Todd S.'s 2005 BMW K1200LT

The K1200LT is BMW’s entrant in the “luxury touring” category and was introduced in 1999 as Munich’s answer to the Honda Goldwing. Upon seeing the photo, words like “plush” and “smooth” immediately came to mind. This looks like a motorcycle that leaves you feeling fresh as a daisy after 9 hours in the saddle.

The K1200LT is powered by an inline-four-cylinder 1171cc engine that delivers 118 horsepower and reaches 100kph in 4.4 seconds. Todd uses AMSOIL 20W-50 Advanced Synthetic Motorcycle Oil in the engine and AMSOIL Severe Gear 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube in the transmission and final drive.

When it comes to luxury, this unit has all the amenities to make your journey as comfortable as possible. Interesting features include:

• Heated seats (passenger backrest too!)
• Heated grips
• Electric adjustable windshield
• Electric-hydraulically actuated centre-stand
• Electric reverse aid
• Adjustable seat height
• 4 speaker Radio/CD Changer
• ABS Brakes
• Cruise control
• Two power outlets

Here is a walk-around video of a 2009 unit. For the most part, it is similar to Todd’s bike and gives you a 360 degree view of the shear beauty of the K1200LT.

Would you would like to submit an offering as our Ride of the Week? Just send us a photo and short blurb on any type of vehicle that you enjoy and that others may find interesting. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, snowmobiles, etc. are applicable. Your full name and location will be omitted. Feel free contact us at “info-at-oildepot.ca”.

Our answer is a qualified “yes”, but please read on.

All AMSOIL Synthetic Gear Lubes for automotive applications have the following recommendation on the label:

AMSOIL SEVERE GEAR™ is compatible with most limited slip differentials. If limited-slip differential chatter occurs, add AMSOIL Slip-Lock™ Friction Modifier Additive.

In many cases, limited-slip differentials perform just fine with only AMSOIL Synthetic Gear Lube and no extra friction modifier added. However, diff chatter can occur in some cases.

Our recommendation: Rather than take a chance, add 2/3′s of a bottle of AMSOIL Slip-Lock™ Friction Modifier Additive or 2/3′s of a bottle of your OEM friction modifier. The additive label may say otherwise, but as the AMSOIL Gear Lube alone is all that is needed in many cases, we find find that 2/3′s of a bottle is quite sufficient.

Limited-slip additive is inexpensive and there is no performance downside to this approach. You will simply eliminate the possibility of any irritating differential chatter.

What Exactly Does Friction Modifier do?

Limited-slip differentials contain clutches that automatically deliver more power to to a wheel that has traction and less to a wheel that is slipping. Friction Modifier additive eliminates noise that can occur when limited-slip mechanisms engage and disengage.

Here is a video produced by Toyota that discusses each type of differential.

Steve set the OSCA EZ Street class 1/4 mile record in 2011 (7.61 seconds) and he hopes to do sub-7.5 second runs at 190 miles per hour in 2012. To be a competitive in this sport requires much more than just pointing the car down the strip and flooring it. It takes immense driving skill to harness power of this magnitude AND be competitive in a sport measured by 1000th’s of a second. It also takes tremendous technical skill to build a car like this and dial in the proper setup on race day.

Fifteen years ago,  this unit was a bone-stock 5.0L Mustang that achieved a 14.6 second 1/4 mile in its first pass. Over his first five years of racing, Steve got the Mustang into the 9 second range. Around that time, Steve’s insurance company indicated that they were not interested in underwriting his racing endeavors, so Steve took the car off the street and it became a strip-only racer. Steve then modified the car for the “True Street” class (winning back-to-back titles) and then progressed to the “EZ Street” class.

Here are some of his notable modifications:

• Paul Silva Performance 302 CI engine
• Precision Turbo PT101/88mm single turbo
• 2500 intercooler
• PTC 9.5″ torque converter
• FatDog ladder bar 25.5 chassis
• Edelbrock Vic Sr Heads
• Edelbrock Super Vic EFI Intake Manifold
• FAST XFI Injection
• MSD 7531 Programmable Ignition
• AMS1000 Boost Controller
• Stainless Works headers
• Dynamic Glide Racing Transmission
• Double adj. shocks
• Aerospace Brakes
• Strange 9″ Rear End
• AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants throughout
• Race weight 3250 lbs

Steve's turbo-charged, inter-cooled Paul Silva Performance engine. This is what 1600 ponies looks like!

Here is Steve at the office!

Would you would like to submit an offering as our Ride of the Week? Just send us a photo and short blurb on any type of vehicle that you enjoy and that others may find interesting. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, snowmobiles, etc. are applicable. Your full name and location will be omitted. Feel free contact us at “info-at-oildepot.ca”.

What remains unchanged is that this product is the best choice for 2-cycle marine engines; even those with direct fuel injection (DFI). HP Marine is also suitable for the stringent Evinrude E-Tec Lean Mix Setting.

Let’s review which applications apply to AMSOIL’s two-stroke line:

Marine Engine:
Oil injection: HP Marine
Pre-mix only: Saber Outboard or HP Marine (at 50:1)

Personal Watercraft:
Interceptor or HP Marine

Snowmobile or Motorcycle:
Hard recreational:  Interceptor
Racing/highly modified: Dominator

Lawn/Garden/Commercial:
Pre-mix: Saber Professional

For more information, check out Which Two-Stroke Oil is Right for Me?

The video below is from Portland International Raceway on April 21-22, 2012. He is getting acquainted with his new BMW S1000RR and as you’ll see, Irnie reaches 292 km/h on the front straight. He even picked up a couple of wins in the process.

Our Ride of the Week for May 4th, 2012 is Digby B.’s 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1. The motorcycle industry considered the ’09 R1 to be a technical breakthrough because of it’s handling and revolutionary engine design. Yamaha boasted that the R1 was the “Ultimate Cornering Master”. The superb handling and tractable power made it a winner on the track and a runaway favorite amongst reviewers.

The heart of the R1 was a brand-new compact, 998cc, DOHC, 16-valve, liquid-cooled, 40 degree inclined, in-line four-cylinder engine with a “crossplane” style crankshaft. Digby has performed some considerable mods to this unit including:

• Leo Vince Factory EVO II SBK “Under Tail” Carbon Fiber Dual Exhaust
• ECUnleashed re-flash (re-programs stock ECU)
• DynoJet Power Commander V (modifies fuel injection/air-fuel mapping)
• GYTR/Yamaha Racing High-Flow Air Filter (with modified airbox)
• AMSOIL 10W-40 Advanced Synthetic Motorcycle Oil

This unit was fine-tuned on the dyno to optimize the ECUnleashed and DynoJet tuners in conjunction  with the exhaust and airbox mods. Digby’s unit delivers 158.02 horsepower and 76.88 ft.lb of torque at the rear wheel. The stock YZF-R1 puts out about 145 horsepower at the rear wheel.

We can certainly see why this beautiful rocket ship is Digby’s pride and joy.

Digby B.’s 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1

Would you would like to submit an offering as our Ride of the Week? Just send us a photo and short blurb on any type of vehicle that you enjoy and that others may find interesting. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, snowmobiles, etc. are applicable. Your full name and location will be omitted. Feel free contact us at “info-at-oildepot.ca”.

Why Does Mercury Recommend a “25W-40″ Motor Oil?

We wondered the same thing and we’ll offer 3 opinions on this.

First off, marine engines generally start in mild weather, so a “25W” oil would not be a hindrance for most start-up situations.

Secondly, something caught our eye in Mercury’s  description of their MerCruiser conventional 25W-40 product. One of the features listed: “Multi-viscosity 25W-40 oil formulated to eliminate thermal breakdown (no viscosity improvers necessary) under extreme temperatures and loads.”

“Viscosity improvers” are temperature-sensitive additives that prevent an oil from thinning out at high temperatures. Think of microscopic springs that stretch out as the oil temperature rises, slowing down the rate in which the oil loses viscosity. This is the only function of viscosity improvers. They bring nothing to the table in terms of actual lubrication.

The downside to using viscosity improvers  is that they are prone to mechanical shear. Over time they will shear down which compromises the engine oil’s ability to maintain its viscosity. The result can also be decreased wear control, oil consumption and depositing.

So back to Mercury’s declaration about not using viscosity improvers.  The stretch between “25W” (viscosity at low temperature)  and “40″ (high temperature viscosity) is not a big one. Were they producing a 10W-40 or 15W-40, they may have to use either a higher grade of base oils and additives or add viscosity improvers. This is not to suggest that Mercury is using sub-par ingredients, but not adding viscosity index improvers to a “25W-40″ is not a huge accomplishment. The bottom line is that by specifying this slim 25W-40 multi-viscosity range, it is much easier to produce a competent product with lower input costs.

None of AMSOIL’s high-quality synthetic engine oils employ the use of viscosity improvors.  When high quality base oils and additives are used, viscosity improvers are unnecessary, regardless of the viscosity.

The third reason we suspect that Mercury suggests an odd-ball viscosity like 25W-40 is that it’s not one you see everywhere. As it is relatively unique, Mercury customers may feel that it is safer to seek out the OEM product rather than take a chance on  aftermarket brands with a different viscosity number on the bottle. We have seen this ruse before with Polaris’s bizarre 2W-50 four-stroke engine oil for ATV’s and snowmobiles.

Why use AMSOIL 10W-40 Formula 4-Stroke Marine in place of Mercury 25W-40?

There is no downside to using this 10W-40 in Mercury applications. Remember that the “10W” signifies the oil’s viscosity at start-up, so you may actually have improved protection at start-up. At high operating temperatures, this oil is a 40 weight, so there is unsurpassed viscosity protection through a very wide temperature range.

AMSOIL 10W-40 Formula 4-Stroke Marine Synthetic Motor Oil contains the best anti-wear base oils and additives on the market. This oil can withstand extended periods of high RPM, high temperatures and extreme loads.

AMSOIL 10W-40 Marine carries the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) “FC-W”  (Four-Cycle Water) specification. This makes this product warranty-approved by four-stroke outboard/marine manufacturers.

A marine engine oil also has a job to do in the off-season and that is to prevent rust and corrosion. AMSOIL Formula-Stroke Marine Oils contain a stout anti-rust component that combats corrosion during storage and extended periods of downtime.

Last but not least, we can offer this product at a great price! Check out our wholesale options.

AMSOIL Formula 4-Stroke Marine Synthetic Motor Oil is available in 10W-40 and 10W-30.

We offer the complete line of high-performance AMSOIL Marine Products.

He has raced the new BMW at one event in Seattle and his initial impressions are that this bike is nothing less than astonishing. Marcel is quite impressed with the handling and suspension as well as the high-tech traction control and anti-lock braking systems. He tells us that the power output is completely out of this world. Early runs on the dyno are showing 182 horsepower at the rear wheel. Irnie made his name on under-powered, older machines and now that he has the latest technology and virtually unlimited horsepower at his disposal, we expect big things from him this year. We will be posting his race videos from time to time as the season unfolds.

Marcel Irnie and his 2012 BMW S1000RR

The Oildepot.ca John Deere 1028E is almost ready for storage.

A Few Things to Add

• While we fully agree that fuel issues are the most important consideration (by far) regarding storage, we differ with the video on one aspect. That is whether to empty the fuel tank or fill it to the top prior to storage. We prefer to store the machine with a full tank using fresh premium fuel and adding stabilizer. A full tank eliminates any air pocket in the tank that could be a source of condensation. We certainly do advocate turning off the fuel and running the carb dry to prevent the formation of deposits from degraded fuel.
• To prevent internal engine corrosion, remove the spark plug and spray in a shot of fogging oil or a few tablespoons of engine oil. Crank the engine over a few times to distribute.
• Some manufacturers recommend lubricating drive chains prior to storage. Check your owners manual for more information.

Why is buyer loyalty for this sector so low when fuel prices have been on the rise? Apparently the main reasons are twofold. Number one is high initial cost. Apparently it can take between 7 and 10 years to recoup the extra cost of hybrid car from the actual fuel savings. The second reason is a leap forward in the fuel efficiency of many conventional vehicles.  With the conventional vehicles offering comparable fuel economy to gas-electric cars at a much lower initial cost, consumers are  less inclined to participate in the hybrid trend.

See The Bottom Line on MSNBC : Hybrid owners unlikely to buy another one, study shows