Oh we use 10/40...check what they use!!

[fatal]

A pal of mine who lives in Edinburgh contacted a fairly local motorcyle workshop to book his Stelvio in for a service. He asked what engine oil they used, he was told 10/40 ..he told them that the Stelvio needs 10/60 as stipulated by Moto Guzzi, he was astounded by the reply that they use 10/40 on Guzzis. Apparently they are familiar with the Moto Guzzi brand, he is supplying his own oil for the service now.
This isn't the first time I've come across some Guzzi workshops stating that they use 10/40, however these establishments also serviced the usual water cooled jap bikes so probably just have a large drum of 10/40 in stock. It may be prudent to check before booking it in.

 

[Rafael]

Same thing happened to my buddy with his Stelvio. And the dealer has been with guzzi for 50+ years. This dealer has a reputation for not caring about guzzis. But they have new mechanics that are supposed enthusiasts now.

 

[Mackers]

Wouldn't have thought it would matter in Edinburgh, Scotland. But Edinburgh, South Australia - that's a different matter!
PS the former is a very pleasant city. I was there last October. The latter is where my Chief is from.

 

[fatal]

Wouldn't have thought it would matter in Edinburgh, Scotland. But Edinburgh, South Australia - that's a different matter!
PS the former is a very pleasant city. I was there last October. The latter is where my Chief is from.

Hi Mackers, I have to agree Edinburgh is a pleasant city, in fact if I had to live in a city within the UK ( I'm a country boy at heart and live in the sticks), Edinburgh would be my first choice, closely followed by York, both great places to wander around with loads of history and fantastic old buildings (York minster is incredible)
Enough of the tourist info I understand what you're saying about the difference between the two different Edinburghs in terms of ambient temperature, but as I understand, as per a posting on this forum by Pete Wossisname the engines on these new 8 valves run particularly very high, so require the 10/60 full synth regardless of the ambient temp.
I find it rather worrying that some workshops are so 'blase' about engine oil.

 

[Penis Rotor]

The main cooling galleries run around the exhaust valve seats. As gasses exit the valve they are not a lot cooler than an oxy-acetalyne flame. The reason the engine doesn't simply melt is that these extreme temperatures are only experienced for a small part of the cycle. Immediately the piton start to decend the volume of the chamber increases and pressure and temperature start to drop BUTthere is still a lot of heat there and the exhaust valves and seats absorb a lot of it. The valves dump the heat from the exiting gasses when closed and through the guides. The oil passing through the galleries absorbs eat and transports it away. It has to work hard and what prevents it breaking down will be volume and therefore a smaller amount of time for it to absorb heat as it passes through. The same argument works slightly differently with the under-piston sprays.

Whilst lower viscosity ratings will increae the risk of boundary lubrication and imply because they will have less mass will be able to ransport less heat it is my belief that the main ingredient i the ability of full ester oils to withstand breakdown due to heat. They will continue to be able to lubricate long after a conventional mineral oil has turned to gloop.

Basically, the oil in these engines is worked hard. 10/40 full synth may be fine. I'm in no rush to stick it in my engine though! YOMV....

Pete

 

[stromcat]

Ok heres a question for you,without wishing to start an oil thread war.I had a GS1150 before I saw the light and bought a Guzzi Stelvio.It had an air cooled engine with the exhaust valves cooled by engine oil (so called oil cooling).How come they were happy using any old mineral oil,whereas the Guzzis need expensive fully synthetic? Similar capacity,similar architecture,similar rev range etc.Not questioning Moto Guzzi in any way,just curious to know why.

 

[davem]

I agree oilhead beemers seem a lot less complicated in their requirements than the CARC Guzzis. My R1100S used 10/40 oil had no sensors scattered all over the place and used a manual throttle lifter 'choke' rather than the dreaded stepper motor. But that was 1990's technology and emmisions standards so maybe you can't get away with the simplicity of old.
On the dealer front It just confirms my opinion of a lot of garage work- crap. The only thing I take my Breva 1200 to the dealer for is to set the fuel injection up. If I had a VDST they wouldn't even get that. The last time it went in during the warranty period the exhaust header clamp nuts and hugger bolts came loose and fell off.
The irony is unless you have a full dealer service history the bike isn't worth anything.

 

[Phang]

Ok heres a question for you,without wishing to start an oil thread war.I had a GS1150 before I saw the light and bought a Guzzi Stelvio.It had an air cooled engine with the exhaust valves cooled by engine oil (so called oil cooling).How come they were happy using any old mineral oil,whereas the Guzzis need expensive fully synthetic? Similar capacity,similar architecture,similar rev range etc.Not questioning Moto Guzzi in any way,just curious to know why.

I went through the similar path, owned a R1150R before I bought a Griso 8VSE

IMHO, the boxer is a less stressed engine comparing to the Guzzi Quattro Valvole mill.

R1150GS makes 62.5kW
Stelvio makes 80.8kW

Difference of 18.3kW, if we take the theoretical internal combustion engine efficiency of 18% ~ 20% there will be an extra 78kW (about 65 toasters) of waste heat to dump in Stelvio’s engine at full power.

Phang

 

[fatal]

Ok heres a question for you,without wishing to start an oil thread war.I had a GS1150 before I saw the light and bought a Guzzi Stelvio.It had an air cooled engine with the exhaust valves cooled by engine oil (so called oil cooling).How come they were happy using any old mineral oil,whereas the Guzzis need expensive fully synthetic? Similar capacity,similar architecture,similar rev range etc.Not questioning Moto Guzzi in any way,just curious to know why.

I too came to moto Guzzi from a BMW R1150GS. In the six years and 30,000 + miles I owned it, Rock oil 20/50 semi synth was the only oil it was fed, I also used the same stuff in my Harleys and they run very hot, especially the rear cylinder. The same oil goes into my 1990 BMW R100GS, but it's Rock oil 10/60 full synth for the Stelvio.
I'm happy to use the 10/60 as people better qualified than me recommend it, however I would have been tempted to use 20/50 semi synth (albeit changing it at 3000 mile intervals) prior to reading Pete Ropers comments last year (or was it earlier?)