castrol r40.

[a10 bobber]

Hi all, dont shoot me down please as i have tried searching for the answer on the forum.Would i be able to run my golden flash on A40 safely? It gets regular sunday blasts and will be going to the occasional longer distance rallies.
  Also, what is the procedure for clean out of the old mineral oil in preperation.do you have to flush every last drop out with petrol or something?           
 Thank you for any advice or help in advance.
  Regards Paul.

[Topdad]

Hi Paul, is this the modern day castrol "R" ?  if so I beleive that the change over needs to be  pretty intensive cleaning wise . I think complete strip down of engine is the safest way . A mate of ours,many years ago used to prep/repair manxes for Keith Eccles and that was what he was always advocating even if the "r" was left it started to coagulate and could restrict oilways , you only had to look at old drips to see how sticky it would become.  Wiser heads than mine will either confirm my worst thoughts or not , but if so why not stick with the best oil you can afford and if you long for the smell just put a couple of spoonfuls in a full tank of juice .Hang on I'm forgetting the shitty supposed "petrol" we now use don't know how that would mix so hang on for other comments Best wishes BobH.

[a10 bobber]

Interesting reply thank you bob.
 It sounds as if it is more trouble than i am willing to go to.
 May i ask which is the best oil for me to use? Again i have searched and have only been confused.
 Cost is irrelevant.
 Kind regards Paul.

[muskrat]

 The only way I use R40 is at 500:1 in the fuel . Smells like racing fuel  .
As Bob said do not mix with mineral or synthetic oils. I use a cheap 20/50 and have an inline filter. Change every 1000 miles, and then put it in the car .
From their web
Castrol R40
Castrol R40 provides the ultimate in lubrication. If the best possible performance coupled with reliability is the aim then the remarkable stamina and great film strength of Castrol R40 will provide a valuable margin of safety at ultra high engine speeds and temperatures.

A castor based lubricant which is primarily designed for the racing world; however its unique properties can also benefit private owners interested in high performance.

Never mix Castrol R40 with mineral based or synthetic crankcase oils
Cheers

[Topdad]

Paul, was hoping musky or one of the the other tech proficient would sort it out for you. In the meantime why not use a stright 4o wt until you decide ,castrol or Morris oils are okay but any reputable name will do . about £16 per 5 ltrs.
Musky, interesting aside about castor based lubs, during ww1 all allied pilots on rotary engined planes always sufered from the trot's big time due to inhaling and ingesting the castor oil from the engines virtual total loss system ,so don't put to much in or you could cause any township you roar through to have to run for the loo's, ha ha , regards BobH

[muskrat]

 Ahhhh, so that's why I get asked for so many comfort stops on our club rides. I remember caster oil was granmar's fix for belly ache and bungedupitis.
Cheers

[bsa-bill]

And it tasted vile.
We lived on a farm owned by the PCHA (poor children's holiday Assosiaction) a charity based around Newcastle (UK) (homeless children then was a much bigger problem than now.
The farm manager used to bring this stuff back from meetings, later it changed to "Virol" a much nicer product, don't know if anyone else ever came on this stuff, looked a bit like a light malt (not that kind) but still based on Caster oil (phew just about kept on subject)

[a10 bobber]

Thanks for the replies everybody. I must admit i wanted to run on R cos of the amazing smell .That aside, when racing 2stroke model cars,we used castrol A747 which is a castor mineral mix.I was told that castor didnt run away from hot spots so provided protection right where needed.Strange you cant mix castrol R with synthetic oil, when you can buy it mixed in a bottle?
 So to recap, it is safe to add a little to the fuel tank, it will smell nice and bring back brilliant childhood memories
  Regards Paul.

[muskrat]

Yes but no higher than 500:1 (2ml per Lt). It mixes with the modern unleaded fuel better than the old super which needed a cross linker (acetone).
Cheers

" it will smell nice and bring back brilliant childhood memories" only for those behind you 

[a10 bobber]

Good point well presented. But think of the joy i shall spread
 Starting her up in the garage could get habitual!
 I posted a video link that a previous owner put up,in my 'Hello chaps' thread.
 Regards Paul.

[jjbsa]

The ester-based all-synthetic oils are what the competition people use now.  They lubricate better than mineral oils in difficult situations.  The ones with higher zinc additives (e.g. ZDDP) work well with cam-to-cam follower pressures that are far beyond what we see inside BSA twins.  I'm moving my bikes over to 15W50 or 20W50 fully synthetic oils.  Because zinc additives are bad news for the life of catalytic converters, all mainstream oils are getting their ZDDP levels reduced to meet ever more stringent regulations, but you can buy ZDDP concentrates that will do a very good job on engines such as the BSA twins that don't have roller or rotating cam followers.  They are also a sensible thing to use after a rebuild with new parts, as they lessen the likelihood of initial cam scuffing and facilitate the buildup of hardened working surfaces.  Have a look at http://www.zddplus.com/ for an additive site, and http://www.redlineoil-europe.com/motoroil/index.asp?page=1&section=Engine+Oils%5F00007 for 3 pages on some US synthetics that have good data sheets.  I hope that helps.

I agree I love the fragrance of Castrol R, but I feel it's best to get it by adding it to petrol.  It is a hard job to clean out the innards of an engine that ran on Castrol R.  It was meant for racing motors that were taken apart every fortnight, before it had gummed up.  The strongest Castrol R smells I remember were at Brands Hatch in the '60s, when the last races would be a 500cc allcomers.  With about 40 Manx Nortons et al starting at the same time, it was almost eye-watering!

Added 2 minuts after I wrote it: I see most of what I said has been covered in a nearby topic - ah well...........

[a10 bobber]

Thats great info and food for thought.I just cant help thinking there must be better lube out there than the single grades that everybody used to use.unless they have improved those with technological advances.But thats another oil thread!
 I would like to know if adding R to the fuel at the above recommended doses is totally safe or if it will cause any ring gunking?It may seem childish, but for me it is one of the best smells ever.
 Apologies for any grammar errors,typing on a smart phone.
 Regards Paul.

[muskrat]

 G'day Paul. I've been running R30 at 500:1 in the fuel in all my bikes for at least 20 years with no ill effects in the motors or carbs. It does lower the octane rating of the fuel a tad but I add booster as well.
 I was hooked on the smell of methanol fuel and caster oil as a youngster at Sydney Showground speedway every week. I've still got a drum of 99.9% Indy grade methanol in the shed. That will also mix with fuel at a max of 20% without the need for a jet change. I know I'm a sick puppy.
Cheers

[A10 JWO]

I too have run all my bikes with a table spoon of R40, reminds of the days we used to drink in the Greyhound at Lea Bridge Road East London, along with the London Road Rats. In those days Barry Sheen was top of the pops and we used to follow the Transatlantic Easter Races. Better smell than Old Spice.

Memories

Colin

[a10 bobber]

Great nostalgic stories.My addiction started as a lad of around 6 years old.my dad used to take me up to Bovingdon airfield to watch his mate eric cadby run his sprint bike.i can't remember for sure the make of the bike but believe it was a bonneville.every bike up the strip that roared past ran on R .
 We also as a family regularly attended, as my father and grandfather competed, in auto testing events. The odd rally car competing would run on R, this mixed with the aroma of parched, tyre tortured grass and dust is a smell that will always stay with me.aside from that, the odd occasion a car or bike would pass you in the street running it, you'd stand there and breath as much in as possible until it faded.