates? I'm asking because of TVS's original recommendation, only Castrol CRB is available... that too with newer API ratings.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

^^^ Didn't get that - "It had to do something or other with extra tolerance required for the Shogun piston". Do you mean you had excess tolerance between the piston and cylinder which you felt you had to do something about?

There has to be some other explaination about the increase in compression you saw. Maybe the very fast riding heated things up and as metals expand compression readings can differ. Do you recall what the difference was?

And gawd... mechanics!!! Mebbe for them all kinds of coatings are Teflon coatings... not surprising!

Btw, since you have used the Shogun so extensively, can you tell us which oil you used for the gearbox? You never had any issue or part replaced in the gearbox, right? Ever replaced the clutch plates? I'm asking because of TVS's original recommendation, only Castrol CRB is available... that too with newer API ratings.

The Piston/cylinder of the Shogun had some extra clearance and this coating was for smoothness/prevention of rapid wear, I think. As I changed the bike a decade ago, I don't remember all the details now. But this is the gist of it.

The compression (both before and after) was checked on a cold engine. I only remember there was a positive difference in the reading, I don't remember how much.

As for your rant about mechanics, all I can tell you is this was no ordinary mechanic and could give the blushes to even an automobile engineer. He was a track racer himself and had won a few races in the early nineties. His speciality was bike mods.

I always used the Castrol CRB for the gear box. No gear box issues and no part was ever replaced. The clutch bell was overhauled around 30K, I think.

[Raccoon]

Cool. Thanks for the info.

You are lucky that you got such a mechanic. But I'd still take the stuff about Teflon coating and Nulon with a big bag of salt.

Btw, by overhauling, do you mean that you changed the clutch plates around 30 k km? I presume you had the original Suzuki fiber plates?

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Btw, by overhauling, do you mean that you changed the clutch plates around 30 k km? I presume you had the original Suzuki fiber plates?

I used the bike for about 8 years and there were no issues except the thirsty engine, which was to be expected. It was very reliable.

I don't think the clutch plates were replaced. The bill amount was quite small. Since I gave away the log book and the owner's manual to the new owner, I am unable to confirm this.