Author Topic: Best Oil? (Read 35396 times)

ShadowWolf · « **on:** March 24, 2005, 01:22:49 AM »

Choosing and sticking with an oil for my bike is becoming a daunting task. Everywhere I read it's a debate between synthetic and petroleum based. I'm new to motorcycles and just got my first bike(96' B6) and I will be doing my own oil changes so I would like to know what's the best oil to use? I heard some things about clutches slipping if you use a certain type of synthetic.

Drop some names fellas.....it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

B12MoJo · « **Reply #1 on:** March 24, 2005, 02:06:37 AM »

Shell Rotella 15W40 non synthetic

Got 40K on this with Emgo filters on my TL no problems. Nearly 10K of this on the bandit no problems.

Red01 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 24, 2005, 02:35:27 AM »

The proverbial can of worms...

Oh well, we haven't had this question in a while, so I guess we're overdue.

The following is my person opinion.

Synth isn't worth it if you're not trying to extend drain intervals.
Motorcycle specific oils are hype.
Auto oils are fine as long as you stay away from "EC" (Energy Conserving) labeled oils. Luckily, few 10w40 or heavier oils are.
Diesel rated oils are great and stand the shear loads encountered in the gearbox.

Slider · « **Reply #3 on:** March 24, 2005, 02:38:36 AM »

Actually I have never known this to be much of a problem. Change your oil regularly and don't buy the bottom grade. However, my son is an inveterate car nut who does little else. He has won me over to even modest cost synthetics. He says that he has researched much data where teardowns of car engines on synthetic oils only still show some to most of the cylinder "hone marks" of original specs. That = compression and on spec bearings, chains etc. You know, when you look at the big picture, the price of oil is peanuts.

Now I know I will sound like a grandpa when I say the following.
With reasonable maintenance, bikes don't wear out... they crash out. Go to any bike salvage yard and keep your hat in hand and be ready for tears. You will see many bikes badly rusted and abused and a Great Many in parts because that's all that was left.

Mike from the two stroke era, (YRD350, Kaw H2 750), & asst Dukes)

Red01 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 24, 2005, 02:41:48 AM »

One thing to be wary of when choosing a synthetic oil for a Bandit - or many other bikes... how compatible is it with a wet clutch.

Some (many?) synthetics will promote clutch slippage, so when choosing one, be sure it's one that's been tried by others and found to be OK.

ShadowWolf · « **Reply #5 on:** March 24, 2005, 03:17:55 AM »

Quote from: "Red01"

One thing to be wary of when choosing a synthetic oil for a Bandit - or many other bikes... how compatible is it with a wet clutch.

Some (many?) synthetics will promote clutch slippage, so when choosing one, be sure it's one that's been tried by others and found to be OK.

I actually found a thread here and this one guy uses Castrol GTX 10-40 and he says it's been fine for him with no clutch slippage. I'll try it out and see what happens. This site is awesome btw!

Ampster · « **Reply #6 on:** March 24, 2005, 04:05:22 AM »

Considering the lube oil is the tranny, engine, coolining medium for the Bandit, a synthetic will withstand the stress and beating better than a regular mineral based oil.

A couple of things though. Only shift to synth AFTER the engine is broken in. Also, use a motorcycle specific synth with low friction modifiers.

I use Silkolene Synth Racing Oil

My $00.02's

B12Teuton · « **Reply #7 on:** March 24, 2005, 11:00:58 AM »

I put over 20K hard miles on my B12. All of it was with synthetic oil

Mobil-1 10-40
Spectro Golden 10-40
Shell Rotella T 5-40 (my favorite)

I have never had a problem. No oil leak, no clutch slip.... nothing.
Just smooth running, great power, good fuel economy, and peace of mind.

Most Wal-Marts stock the Shell Rotella T synthetic in 1 gallon jugs. Perfect for a 4qt oil change. And the price can't be beat at $10.50
Used to be $12.89, but the price went down last time I bought.

lwg · « **Reply #8 on:** March 24, 2005, 11:34:12 AM »

As subject to opinion as motor oil choice is the issue of when to begin running synth oil in a new engine. I bought a new Toyota Camry in 2003 and had the dealer change the oil to Mobil 1 before I drove it off the lot. At 35,000 miles it doesn't use a drop between changes. Not the first time I've run it in a brand new engine, nor does it seem to bother many engines (think Corvette, etc.) which come from the factory with synth right out of the box. Come to think of it, is there anyone out there who has 1st-hand personal knowledge of or experience with a problem caused by running synth in a brand new engine? Or is this whole issue just another urban legend?

ray nielsen · « **Reply #9 on:** March 24, 2005, 12:10:00 PM »

You can break in an engine with synthetic oil -- Corvettes, Aston-Martins and Porches come with Mobil 1 synthetic in the crankcase.

I have changed to Mobil 1 on ALL my bikes since 1983 ( 8 bikes) at the first oil change interval -- usually about 400-500 miles. No problems with clutch slippage with the 15W-50 weight oil as it's NOT energy conserving and does NOT contain friction modifiers.

A fairly new Mobil 1 product, Truck & SUV oil in a 5W-40 weight, is my choice beginning this year, mostly due to the fact it carries the highest diesel and gas ratings of CI-4 and SL respectively. The Total Base Number (TBN) is 12 which should allow long drain periods with the oil retaining antacid properties.

B6Matt · « **Reply #10 on:** March 24, 2005, 01:01:25 PM »

Anybody try Castrol Syntech? It's full synthetic. I'm having trouble finding Mobil 1 in 10w-40, so I am trying the Castrol

And a word of advice: order your oil filters in advance of needing an oil change if you want K&N filters. They're a bear to find in stock, at least here in K-town. I just went with the STP SMO-18 this time.

This looks pretty authoritative:all about (motorcycle) oils. I see a lot of folks speak highly of the Rotella Synthetic (diesel engine) oils for m/c applications.

mike · « **Reply #11 on:** March 24, 2005, 01:48:15 PM »

Here's the info and Poll results from the old BBS.

Oil BBS Member Poll

Amsoil 9%
Castrol 23%
Golden Spectro 4%
Mobil 1 23%
Shell Rotella 23%
Valvoline 9%

For research purposes:

Motorcycle Motor Oil

http://www.gis.net/~manjo/motorcycle_motor_oil.htm[/list]

More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Motor Oil

http://www.vtr.org/maintain/oil-overview.html[/list]

Motorcycle Oils vs. Automotive Oils

http://www.xs11.com/stories/mcnoil94.htm[/list]

Quote

How to read the chart:

Viscosity Index

The higher the number the better. This is one major property of an oil that keeps your bearings happy. It is not an indication of how well the oil resists thermal breakdown.

Flash point

The higher the flash point the better. The lower the flash point the greater tendency for the oil to suffer vaporization loss at high temperatures and to burn off on hot cylinder walls and pistons.

Pour point

The lower the pour point the better. 5 degrees F above the point at which a chilled oil shows no movement at the surface for 5 seconds when inclined. This measurement is especially important for oils used in the winter.

% sulfated ash

Look for oils with a low ash content.

How much solid material is left when the oil burns. A high ash content will tend to form more sludge and deposits in the engine. Low ash content also seems to promote long valve life.

% zinc

is the amount of zinc used as an extreme pressure, anti- wear additive. The zinc is only used when there is actual metal to metal contact in the engine. Hopefully the oil will do its job and this will rarely occur, but if it does, the zinc compounds react with the metal to prevent scuffing and wear. A level of .11% is enough to protect an automobile engine for the extended oil drain interval, under normal use. Those of you with high revving, air cooled motorcycles or turbo charged cars or bikes might want to look at the oils with the higher zinc content. More doesn't give you better protection, it gives you longer protection if the rate of metal to metal contact is abnormally high. High zinc content can lead to deposit formation and plug fouling.

jwalters · « **Reply #12 on:** March 25, 2005, 04:41:32 AM »

I recently switched to Mobil 1 MX4T, because I heard such good things. I have noticed my engine runs a bit better, and shifting is a bit easier. However, I had a bit of clutch slippage at 7500 rpm in second gear once while riding two up.
Then again, maybe my the oil isn't to blame, I weight 300lbs + 120lbs passenger.

Thats my $.02!
jesse

terrebandit · « **Reply #13 on:** March 25, 2005, 10:16:31 AM »

Mobil 1 15W50 (automotive grade) works great and is not that expensive. If you are using any kind of 'motorcycle specific' oil, you are wasting your money, IMO. You might get slightly better protection but it won't be noticable in 100 thousand miles of normal riding. I'll have a new bike by then!

The oil companies love getting into your head (and pocket books) with this stuff. Don't let em! I was lured into buying Amsoil MS oil once and ran it for quite a while. My cams still went to hell.

ShadowWolf · « **Reply #14 on:** March 25, 2005, 03:26:54 PM »

Quote from: "terrebandit"

Mobil 1 15W50 (automotive grade) works great and is not that expensive. If you are using any kind of 'motorcycle specific' oil, you are wasting your money, IMO. You might get slightly better protection but it won't be noticable in 100 thousand miles of normal riding. I'll have a new bike by then!

The oil companies love getting into your head (and pocket books) with this stuff. Don't let em! I was lured into buying Amsoil MS oil once and ran it for quite a while. My cams still went to hell.

Mobil 1 15w50 huh wow. I will keep that in mind. Right now I'm leaning towards the Castrol GTX 10w40 but we'll see what happens. I have to say again there are alot of cool people on this site. Very friendly and willing to help people out with advice. I'll be posting here for a long time :)