CX500 GL500 650 Global

Note:I'm as wary as the next man of,"Snake oils" and products making outrageous claims.


I normally run my Cxs with an engine additive called,"Molyslip",
I've used this for years.It does not cause any clutch slip and is a form of engine protection and reduces wear.It's based on sound the chemical properties of Molybdenum Di-Sulphide.

However for the past couple of weeks I've been running an experiment on my CX(I just can't leave well alone<grin>).It was using quite a bit of oil even after the re-build of the engine last year.No leaks,decent compression,good power,no smoke ever so have tracked it down through research to worn valve stem guides.I've looked into the various ways of repairing these as in the traditional fitting of new guides and valves but the cost could be well over £300($450 us ish) so I was just used to keeping an eye on the oil and topping up a lot.
As I have a spare running engine in my garage as a back-up my mind went back to an engine additive I'd used on an old smoky Renault 19 car I used to have.I only paid £100 for the car years ago and it ran well for the 1st year considering it had over 140,000 on the clock but then started smoking quite a lot and using lots of oil.I looked at some stuff to see if it would help as the car was not worth spending any real money on.I found this stuff,


Engine Restore

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RESTORE-worn-1-7-1-8-1-9-litre-engine-with-AMETECH-OIL_W0QQitemZ390024555900QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item390024555900&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Used it in the car and within 500 miles it started using less oil and all the power was back.Had to scrap the car eventually but the engine was still ok when I did.Bearing this in mind the other week I thought,"What the Hell" I'll try some in this CX engine.Well as the engine had been using Moly I had to flush it.I NEVER use engine flushing agents.I think they should be banned.I have screwed an engine up using them.I now just use cheap 20w50 cheap mineral oil as an engine flush.
Dropped old oil.Replaced with 20w50.Did 100 miles and dropped the oil again and added oil mixed with half a tin of Engine Restore(250 ml will do 1,000 cc).
Last week I did over 400 miles and tried not to thrash the revs to let it do it's job.I still had to top up the oil a little as the week went on.However last Sunday 26th 04/09 I had a nice ride out and did around 145 miles.
After letting the bike sit for half an hour I checked the oil level and for the 1st time since the engine build it used very little oil

As this is only a recent test and ongoing I will see if everything ok as I proceed over the riding season and see if anything changes,good,bad or indifferent.If it does do as it seemed to do on the Renault then I will be very happy.

Interesting Shep.

My 500 with 40,000 on the clock is burning oil. From the symptoms and experience with my 650ED, I suspect the oil control rings are on the way out.

On the subject of oil consumption, I have just rebuilt my 650ED engine with new Audi rings and modified pistons. Changed the BE shells whist I was at it, managed to get what is probably the last set of Brown shells left. Just running her in now, feeling pretty good so far. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUcv4A58BNQ for a quick listen.

Most times oil consumption can be traced back to leaking value seals. The engine restore products contain solvents that cause the rubber seals to swell, improving the seal and reducing the amount of oil running down the valve stems.

On the CX, changing the valve seals should be cheap and easy, no need to take the engine out.

In the case of my engines it's worn valve stem guides.Engine Restore does not contain anything for seals.You can get other products for that

Shep, can provide an update on how this additive has worked out in a CX/GL?

I bought another project bike about a week ago, an 83 GL650 with 10k miles. It has not been run for any significant time but I did perform a compression test. 123 psi on the left side, and 100 on the right - marginal. Squirting some oil into the right cylinder brought it up to 118 psi.

I'll probably give it a triple bypass but would rather not go much beyond that - it may be easier to just find another engine. If the additive works out that may be the way to go for some time.

Thanks for your insight.

It didn't do any harm but didn't seem to do a lot either in my case.I was trying to see if it would prevent me from having to buy new valve stem guides as my engines use excessive amounts of oil under load because of all the old parts I've used(I've been unlucky with Cylinder heads).It didn't stop it so I'm going to have to resort to new valve stem guides as this is the cause.I can't say if it helped with compression as both my engines are close to full on and have either new or nearly new rings in them and checked the bores etc and I glazed busted the bores on re-build and even now they check good.

I think I was being optimistic using it for valve stem guides because after a lot of research they are a law unto themselves e.g when worn,replacement seems to be the only way other than phosphor bronze inserts but I couldn't source the insert sizes and tools for our bikes

http://www.cylinderheadshop.co.uk/K-line.html

My local engineering company specializes in them and they could not find the gear to do them otherwise they would have done a pair of heads for around £60 UK which would have been a bargain.




For the cost of a can I think it may well be worth a go for compression.

Another product I've used for years in all my engines is Molyslip,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Molyslip-2001-sli ... 1c1086d473

Again it couldn't help with the Valve Stem guides but has always worked well in my engines to keep them slick and quiet(No clutch slip) so could help.As stated neither of these products have caused harm in both my engines and apart from the VSGs,are top performers both in economy and power.

Molybdenum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molybdenum_disulfide

is a known chemical compound and not to be confused with,"Snake-oil" products.It's even used as a dry lubricant in industrial 24/7 engines/pumps on bearings etc as it's virtually indestructible at the molecular level but only adheres to metallic parts thus leaving clutch friction plates alone.

Thank you for your comments. I may give it a try later this year.

It will probably be fall before I get deep into the project. In the meantime there are many parts to gather and things to research, such as this. Plus riding season is about to really open up - I try to do most of the heavy wrenching outside of peak riding season.

If you are not using it already try some Supermarket 15w40 made for car diesel engine oil.It's slightly higher viscosity and sheer factor may help.It definitely helps the gearboxes.