Valvoline VR1 - The Oil We Run
When it comes down to oil everyone has there own brand that they are accustomed too.
Oil is a touchy subject but today I wanted to inform my readers and enthusiasts the type of oil that we run in our bikes as we receive a lot of questions revolving around oil type.
To keep this post short and to the point we have used many brands and types of oil but we have found one major brand of oil that gets the job done right.
Valvoline VR1
The oil that we use today in our own vintage British bikes is called Valvoine VR1 racing oil which is a perfect compliment for racing and stock engines that feature flat tappet camshafts, push rods without catalytic converters.
Zinc and phosphor are anti wear additives formulated in Valvoine VR1 to prevent premature wear within the engine which is exactly what these old vintage British motorcycles need.
Specifications
| Brand | Type | Additives | Price |
| Valvoline VR1 | Racing Oil (conventional) | Zinc (1300 PPM) | $6.99 - $32.00 |
Valvoline VR1 oil can be typically found at local auto parts store such as O'Reilly, AutoZone and Pep Boys with a multi-grade rating of 20/50W.
-Some auto parts store do not carry Valvoline VR1 oil. I went to a local Pepboys and they stated to me that they where going to stop carrying that line of oil.
For a more detailed and in-depth information about Valvoline VR1 oil please check out this link here.
Give it a try
The next time your vintage British bike needs to be serviced, check out Valvoline VR1 racing oil and give it a try- it's affordable and with its high zinc additive your engine will always be protected.
I hope you all enjoyed this quick post of the type of oil we use in our vintage Triumph, BSA and Norton motorcycles here at our shop.
For more information please feel free to shoot us an email or drop us a line.
Thanks reading - ride safe!
Classic British Spares
@Ross Thompson – Great, thanks for letting me know I will check them out.
Classic British Spares
@Jake Taylor – I couldn’t agree with you more! Thanks for reading and keep those Triumph’s on the road :)
Ross Thompson
Hi
Our Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group , London section, had a representative from a small Canadian oil company called Cam oil. They are producing oils with a high content zinc in it. At the moment they are concentrating on older car oils . But they have a very good website that explains alot with what is going on with the oils being used today. The website is www.camoils.com check it out, I have no connection with this company.
Ross Thompson
Darren Holmes
This is a great article, which sent me back down the “virtual rabbit hole.com”. I had done a lot of research when I purchased a 71 Commando and settled in on Castrol Actevo 20w50/4t. There are so many variables between the stated zinc/phos content and actual, etc. The article above sent me even deeper and I found some good info on the Valvoline VR1:
http://speedtalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31224
Lots of good back and forth but about half way down is some real empirical evidence, including load bearing capacity in PSI:
7. 10W30 Valvoline VR1 Conventional Racing Oil (silver bottle) = 103,505 psi
zinc = 1472 ppm
phos = 1544 ppm
moly = 3 ppm
8. 10W30 Valvoline VR1 Synthetic Racing Oil, API SL (black bottle) = 101,139 psi
zinc = 1180 ppm
phos = 1112 ppm
moly = 162 ppm
The Castrol Actevo wasn’t on that list but it’s a car group and and they weren’t looking at any motorcycle specific oils. I will definitely try the VR1 on my next oil change (maybe even the “blue” synthetic?).
A lot of guys on the NortonAccess site also recommend going with straight 50w – ANY THOUGHTS???
I am in SoCal so we never have any real winter conditions, in fact, I rarely need to use the choke on cold start.
Thanks again for all the great info,
Darren
Jake Taylor
Glad to see this thread and recognition of the VR1 product. It also gets used regularly in my 1967 Triumph TR4A as well as my two wheeled Triumphs.
Spreading the word to get others onboard helps in some small way to keep it moving off of the shelves at the local stockists, ensuring, hopefully, that remains part of their ongoing inventories.
Thanks again for the write up!
—Jake