Hi Dennis,

What I remember was the oil light on - bright at first, then getting dimmer
and valvetrain noise.  Your right, I don't recall an audible alarm.

I try not to go much above 3500 RPM while cruising (Wish I had that Euro 5th
gear). I think 50 weight might be a bit too viscous even at higher RPM with
no cooling issues; it might reduce mileage too.  The previous owner (an
uncle) ran the original engine to 130k (before a rebuild) using 10-40 with a
lot of travel through the Sierras.  The thing that concerns me about
non-synthetic wide range oil is that more added polymers translates to added
valve deposits. As I understand it the "30" in 10-30 means that the oil
won't thin out any more than a standard 30 weight oil would when hot. Seems
to me that if my cooling system works fine then you'd want to keep the 30
flow rate, and adding more valve deposits. There seems to be more top end
issues with these engines than bottom end anyway.

With seasonal use I hate to spend $$ on synthetic since I put so few miles
on between oil changes.

Anyway, that's my opinion explained.

Tom in Minneapolis

'84 Westy