Hello,
You’ll notice by my signature below that I am an employee of Chevron Global Lubricants. I am a training specialist and field engineer for our North American lubricants division. I originally worked for Amoco at the R&D facility before moving into marketing, and while in that role, Chevron bought our lubricants business right after I moved to Florida.
All in all, I have more than 34 years of experience in fuels and lubricants testing, development and tech service support.
I own three motorcycles that I either drive on the street or race. What I wanted to share with you today is my experience with my drag bike.
It is a Yamaha Roadstar Warrior. Originally built as a power cruiser, but now it is stretched, slammed and built to run on E-85 fuel and nitrous oxide. I have taken this bike from a fun street cruiser to a beast that wants to jump out from under me every time I snap the throttle.
The engine is putting out more than three times the horsepower it was originally built with, and with the highly oxygenated fuel, nitrous, and severe use, I have been battling cylinder and piston ring distress for a couple of years. Essentially, whenever I did a teardown, there was evidence of streaking of the Nikasil-lined aluminum cylinder, essentially a scuffing situation that is aggravated by the high cylinder pressures and fuel dilution.
Since Chevron does not make motorcycle oils, I have had to try many of the “other” different motor oils, all synthetic. To make a long story short, I should have read your white paper on motorcycle oil testing. It would have saved me at least three premature teardowns.
Bottom line — the AMSOIL Synthetic Motorcycle 20W-50 has completely solved my problems. I have been running it for over a year now, and compression and leakdown have stayed at the exact level as when the engine was freshly rebuilt. This weekend, I tore down the top end to try a new piston ring combination, and the cylinders had absolutely NO sign of streaking or other wear-related distress.
Also, all other clearances, including valve lash and valve guide and bearing have stayed the same. This is truly remarkable.
In my training endeavors, I run into a lot of end users who are high performance junkies just like me. I have no problem sharing my experience with the AMSOIL products.
Thank you so much for the great product.
Best Regards,
Sam Vallas
Training Specialist – Chevron Global Lubricants
Advanced multi-functional formula for both domestic and foreign motorcycles. Excellent in air-cooled motorcycle engines due to high heat resistance. Can be used in engines, transmissions and the primary chaincase. Not recommended where an API GL-4 or GL-5 gear oil is required.
