<-=- Club Bevel Heaven -=->

I have always used Castrol GTX 20-50w in my 75 860GT.
And I have never used a "motorcycle" oil...
Recently I was reading about some owners who use straight 50w.
Will running the mono-grade oil be better for the older engines?
I have developed a leak at the kickstarter shaft that I will deal with eventually but I wonder if thicker oil will
reduce the amount of leakage.
Bottom line: just want to use what's best for this old Ducati.

Ride Safe

Rob

Unless you are racing and/or want to take the time to warm the oil before you ride hard[ish] stay with the multi grade. I takes a loooong time to get 50wt. oil hot when you are dealing with a gallon or so. As for motorcycle specific you may want to consider it. Usually the oils contain more ZDDP[zinc] for better anti wear properties that car oils no longer have because of catalytic converter contamination issues. Moly is present in car oils and that can cause clutch slippage with certain oils.
Hoping this doesn't start a dreaded oil thread!

Thanks for the info.
I was talking with Steve and he mentioned that I need to stay with an oil with an "SG" rating.
The automotive oil I have been using (Castrol GTX) doesn't have this rating but the motorcycle version does.
So as you say, I'll switch to the SG rated motorcycle oil.

Ride safe,

Rob