Oil wieght question....

What wieght of oil are you guys running in your bikes?

When i last owned my bike I ran Valvoline 20W50, but the preveous owner ran 10W40 cycle formulated oil.

Which would you say is better? What would you recomend?

FYI, this bike has about 38XXX turns on the odometer.....

Thank for your input

 

Oil is almost a religious debate it seems.

Use whatever you want - as long as you do oil/filter changes reasonably frequently, use a good quality oil, and don't get any clutch slippage -- you're good to go.

Lots of bikers like diesel oils like Rotella T - and 10w30 is pretty much the average...

 

No matter how you ride it ...

Castrol 20/50 will protect it!

 

What about "High Mileage" oils any advantages there?

 

I use shell rotella 15-40

 

Castrol 20/50. Period.

 

I use Castrol Syntec 5W-50.
It's evpensive.......but she's worth it!

 

I use RotellaT 15W40 religiously! Never ever had an oil issue since!

 

As my two bits, I use Canadian Tire's motorcycle specific 20W50 -- it's good quality Shell oil, and at $3 a litre for the motorcycle additive package it's a good deal too. Also comes in 10W40.

 

When I bought my 650, the PO told me that he always used Rotella 15 40 and it seemed to work well. I've stuck with it and never had a problem of any kind.

Greg

 

up until now i have been a mobil 1 fan. ive used rotella in previous machines as well. i would think that a 10w50 would be the best but its hard to find . yamalube comes in 10w50...."synthetic blend",,,,theres a can of worms for ya......anyway.......im gonna try the yammalube in my bike just to see how it lasts. yu can tell when the bike needs an oil change when the motor sarts gettin a lillle noisy.at least i can anyhoo.

if yu live in a hot climate i can see usin 20w50 :wink:

 

I was about to ask the same question as i noticed after my ride to work today that there doesn't appear to be any oil in the veiwing window!

I'm yet to buy the handbook/CD for my bike ('81 XJ 650 Maxim) - i also needed to know how much to put in

Thanks in advance

 

Spec for our bikes says:
Periodic oil change: 2.35 litres
With oil filter replacement: 2.65 litres

 

That's brilliant, thanks for the prompt response, i'll pop to my local garage and pick some up.

TtT

 

Hey just bought a 82 xj650 and when I went to change the oil my drain pail overflowed,had to get another one and almost filled it too(yikes).I ended up pulling out over 6 litres,hope I don't have any issues coming up ,anyone ever come across this before???

 

Sounds like someone filled the engine for long-term storage. I've heard of it before, but usually only when it's going to be sitting for years.

Overfull like that (double?!? yikes!) can blow seals, gaskets, and damage the oil pump. Fortunately, you've already done all you can - drained it and (hopefully) refilled with the proper amount.

Here's hoping you've got no leaks! 8)

 

Yes, unfortunately. Lent my brother the Maxim for a few months (I was transferring anyway and didn't need additional weight) and he serviced the crankcase with 4.9 liters of oil. Blew out the seals and I think it cracked a ring or two. Do you know if the bike was ridden with all that oil in it? It is possible that the P.O. filled the case to preserve the engine while storing it.

 

Hooligan13 ...

Complete your "Signature" section with details of your bike.

________________________________________________
Year - Model - Miles - Stock or Mods - YICS/Non-YICS Engine

________

Then ... Start your OWN Thread about the Oil Trouble ...

6 Liters in Crankcase? Causes & Solutions.

 

Does it smell like gas and look really thin? Could be common gas in crank problem via leaking fuel valve and leaking float valves!

 

tried the syntec 5w-50.......hard stuff to find......kmart had some....anyhoooo......i think this is the stuff to use. :lol: :wink:
motor is much quieter . think ill run this in my car toooo :wink:

 

I'm running Yamalube 4 right now (forget what weight), but when RickCoMatic and Robert so heartily agree on something, I've GOT to try it out. So is that a motorcycle-specific kind of Castrol, or the same stuff you'd put in a car?

Also, it's still in the low 50s on the morning rides around here, is 20/50 OK for that?

 

I would recommend against 20/50 in your climate at this time Eblo. You may look at 10/30 or 10/40 right about now but I'm not aware if these weights have the same API rating. Time to hit the books. The 20/50 I use is the same as the car motor oil and it conforms to the SJ rating that was specified in my owners manual. I would not knock Yamalube save the price ($4 quart where I live last time I looked).

 

Here is a page out of my Clymer manual.

 

As much as I hate to get involved in oil or tire threads.......

I have not been able to find an SE grade oil. I did find a SF rated 10W40 at Wal*Mart which says it supercedes API standard SE for pre 1988 cars. I think the brand was Accel or something like that. About 500 miles on it and everything seems fine.

And it was about $2/quart.

 

Castrol GPS

Castrol R4

 

the yamilube is SE grade :wink:

 

sj oils will work where se,sf,sg,sh are used. :wink:

 

As long as it's not "energy conserving" -- those friction modifiers CAN (but not always) cause clutch slippage.

Another motorcyclist favorite is Shell Rotella T -- it's a diesel oil that works really well in bikes, and no "energy conserving" here.

 

I was advised by some of my motorcycle bretheren not to put a synthetic oil in my old 82' XJ650 as synthetic has a knack for finding leaks that were never there before.

 

I think the "Synthetic Oil Leak" story is one of those Legend Stories that got started after a "Letter to the editor" appeared in Cycle shortly after synthetic oils got tested after their introduction, years ago.

The writer had restored a British Bike and complained about the synthetic oil causing there to be oil leaks from places where ... "The bike did not normally leak."

The response became the punchline I use whenever I stop-off at a Rest Area or Filling Station and see some guy pouring some oil into one of those really old Harley-Davidson's.

"You could save a little time by just pouring it right on the ground!"

Goodnight, Gracie.

 

I just spent some cash and time flushing out and changing over to synthetic today. It didn't leak before...time will tell if it's true with my bike. Old Harley's shake apart anyway and make donations on the highway so they aren't a good enough reason to get concerned.