I like the smell of castor oil in the morning...

Nostalgia has struck me once again.

This morning I woke up thinking about... castor oil. No, my bowels are perfectly OK, thank you. No need to take in the naste stuff to acitvate my colon. It's just that about four decades ago, one of my mates discovered the secrets behind the typical smell of racng engines (in those days), and I must have been dreaming about it.

Instead of spending lotsa money to buy a quart of Castrol R40, he got his secret ingredient at the local pharmacist. A tiny bit of castor oil in the petrol tank would guarantee the same odor, for a fraction of the price.

This stuff was so powerfull that it was possible to do a 'fox hunt' (like in Ham Radio) just by tracing the smell of his ride. Not long after he shared this secret ingredient with us, and then there were lots of smelly Puchs in the neigbourhood

The last time I used castor oil was in the nineties, I added a couple drops to the fuel in my Cagiva Mito, to give it that 'extra something'.

I wonder if I'm the only idiot that loves the smell of castor oil in the morning (and afternoon, and evening, and...)


P.S. no beaver (Castor canadensis) were harmed in the making of this tread.

On the subject of Beavers...And you can quote me on this "A wet Beaver is a happy Beaver"

I race two strokes and love the smell of castor oil.
Can't put it in Swing without potential fouling of the catalytic convertor.

Wooo More memories. The original Valvoline 2 stroke oil had a tinge of it too.
Must try this in the TS 185 next time out on a ride with the club. Tweak up some nostrils, maybe.

KurtPerthWA wrote:

... The original Valvoline 2 stroke oil had a tinge of it too...

If I remember it well, in the old days Valvoline 4-stroke oil was castor oil too. After they'd changed the formula to mineral oil, a number of racing engines were ruined, because castor oil doesn't mix with any other (mineral or synthetic) oil. If mixed it turnes into sludge.