Castrol Actevo Scent

[Sven]

Last night I changed the oil, and for the first time used Castrol Actevo.  It had a definite non-oil scent, almost like sulfur.    I don't know that sealed bottels of oil can go bad, but I bought it from Cycle Gear, which seems stock over frequently.

Has anyone else noticed this oil, or another brand having an odd odor?

[pmackie]

Without trying to alarm you, make sure you didn't end up with one or more quarts of Castrol Act-evo 2 stroke (you need the Act-evo 4 stroke). Unlikely, but the guy at the counter could have sold you the wrong stuff.

I am NOT familiar with this product, but a review of the Product Data Sheets and MSDS on the Castrol site does not indicate anything abnormal in what is disclosed. It looks like a synthetic blend, with typical adpack stuff. Nothing in it indicates where a sulphur smell might come from.

Usually Sulphur smell occurs in gear oils, and metal working fluids, as sulphur products are added for EP properties, but these don't normally get put in engine oils.

[Sven]

...make sure you didn't end up with one or more quarts of Castrol Act-evo 2 stroke (you need the Act-evo 4 stroke). Unlikely, but the guy at the counter could have sold you the wrong stuff.

It's the right stuff, I gave it a serious look-over and they do double check you at check out.   It was this: http://cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=&L2=&L3=&L4=&item=VAN_57-4712_G&tier2=266

I have previously used the Suzi OEM stuff, which had very little odor at all.  And I am talking odor right out of the bottle, not after it's been run through the engine.

I notice Actevo does a V-twin version...why would the arrangement of the cyls, or 2 vs 4 make a difference?

[solman]

I was told that Suzuki oil is Spectro oil and I think Honda is Castrol.

[ZenMan]

I notice Actevo does a V-twin version...why would the arrangement of the cyls, or 2 vs 4 make a difference?

No clutch/tranny.

At least on a Harley, the clutch/transmission is seperate from the engine. Dry clutch, too, I believe.  

[pmackie]

Big air cooled V-Twins make lots of torque, run at low rpms and make lots of heat. All these things mean that heavier oil is preferred, and you might use a different ad pack with some changes to the type of VI improver.

Usually V-Twin oils are 20W50, which is heavy for an engine oil. Suzuki recommends 10W40 for the Bandit line, which is also quite heavy as far as engines go, but the viscosity is needed to support the transmission loads, and the wet clutch tends to shear the VI improver, causing some loss of viscosity in service.

[Sven]

So if it's just a difference in weight, why not just label it by weight instead of cyls?  Anyway, thanks for the info, guys.