donhere wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:04:when I purchased the bike about 6 mos ago in one of the saddle bags was a bottle of Havoline 10w40 and since the filler cap has stamped into it 10w40, and after contacting the previous owner and was told yes that was the oil he used, and Havoline is a good brand, I stuck to that oil.
Thanks
Don
Hi Don, welcome to the group!
I've only been lurking and then posting here for less than a year, so I don't know anything about the old "oil wars" threads the old frats (sp?) speak of...
But seriously... I haven't checked the specs on Havoline in a long time, but many years ago it was known to be a
very high detergent oil.
I would highly recommend getting a motorcycle spec oil in there. As someone mentioned, for various reasons, some auto spec oils don't do well with cycles.
Havoline's high detergent was known in days of old for keeping an engine extremely clean inside, but it was also widely known that you didn't start using Havoline in an engine after running other oil(s) for a long period; because the high detergent would break down old sludge and let it float through everything in the engine. Yet, some folks used it as a one shot, short term engine cleaner before switching back to another lower detergent high quality oil. Kind of like flushing a radiator, but they knew it was at risk of clogging something in the oil system passageways.
Someone might ask how come I think I know something about oil(s)... One of the uncles I was named after (first name) worked most his life in the oil mixing building at the old DX Sunray refinery here. Later, my B-i-L worked the same department after DX became Sun Oil. I've been around the oil business in some way most my life, and some of this stuff just rubs off on you (pardon the pun).
Which brings up another point about Havoline... I don't know about nowadays, but years ago, Havoline had a distinctive
stink to it that many (including me) didn't like.
Anyways... Change to motorcycle spec oil; adjust the clutch / cable and see what you got. Hopefully, you can get some more miles out of the existing clutch pack, but I'd at least be looking ahead into the probability of a cluth job. They aren't that hard, or expensive, if you DIY.