Four-Stroke Motorcycle Lubricant Performance: An Application-Specific Engine Test Development 2007-32-0077

In response to increasingly stringent emissions legislation, rapid advances in four-stroke hardware technology are leading to the development of new lubricant appetites and severities, primarily due to the motorcycle lubricant being common to the gear-box and clutch in addition to the crankcase. These changes are driving motorcycle and passenger car lubricant performance needs in different directions. Ultimately, this divergence of performance requirements may result in the need to use lubricants specifically formulated for motorcycle hardware, and a requirement for application specific performance tests.

This paper describes the development of a high-performance motorcycle engine test to generate application-specific lubricant performance data, including data logging a motorcycle on a race-track, designing a test-rig to run a dynamic cycle, and finally, replicating the race severity logged cycle in the engine test. This work is presented as a first step in a series of test developments to investigate, develop and provide proof of performance of motorcycle engine oil additives to meet the specific needs of the four-stroke motorcycle, both today and in the future.