Replacing Rotella for Silkolene

[Woodruff]

Hello All, I'm new to the Rotary 'fraternity' and will have many questions. I apologise in advance as I'm sure they've all been asked before....many times. I purchased my 'un-moly'd' Commander last week. It's only done 2,000 miles and is in very good condition. (as it should be) The bike starts and runs well so I want to keep it in good condition for as long as possible before getting it moly'd. It's got Rotella in the tank but I'd like to switch to the Silkolene Synthetic.Is there any easy way to drain the tank? (Other than a big syringe)Does it matter if there's a little Rotella left in the tank when I refill with the Silkolene?Thanks in advance. Any tips are welcome. Rgds Keith

[Dell Boy]

I have mixed different oils with no ill effects but whatever you do is at your risk. Why not carry on running it on Rotella? It is my experience that at around 28,000 miles the engine will require Moly treating so you have 26,000 miles to go. Derek.

[Interpol2471]

I drained my oil tank with an oil drain pump as you say and got most of the oil out and had no issues changing over. I have found the silkolene to run cleaner and I also use Activ8 to help protect the engine.Good luck and I guess this is the blue one from up North?Welcome Paul

[Woodruff]

Many thanks Gents.Actually this is a grey one from Leeds.I don't know where the blue one from ebay has gone.CheersKeith

[MrB]

Hi Keith,I changed my IP2 to run on Silkolene. Here's a question I found on the Forum via the Search facility ('oil change' found it):MrB wrote:as it is a synthetic oil, does the oil system have to be flushed or is silkolene fully miscible with Rotella?Hi Johnny,Welcome to the forum and to your brother rotaristas (are there any rotaristettes ??).Synthetic and mineral oils shouldn't be mixed so the usual thing is to empty the tank as much as possible, suck out the dregs in the bottom, and refill with Comp 2. Flushing is not necessary. The oil outlet is above the bottom of the tank so you may find water and gunge that has collected there over the last 20 years.With the engine running, the new oil will pass down the oil feed pipe without mixing with the old, and you'll end up smelling much nicer and probably lasting longer (but a little poorer).

[Rotor 1]

Hello to everybody ,First to the question where the blue one went from ebay, well it's gone to Holland.I am know finally a proud and happy owner of a Norton rotary.So this is a useful site with many good tips and tricksDickHolland

[John]

I have done this by syphoning out the rotella with a hand operated plastic syphon on my F1 TT although there was a still a small bit left in the bottom and then I filled the oil tank up with Silkolene. After doing this I've noticed now that the oil supply tube from the tank to the oil pump may have no oil in it although I'm really not sure to be honest as it's hard to be sure if the oil supply pipe has oil inside or not due to the colour of the pipe. How can I be sure if it has oil inside or not and if any air got into the oil supply line during this process does it even matter? i.e Would any air in the supply line be cleared out swiftly upon start up once the oil pump starts running or have I now made a job for myself requiring the oil pump to be primed? If so how do I prime the pump/clear any air bubbles? Many thanks / John

[Richard Negus]

John,
It's possible that the original oil that you've removed was clear whereas Silkolene is dark red and easily visible in the pipe. If you're not sure there is oil, even clear oil, in the pipe then it's better to bleed the pipe until you can see Silkolene at the oil pump.
If it is actually air in there, the pump will not self-bleed and you risk damaging the engine due to lack of oil.

Remove the r/h vent panel, take out all the M5 screws holding the right side of the front fairing, carefully pull the fairing away from the engine, and remove the six M5 cap-head screws holding the oil pump cover plate to the engine. At the rear underside of the pump is the oil feed union with an 8mm hexagon head. Slacken this a couple of turns and oil will slowly drip out. Wait until the oil turns red, indicating Silkolene has arrived, and tighten the union screw again.
Re-assemble the pump cover, fairing side panel, and then the r/h vent panel.

[John]

Many thanks for the quick advice Richard, much appreciated, I’ll definitely do that as it sounds straightforward. I didn’t want to start it until I was 100% sure of everything.

Is there any gasket on the oil pump cover that would need replacing? I have seen a picture of an F1 oil pump which has a phillips head screw near the two outlets, does that screw also serve a purpose with bleeding? On the same subject is it a good idea or not to mix this silkolene classic 2t premix in the F1 TT petrol tank (as well as the oil tank) and if so at what ratio? Also on the F1 bikes if any air ever got past the pump and into the two lines from the pump itself to the engine would that air naturally get bleed through as the pump rotates and pushes oil up through the pipes or would that require manual bleeding as well (worth doing at the same time while I'm in there for peace of mind?)

[Richard Negus]

Is there any gasket on the oil pump cover that would need replacing?
No gasket, it doesn't need to seal
I have seen a picture of an F1 oil pump which has a phillips head screw near the two outlets, does that screw also serve a purpose with bleeding?
That will bleed the pump only, but is really too slow to bleed the line as well. I doubt the pump will be dry, unless a previous owner ran it out of oil
On the same subject is it a good idea or not to mix this silkolene classic 2t premix in the F1 TT petrol tank (as well as the oil tank) and if so at what ratio?
Not recommended as it will only create more exhaust smoke and possibly more prone to plug fouling.
Also on the F1 bikes if any air ever got past the pump and into the two lines from the pump itself to the engine would that air naturally get bleed through as the pump rotates and pushes oil up through the pipes or would that require manual bleeding as well (worth doing at the same time while I'm in there for peace of mind?)
Those two lines will self-prime as they're on the pressure side of the pump.

If you haven't already run the engine and didn't hear it running when you bought it, the engine internals may be dry if it's not been used for a while.
If so, you really need to inject a small amount of Silkolene down the spark plug holes, engage 5th and turn the wheel backwards to distribute oil over the rotors and side faces. When you start it, there will be clouds of smoke so warn the neighbors not to call the Fire Service!
R.

[John]

Agreeed, it's a running bike though which I've owned a long time and just prior to changing to silkolene I have already put oil down the plug holes and hand turned then later spun it plugs out (and grounded) as per the routine so no problems with it turning over.
Can anyone help on my follow on questions above? Many thanks/