What type of oil for my dommie?
 

I have been reading through some of the previous posts, and i was interested about the engine life of the dommie, and the type of oil to use.
Its seems that a lot of people reckon that the top ends go at 50,000 miles or so. Does using a different kind of oil prevent this?

My 91 dommie is on about 35,000 miles, and i change the oil / filter every 2-3,000 miles. (Runs fine at the moment) I have been concerned about the engine going in the near future, as everyone reckons they wear out. What kind of oil do people use then? synthetic / semi / car oil? I never bother with motorcycle oil, as it seems to be overpriced car stuff. Putting 10w 40 Mobil in my dommie has worked fine ever since i have had it.

I would be v.interested to hear any views on this.
cheers - Rob

10W40 is the right grade for the UK.
top ends generally fail due to poor oil pressure (level too low or oil feed too limited) or cold-start wear. the latter is wear that occurs when the engine is started from cold and is accelerated by thick oil at low temps(heavy oil with narrow temp range eg 20W30). esp in winter, warm the engine gently. I prefer to keep the bike upright to ensure the oil pick up is immersed, but this should just be superstition ;-)

10W40 is hard to find in eg Algeria so you have to be really gentle starting the bike with 20W30 after a cold night and it sounds "thin" at high temperatures during the middle of the day.

I can't comment on when Dommies go bang, but I hope not to find out to soon!