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Engine oil recommendations


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Hello fellow riders. I wanted some to know some good examples of engine oil you all use in your 2010 - 2013  Honda vfr 1200's? I want to go with a full synthetic engine oil. What specific brands do you all recommend?  I want to stay with the recommended 10w30 viscosity. Thank you and stay safe.

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Oil is a crazy topic on any moto forum. But just for information, the most popular oils on here would be... .

Mobil1 4T motorcycle oil

Amsoil motorcyle

Shell Rotella T6.

 

Filters = Bosch 3323 or Purolator Pure One PL14612 or 10

http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/FilterXRef.html

 

I quit after this... :beer:

 

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  • 1 month later...
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After all the research I decided to go with Honda's full 10w30 synthetic in the red quart bottle. I use synthetic in my car so my bike deserves the best as well. I do the labor myself and local dealer hooks me up with a awesome deal per quart. 

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27 minutes ago, VFRJEDI7 said:

After all the research I decided to go with Honda's full 10w30 synthetic in the red quart bottle. I use synthetic in my car so my bike deserves the best as well. I do the labor myself and local dealer hooks me up with a awesome deal per quart. 

 

Hi VFRJED17.

Sounds like you got yourself a great oil deal, no doubt that product will serve you and your bike well. However what oil to use is such a contentious subject, a bit like what is the best religion, and does it give you a warm cosy feeling? I'm only going to say I only use motorcycle specific oil and that's it!!!!!!

Cheers. :wheel:

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Yes very cosy living here in florida oem honda synthetic is best for me compared to the conventional. Although nothing is wrong with conventional oil I just like synthetic and how it's made. When it comes to oils and filters I stick to Honda oem. 🏍️

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1 hour ago, VFRJEDI7 said:

After all the research I decided to go with Honda's full 10w30 synthetic in the red quart bottle. I use synthetic in my car so my bike deserves the best as well. I do the labor myself and local dealer hooks me up with a awesome deal per quart. 

 

in a hot climate it's best to use what Honda recommends, and that's 10W40 or 20W40, isn't it ?

 

10w30 is for cooler northern latitudes.

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Honda recommends 10w30 or greater if you choose depending on where you live. I'm good with 10w30 full synthetic. Have not seen a full synthetic 10w40 by Honda. Cool squirrel profile pic. 

1532054423362990423616.jpg

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must NOT use energy conserving oil in motorcycles ! 😫

 

photo is my black-tail prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) named Cheeky.  very sweet and friendly, he insists upon sleeping next to me in bed !comix-vfr_12-5-16_009.thumb.JPG.ef89477db3efdfc8d193591f5848513a.JPG

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just did an oil change today on my 1200.  When I got the bike I did an oil change right away even though the oil in it didn't look too terrible.  I went with the same Pro Honda HP4S oil as you did and an OEM Honda oil filter.  It was a great oil, but I noticed that once the weather here shifted into the high 90's, my bike was a bit less smooth - at idle and shifting once I had been riding for a little while.  Today I just changed out for a more expensive oil option after just 2000 miles, as well as a filter change again (a waste I know, but think what you will.)  I am now using Motul 300V Double Ester 10w40, and the difference in how the bike performs is rather astounding.   I guess it better be for almost double the price. ($60 for 4L).   Now, if this is down to the oil itself being more "slippery" or stable at higher temps like it is supposed to be, or simply due to the 40 weight "hot" viscosity is another question all its own, but there is a very marked difference, especially shifting.   If the previous oil had more miles on it, then maybe I could chock it up to that, but I find it highly unlikely that it was any worse for wear with just 2k miles on the clock.

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1 hour ago, Megadan said:

I just did an oil change today on my 1200.  When I got the bike I did an oil change right away even though the oil in it didn't look too terrible.  I went with the same Pro Honda HP4S oil as you did and an OEM Honda oil filter.  It was a great oil, but I noticed that once the weather here shifted into the high 90's, my bike was a bit less smooth - at idle and shifting once I had been riding for a little while.  Today I just changed out for a more expensive oil option after just 2000 miles, as well as a filter change again (a waste I know, but think what you will.)  I am now using Motul 300V Double Ester 10w40, and the difference in how the bike performs is rather astounding.   I guess it better be for almost double the price. ($60 for 4L).   Now, if this is down to the oil itself being more "slippery" or stable at higher temps like it is supposed to be, or simply due to the 40 weight "hot" viscosity is another question all its own, but there is a very marked difference, especially shifting.   If the previous oil had more miles on it, then maybe I could chock it up to that, but I find it highly unlikely that it was any worse for wear with just 2k miles on the clock.

Very interesting Megadan, thanks for the info glad it sorted out your issues. As they say " Oils ain't Oils Sol" sorry, but that was a quote from a Castrol oil TV add we had Down Under many moons ago:comp13:!

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Guys - Again just for information.... All 3 oils are synthetic... Chances are  only avery small percentage on this forum are using any "dino"

Mobil1 4T motorcycle oil 10W -40

Amsoil motorcyle  - 10W - 40 

Shell Rotella T6. - 5W- 40 

 

And just to stick a knife into it... an old joke .. Ask the old veteran mechanic what the best oil is... His answer! ......."Clean"  

 

no mas for me... :ph34r:

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This is just little ol' frugal me, but there is no way in hell I'm paying $60 for a gallon of oil. I have one heck of a time

paying $20 for a gallon. I simply can't be convinced that oil that is 3 times as expensive is going to be 3 times better.

Just pouring money down the oil fill hole. JMO of course.

 

I'll spend the other $40 on gas and such.

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On 8/4/2018 at 2:42 PM, FJ12Ryder said:

This is just little ol' frugal me, but there is no way in hell I'm paying $60 for a gallon of oil. I have one heck of a time

paying $20 for a gallon. I simply can't be convinced that oil that is 3 times as expensive is going to be 3 times better.

Just pouring money down the oil fill hole. JMO of course.

 

I'll spend the other $40 on gas and such.

It's a "to each his own" kind of thing.  I normally agree with you, and for the most part you aren't wrong.  I bought the $60 gallon of Motul 300V simply because I was curious as to the difference.  Being a Group 5 synthetic, in this case using two different Esters as the base stock, it offers the best thermal stability (withstands high heat better without breaking down) and better molecular strength at those higher temps (shear and compression resistance) as well as a higher and more stable detergency.  In simple words, it holds up better and for longer under extreme conditions, which is why it is generally run in racing applications.  For most street riding, this means it is somewhat overkill.  I am a believer in overkill, if for no other reason than I can be pretty harsh on my bikes (in my eyes at least) and I want to give them what I feel is the best protection I can.

Is it 3 times better? I couldn't be the one to tell you. I guess it depends on what we are considering better in the end.  All I know is that it performs much better than the cheaper oils I have tried once things are hot and my heavy right hand comes into the equation.   

In the end, do what you do.  I am not going to sit here and preach to you on what the best is and that everything else is "bad."  As mello dude's little joke said, the most important thing is that the oil is "clean."  

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Megadan, +1 300v

 

FJ12, Thats an extra $40.00 over 5000 mies = .008 thousands of a cent per mile. Its like driving 5 extra miles to save .05 per gallon on cheap gas, is it worth it.

 

Depend on who you ask  

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New always the best & replace regularly with a quality filter !

 

YMMV  depends on the viscosity of the oil amongst other environmental conditions 🙂

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I use Mobil One 10-30 extended mileage oil.  Have 64K miles on the 1200 in the 100 Texas heat with no problems yet.  I change it every 3K miles with the OEM filter. 

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Just cause it’s a wet clutch oil gets circulated throughout the engine, I like changing the oil and filter every 3k Miles.

 

wonder was Dae’s maintenance schedule is?

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8 hours ago, andy said:

Just cause it’s a wet clutch oil gets circulated throughout the engine, I like changing the oil and filter every 3k Miles.

 

wonder was Dae’s maintenance schedule is?

Even being a wet clutch system doesn't mean it warrants more frequent changes.  You would be amazed at the difference in oil life in regard to clutch material contamination is in different conditions.  On my little 230 air cooled enduro the simple addition of a small oil cooler made a dramatic difference in the level of clutch material found in the oil - effectively doubling it.  Being air cooled and having a 1.2 quart capacity means that the oil sees a lot more abuse and suffers from greater thermal breakdown - and suffering from decreased viscosity -  which is why it's oil change intervals are a measly 500 miles.  With the oil cooler I found I could stretch that out to almost 1000 miles and the oil was in better condition at that point than it was at 500 miles before doing so.  Heck, Honda's own recommended oil change interval is 8000 miles and the 1200 came from the factory with plain jane mineral oil.

The same basic rules apply to the type of oil.  Group 5 oils, by their nature being much more resilient under extreme conditions, will actually last longer and reduce clutch wear since they suffer from a much lower rate of viscosity and lubricity loss at those extremes.   As I mentioned before, I can feel the difference in the way the bike runs and shifts.  That includes the way the clutch feels and reacts during hard acceleration once the bike is hot.  The clutch engagement is just smoother between gears and even taking off from a stop.   Hard to describe really, but it just is.  

Keep in mind that this is the first time I have tried Motul 300V.  I am not wearing rose colored glasses nor do I have some weird sense of brand loyalty or some sense of superiority.  I run Rotella T4 in my Enduro, and I also ran it in my GL1000.  You can't get any more basic than T4 in regards to motor oil.

 

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