Rebuild A10

[broom34]

Hi
     Just rebuilt the engine (A10 1957 plunger)and I'm wondering which oil to use for the first 5oo miles , some say use running in oil or Castrol XXL40 . After  the running in period I intend to use Castrol X30 or similar   I Would value your opinion.

Richard

[orabanda]

From one Richard to another,
I use Penrite Running - in oil for the first 500 miles, then replace with Penrite Enduro which is a multigrade formulated for "classic" aircooled engines, and with zinc addative.

Richard

[Richard]

Yet another Richard,
I fitted a 2cv filter kit and and ran mine in on semi-synthetic,and use that to this day
Richard

[RichardL]

I thought I had better chime in here, just for Richardian continuity. I can't argue with the more experienced Richards who have commented above, but  I run good ol' Castrol 20-50 GTX. More than one non-Richard on the forum advocates using really cheap oil that you change around every 250 miles (or was it 500?, I can't remember) because it is the stuff the oil picks up that causes engine damage and not the differences between grades.

Richard (L.)

[broom34]

Hi Folks
            Just writing to thank you all for your replies ,they where very helpful, now I Can move on with the rebuild,Thank You.

Richard

[muskrat]

G'day Paul, I'm not a Richard. The most important thing is to change it early. I only do 100 miles first then again at 500. Did my first last week and was glad I did. The magnetic sump plug was covered in iron powder so the new spin on filter was changed as well.
Almost all of the particles found in the oil of a rebuilt motor come from the bore and rings and act as grinding paste on everything else.
I use 20/50 Valvoline.
Cheers

[BSA_54A10]

Just for the record, I used to be very fussy with the grade & brand of oils that went into my Beesas.
However hundreds of thousands of miles have reversed the original ideas.
To a large extent the grade ( & brand) is irrelivant provided that you change it regularly.
In fact you can not change it often enough, so now every thing from the WM20 to the RR Silver Shadows gets Valvoline 20W50 . This is simply because I can get it for $ 2-3 Aus / litre so am happy to dump the oil in the bike almost every time it hits the road as we are talking all of $ 10.00 .
However when you start to run "speciality" oils at prices up to $ 30.00/ liter then you start to run them for too long and with out additional filtering that is curtains for your motor.
The other thing is the time.
Change the oil AFTER you come back from a ride, not before. This will ensure that as much of the crud as possible is in suspension so it will be dumped  when you change it.
Put an after market sump on the bike with a removable drain bolt ( magnetic is best ) and fit it so that the bolt is facing to the left ( side stand ) side. This will allow you to dump the oil with the bike on the side stand and also prevent it from lubricating the contact patch of the rear tyre should the worst thing happen .