Spagthorpe Motorcycles...brought to mind by a conversation with MaxPete

[Phil Tarman]

My memory was jostled enough to cause one of the least frequently mentioned marques to pop to the surface of the toxic pit I call my mind. You may be interested in it. Back at somewhere around '06-'07, a friend of mine revived his 2-tone '87 C10 Concours by repainting it in a lovely silver-blue color, removed the Kawasaki brand from wherever it was and had a professional paint on some dark-blue pin-stripes and the logo of the world-renowned Spagthorpe Motocycle Company.

If you haven't heard of Spagthorpe, you're probably not alone. Here is one source of information: Spagthorpe Motorcycle Company (archive.org)

In this image you can see the Spagthorpe corporate symbol:

 

[MaxPete]

Thanks for sharing that Phil - in my assessment, the Spagthorpe Motorcycle Company appears to be a firm whose best years are still ahead of it.

 

[97af]

Dangers of Synthetic oil......My thoughts exactly!

 

[MaxPete]

 

[MaxPete]

...much as I hate oil threads, but since you raised the issue, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with using synthetic oil in a motorcycle engine.

The problem comes if you select an oil which contains an additive package that reduces friction (sometimes called a friction modifier). You can spot one of these "friction modified" oils by looking at the API label on the back of the bottle / can. If it says anything like "Energy Conserving", "Resource Conserving" or "Low Friction" then do not use it in your motorcycle engine.



The additives in those specific types of oil usually make wet clutches (which most motorcycles use) slip - and so while they do not hurt the engine itself, they will put you on the shoulder of the road with a slipping clutch.

Some people have found that flushing the engine with the correct oil a couple of times can restore clutch function but it may be necessary to actually change the clutch plates. This isn't a particularly difficult job on most bikes, but it is not normally thought of as a roadside repair.

 

[97af]

Did you even read it??????????????? Here is the link to it if you didn't..... https://web.archive.org/web/20081008144111/http://www.spagthorpe.com/maintenance/synthetic.html Oh man...... The blurb on the site was a funny... Not a back of the Mobil1 bottle friction modifier spec discussion. Its all good Max. We all need some warm weather. Now go change your oil to non-syn....and watch that filter length. Another funny

 

[Phil Tarman]

Clearly the best thing that can be said about synthetic oil, as far as Spagthorpe is concerned is that it hides your 13mm socket. If it hid the 10mm socket, motorcycling, as we know it would come to an end.

 

[MaxPete]

Did you even read it??????????????? Here is the link to it if you didn't..... https://web.archive.org/web/20081008144111/http://www.spagthorpe.com/maintenance/synthetic.html Oh man...... The blurb on the site was a funny... Not a back of the Mobil1 bottle friction modifier spec discussion. Its all good Max. We all need some warm weather. Now go change your oil to non-syn....and watch that filter length. Another funny

HUH?

Oh - maybe thats an NT-specific issue. Sorry if I muddified the fuzzification....

 

[97af]

Clearly the best thing that can be said about synthetic oil, as far as Spagthorpe is concerned is that it hides your 13mm socket. If it hid the 10mm socket, motorcycling, as we know it would come to an end.

Or my Motion Pro t-Handle with a deep well 8mm on it would be problematic..................