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Another Oil Thread...ooooooh Noooooo


2thdr

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The quality of lubricants these days is so good that it probably doesn't matter what you use. In my three years membership on this forum, I haven't once read of a VFR being worn out, bellowing blue smoke, or consuming oil between changes.

I also gather that everyone is meeting or exceeding their longevity expectations no matter if they choose 30wt 40 wt or 50wt The only difference is how much HP is lost due to oil drag... if you want to enjoy the maximum HP possible from your engine then try a 100% synthetic 30wt... if you want the latest performance in 30 weights then try any 0-30wt...

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The quality of lubricants these days is so good that it probably doesn't matter what you use. I have a friend who rides a Kawisaki ZRX1200R. He commutes 100 miles round trip each day, and his bike has over 160,000 miles on it. When I asked him what oil he uses, he said, "the cheap stuff, whatever is on sale, 10W-40" Even Stan Wilson, the Brit courier who racked up over 400,000 miles on his third gen engine (twice) used off the shelf car engine oil.

In my three years membership on this forum, I haven't once read of a VFR being worn out, bellowing blue smoke, or consuming oil between changes. Riders who love their bikes enough to read up and learn about them do not abuse them. Regular maintenance is far more effective than which oil we choose. I am happy to see that there are a lot of riders passionate about that!

^^^Exactly^^^

Ditto. Well said, Jeff. I've used everything from regular dino auto oil to Mobil 1 for motorcycles. It's all worked fine.

As far as I can tell, the reason some people use synthetics is to prolong oil life (changing it less often). As I mentioned in a post earlier in this thread, when running full synthetic I'll go about 1k more miles than I do when running dino or a dino/synth. blend. Unless there is a performance reason to use synthetic, you're more or less equaling out the cost, i.e. More $$ for synth, but changing less frequently = Less $$ for dino but changing more frequently.

Some of you may love changing your oil and filter, but to me it's a PITA. (Don't get me wrong - there is satisfaction in a job done well, but it's still a time-consuming pain.) So if I can get away with doing it 2x per season using slightly more expensive oil vs. 3x per season using less expensive oil, it's worth the extra few bucks per quart to me to use synth. and save the hassle of that extra oil and filter change.

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So here is a really thorough engineering review that settles and clarifies some of the musings posted in this oil thread. Empirical data, rather than "It runs great in all my bikes". The URL will take you pages into the data, and the summary cuts to the chase. http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html Motorcycle Oil and Filters

This page Copyright © 2003-2011, by Mark Lawrence.

Email me, mark@calsci.com, with suggestions, additions, broken links.

Engine oil

Executive summary: The commercial grade oils are clearly superior to the mass market oils. For the best protection in your bike or car, use Shell Rotella Synthetic, available at Wal-Mart in blue containers for $13 / gallon. For the best petroleum oil you can buy, get Shell Rotella T, Mobil Delvac 1300, or Chevron Delo 400, about $7 / gallon at any auto parts store. API_donut_starburst_H.jpgOn the back of most oil cans is a circular stamp with the certification. Avoid oils that say "energy conserving" in the bottom half of the donut. These oils contain friction modifier additives that could cause clutch slipping over time. All XXw-20 and XXw-30 oils are energy conserving, and should not be used in your motorcycle. 10w-40 oils should not be used in a motorcycle that runs the engine oil through the transmission. Don't buy any oil additives like STP or Slick-50. Here's several pages All About Oil justifying these conclusions.

I use Rotella-T Synthetic 5w-40 in my ST1300 and DL650.

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@busy little shop, I just put some Mobil1 0w-40 in my CB1000R. I'm assuming what is good for the V4 is also good for the I4? The label says "resource conserving" which I assume is due to less frequent oil changes recommended for the synthetic?

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

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@busy little shop, I just put some Mobil1 0w-40 in my CB1000R. I'm assuming what is good for the V4 is also good for the I4? The label says "resource conserving" which I assume is due to less frequent oil changes recommended for the synthetic?

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

Zero weight oils are the most current oils and therefore good for both the V4 and I4...

Quote API

Energy Conserving and Resource Conserving oils may result is an

overall saving of fuel in the vehicle fleet as a whole.

In other words Saving of Fuel is oil can labeling for more HP at the rear wheel...

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On the back of most oil cans is a circular stamp with the certification. Avoid oils that say "energy conserving" in the bottom half of the donut. These oils contain friction modifier additives that could cause clutch slipping over time. All XXw-20 and XXw-30 oils are energy conserving, and should not be used in your motorcycle. 10w-40 oils should not be used in a motorcycle that runs the engine oil through the transmission. Don't buy any oil additives like STP or Slick-50. Here's several pages All About Oil justifying these conclusions.

I use Rotella-T Synthetic 5w-40 in my ST1300 and DL650.

Negative... friction modifiers such as Moly will not cause a clutch to slip in good working order... in fact

your Rotella T Synthetic 5w-40 has 63 ppm Moly and you're not complaining about clutch slip...

Virgin Oil Sample for Rotella T Synthetic 5w-40

post-3131-0-58201300-1375232295.gif

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@busy little shop, I just put some Mobil1 0w-40 in my CB1000R. I'm assuming what is good for the V4 is also good for the I4? The label says "resource conserving" which I assume is due to less frequent oil changes recommended for the synthetic?

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

Zero weight oils are the most current oils and therefore good for both the V4 and I4...

Quote API

Energy Conserving and Resource Conserving oils may result is an

overall saving of fuel in the vehicle fleet as a whole.

In other words Saving of Fuel is oil can labeling for more HP at the rear wheel...

The bonus was that I got a 5 quart jug at walmart for $23 !

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"-Has the jury reached a verdict?

- No, we have not. For we have evolved to a higher state of consciousness. In the grand scheme, all oil thread trolls are but yokels. Now, settle your petty squabbles and get the hell out!"

-Futurama w/ added text by me.

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On the back of most oil cans is a circular stamp with the certification. Avoid oils that say "energy conserving" in the bottom half of the donut. These oils contain friction modifier additives that could cause clutch slipping over time. All XXw-20 and XXw-30 oils are energy conserving, and should not be used in your motorcycle. 10w-40 oils should not be used in a motorcycle that runs the engine oil through the transmission. Don't buy any oil additives like STP or Slick-50. Here's several pages All About Oil justifying these conclusions.

I use Rotella-T Synthetic 5w-40 in my ST1300 and DL650.

Negative... friction modifiers such as Moly will not cause a clutch to slip in good working order... in fact

your Rotella T Synthetic 5w-40 has 63 ppm Moly and you're not complaining about clutch slip...

Virgin Oil Sample for Rotella T Synthetic 5w-40

63ppm of moly is basically nothing, anything under 100 ppm is basically nothing. But there are oils out there with 500 to 800 ppm of moly, this is where it can get border line with slipping issues , and really its then dependant on how stout the clutch is which also varies amongst models , even in new condition.

On the back of most oil cans is a circular stamp with the certification. Avoid oils that say "energy conserving" in the bottom half of the donut. These oils contain friction modifier additives that could cause clutch slipping over time. All XXw-20 and XXw-30 oils are energy conserving, and should not be used in your motorcycle. 10w-40 oils should not be used in a motorcycle that runs the engine oil through the transmission. Don't buy any oil additives like STP or Slick-50. Here's several pages All About Oil justifying these conclusions.

I use Rotella-T Synthetic 5w-40 in my ST1300 and DL650.

Negative... friction modifiers such as Moly will not cause a clutch to slip in good working order... in fact

your Rotella T Synthetic 5w-40 has 63 ppm Moly and you're not complaining about clutch slip...

Virgin Oil Sample for Rotella T Synthetic 5w-40

I dont run the rotella 5w40 in the vfr, it broke down tooo fast via having it tested , its okay for 1000 or 1500 miles with my use. Really it about as good as a 10w40 car oil in a motorcycle longevity wise.

Now the standard 15w40 diesils fair much better in a motorcycle, if you can find one that doesnt cause notchy shifting.

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63ppm of moly is basically nothing, anything under 100 ppm is basically nothing. But there are oils out there with 500 to 800 ppm of moly, this is where it can get border line with slipping issues , and really its then dependant on how stout the clutch is which also varies amongst models , even in new condition.

Have you ever ran a oil in your VFR with 500 to 800ppm Moly???

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  • 2 years later...
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No it will not as long as it is a mc oil that meets the specs as per the 3rd gen manual.

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This has got to be the most confusing subject I've every tried to research. I'm just trying to figure out if the 10w-40 Castrol GTX Synth Blend will kill my beloved Gen 3.

This can really be simplified. On one of my first trips to the Gap area, I met an OLD man at Tapoco Lodge. He rode in late one evening on one ragged looking faded out 5th gen. that had literally never been under any kind of roof he told me except when his dealer changed his oil for him. He had 98,000+ miles on the bike at that time. He told me the only oil that had ever been in the bike was plain old Honda Dino. So, like TimC said, everyone wants to put what they determine to be the best oil in the machine they spend a lot of time and money on. It's understandable.

To finish the story, this man and I rode together all day the next two days and he could leave me in the dust at the time and his bike would scream and he knew how to ride very well. Some of you here may have known this guy but heck if I can remember his name. I read about 4 years later that, at WAY over a hundred K miles, he bought a new VFR for some reason. It wasn't because he cared what it looked like. Hell of a good guy he was. ; )

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This has got to be the most confusing subject I've every tried to research. I'm just trying to figure out if the 10w-40 Castrol GTX Synth Blend will kill my beloved Gen 3.

No oil in the engine will kill your 3rd Gen in a minute... fact it doesn't

matter to your engines longevity if you run Dino or Synthetic... or

even 50 40 or 30 weight.... no one is wearing out their engine... but

it does matter in the amount of rear wheel HP is wasted in unnecessary

oil drag... between a 30wt and 40wt is 2 to 3 HP in unnecessary oil

drag... between a 30 and 50 is 4 to 6 HP in unnecessary oil drag...

choosing the freest flowing viscosity of 30 as prescribed by the

official Honda manual over a 40 50 equals more HP joy...

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I ended up taking the auto oil back for Castrol 4T 20w-50 motorcycle oil. I'm not trying to squeak every last HP out at this point, I just want a solid oil change, as I'm trying to sell her. :|

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