WARNING If you start to read this entry please read the whole thing. There are two different formulations of the Kendall GT-1 oil. Don't use the wrong one.

OK here is what I found on the compatibility of Kendall GT-1 High Performance oil ( not to be confused with Kendall GT-1 Motorcycle oil).

This quote is from this web site:  http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/

A member with the handle beanoil claims to have done the foot work.  

"I've sent an email to ConocoPhillips asking them which Kendall GT-1 20W50 oil they recommend using in a Gold Wing. Will post what they say.
Here is the response from Kendall R&D:

"Either product will provide the protection that your motorcycle requires. I would recommend whichever is easier to find locally.

The Kendall GT-1 Motorcycle 20W-50 meets the API SN engine protection and JASO MA1 friction requirements.

Kendall GT-1 High Performance 20W-50 has higher levels of ZddP and contains our Liquid Titanium(R) Protection additive. It also meets API SN and has JASO friction MA."

Now the thing to notice here is the difference in the name of the two oils referred too.

Kendall GT-1 motorcycle oil-----Bad for the LS650
Kendall GT-1 High Performance oil----Good for the LS650

So it sounds like the Kendall GT-1 HP has the acceptable amount of ZDDP and is OK for a wet clutch.

As an aside; I found out that Conoco/Philips bought out Kendall 10 years ago or so.
Do with it what you will. I, however, will use Kendall GT-1 HP in my scooter and never look back. It is easy for me to get, inexpensive and past personal reliability will let me breath easy knowing my scooter is splashing around in the good stuff.  

Oldfeller--FSO wrote on 10/23/15 at 16:50:35:

Define inexpensive.
I'm cheap.

Sounds like it's fine as long as the clutch doesn't slip and you're not riding when it's below 14F. I don't ride much when it gets below 30. Let us know if the clutch acts up.

Conoco/Philip R&D says it is compatible with wet clutch operation. And ya, I'm a winter rider too but to a point.

Not sure on the line of questioning here so I'll just give it a roll here and see if I cover it. The oil is Kendall 20/50W GT-1 High Performance.  The big twin I was referring to are in fact Harley's - specifically pre evolution. I know nothing of the ones built after the Shovelhead.

Why we don't use "Harley recommended" oils in the Savage.    

First, the weight is wrong.   Yes, I know you can do it, but a 20w50 weight oil is too thick for the Savage, winter or summer.   Stick with the 40 weight oil the Savage was designed for and you will get what you should have for piston drag and performance losses due to oil factors.   In house testing with 20w50 weight oils showed the head and the sump run hotter with 20w50 simply because it causes friction loss due to the higher viscosity and the thicker oil is slower to release heat to the environment when pooled down in the sump.  In Verslagen's testing, 20w50 oils ran the head and the sump about 10 degrees hotter than the 40 weight oil did, just due to the increased viscosity.

Also, please realize that large Harley engines use a separate oil slump for their engines and any specialty formulated Harley type oils can contain moly and/or titanium additives at levels that would be a "friction modifier" contaminate in a wet clutch bike like a Savage.  

Plus, all Harleys use roller tappets in their valve train, which do not even have the sort of long dragging friction surface that we Savagers have to deal with.   A Harley oil simply misses the mark in a Savage engine.

What is "potentially wrong" with the Kendal oils bottled lately

Kendal is just a brand name now-a-days and the oil in the jug itself seems to change formulation without any real notice.   VOA evidence of oils running the gamut from simple car oils to real performance oils is found in BITOG, with the name on the oil jug remaining the same over the years.   Older seems to be better, but here is an example of a "lighter" VOA.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3314209/Kendall_GT...



Seriously, this one seems to have been a standard car oil by its VOA.   Tons of calcium, not much zinc and phosphorus (car levels).  

Does Kendal do a better job with its real racing oils?  Perhaps.  But since the RACING OIL bottling changes frequently and it isn't widely available it becomes a very moot point.  

Also remember that real racing oils do not have detergent additive packages in them, because real racing oil is changed after every single race and detergent packages rob hp from a pure performance racing engine and are left out of all real racing oils on purpose.


Supply of the Kendal oil at local outlets is somewhat irregular of late as the retail sales minded people bottling it only bring out the Kendal brand name when they have a particular reason to do so.  

For example, bulk amounts of Kendal oil bought on $3-$4 close-out pricing seems to be the reason the oil gets tested at BITOG of late.  

So, Conoco/Philips does bring out new oils each season, generally formulated to current car standards and some of them get bottled as Kendal, with varying results.  

The fact Kendal has at least two grades of Kendal 20w50 running under the same name and weight should signal a "beware when buying".

Kendal is an old school CAR OIL brand name, so it has buyers who want it to do what it used to do back in the day, but they may find they have actually bought a modern SL to SN car oil in an old school Kendal named bottle once they have it tested.

What was not clear until reading this  http://www.racereadyproducts.com/oil--lubricants/kendall-gt-1-motor-oil/ was that even the the very best Kendal racing oils are not full synthetics, but are only a dino/synthetic blend.   This means they do not have the full heat resistance of say a Rotella T6.  

Kendal is very careful NOT to mention that it is a dino/syn blend on the bottle, but allows your imagination to fill in all those blanks.

They are very careful NOT to mention that the 40 weight Kendal oil is a Car/Passenger Truck Oil ONLY, either.   It is not even an HDEO oil.

What?   Where did you see that little nugget?

Race Ready also brings out the point that NO KENDAL 40W OIL has the amount of zinc in it that we need in a Savage engine, Kendal reserves the "zinc fortification" only for the 20w50 racing class semi-synthetic blend.  

Paying "suggested retail" at $11.00 a quart for Kendal is very expensive as you can buy Rotella T6 full synthetic for half that price at your local Walmart.

Buying Kendal on sale at $5.00 a quart means you are paying Rotella full synthetic T6 cost for a Kendal synthetic/dino blend.

And as JOG reminds us, a quart of Rotella triple protection dino oil costs less than $4.00 a quart normally at your local Walmart.  
(buy it by the gallon, please -- its cheaper)




Since Kendal apparently gets reformulated frequently, you need to check carefully what you are getting before you go buy some.


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So, in conclusion, Kendal doesn't go on the Savage recommended list because it is too expensive and it gets very mixed VOA reviews over time (has different formulations on sale at the same time) and for the ongoing heavy use of a friction modifier (liquid titanium).

the stuff in blue is good enough to use plus the last item in the red section



OK, only the stuff in blue and the last item in the red is good enough at a minimum (un-augmented) for a Savage engine.   All the rest require bumping.

An item of concern is Rotella Triple Protection (dino)  --- it may have slightly less zinc and phosphorous than it used to.  Used to be a solid 1,200 ppm, now may be down to a thousand.

This analysis is from the older flat tappet Jeep people, who are faced with our same valve train issues as we are.

Read the whole thing for good background and a right mental picture.

http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/rotella-worlds-first-ever-combined-hair-oil-f...

He's got a sense of humor (which makes it pleasant enough to read) and so far all I have read is technically spot on.

He also tests Walmart Supertec dino HDEO oil as last item in the red approved dino oil listing, and he rates it as better than Rotella Triple Protection for Zinc and Phosphorus content.   This was unexpected, as Rot T3 is weaker than it used to be, but this is the second time I have seen this information from independent sources.