Oil Weight - what do you prefer

i noticed somthing interesting with my maxim when the temp outside is lower than 55deg f. with the engine completly hot within 20 miles at highway speed it starts complaining about the cold it idles a little higher and seems to run better after having a stop to build some heat. i am thinking of swapping to a lighter oil but dont really want to be doing dailey oil changes. i am running GTX 20w50 now , this started propmtly after draining the last batch of oil and putting this in.

Texas has some strange weather .. today it was 42 deg when i left for work and its currently 78deg

in summer it will be about 48 in the morn and 95 in the evening

 

that is odd, worse than michigan. anyways, that what liek 95% of the people on this site run, that and 20w-40. saome dude runs some diesel engine oil in it, but I qwouldn;t reccomment it just cuz these clutches are touchy when it comes to oil.

 

i started using mobil delvac 15/40 in the bikes last spring and they seem to like it
now i use it in everything, cars, lawn tractor, push mower and the bikes
one oil makes things easier, the wife even knows what to buy
it has a nice pop-out spout on the jug too
it's temperature range seems to be greater than mine

 

I am a big fan of Shell Rotella T 15W-40 year round. Wisconsin is usually pretty cool, and I don't do a lot of highway riding, so the 15W-40 has done me well. And yes, that's the Rotella T diesel engine oil. Here is a little exerpt from Wikipedia:

"Though marketed as an engine oil for diesel trucks, Rotella oil has found popularity with motorcyclists as well. The properties of heavy duty engine oils tend to map to the same requirements of motorcycle oils, particularly those whose engine and transmission share the same oil. (This is called a "shared sump" design, which is unlike automobiles which maintain separate oil reservoirs - one for the engine and one for the transmission). The chemical additives found in heavy duty engine oils work well with motorcycles. In addition, the lack of "friction modifiers" in truck oils such as Rotella means they do not interfere with proper wet clutch operations.

Motorcycle specific oils tend to cost between $8 and $10 per quart. Shell Rotella T 15W-40 costs about $10 per gallon (or about $2.50/quart). The price economy of Shell Rotella T allows a motorcycle owner to change oil more frequently, thus matching the "extended change interval" value of motorcycle specific synthetics."

 

Must be something to what yamaha recommends

In may service manual it states that : Recommended Oil

1. use yamalube 4 cycle oil sae 20w50 when tempetures does not get below 40°f

2. Use sae 10w30 se motoroil if tempetures does not go above 60°f

I Sure as heck not going to ride in weather below 40°f and very seldom if ever in temps below 60°f or below . I currently use valvoline 4 cycle motor oil 10w40 with no problems. paid $3.50us a quart

But to my understanding every bike is unique has its own qwirks just like its owners.

 

Castrol 4cycle 20x50 for me. No problems noted todate.

 

10w-40 for me.

 

15w40 diesel all day long

 

Spectro 20W40 "motorcycle" oil in the XJs 80% of the time, 20W50 Castrol when it gets really hot during the summer (IF there is a corresponding oil change due) otherwise 20W40 all the time.

 

last year it was the Rotella 15-40 it was ok this year when I pulled the bike out and drove it to work two days then to a friends for maintenance the oil looked like mayonaise. I guess thats what storage in an unheated shed does alot of condensation. I ride under 40*F all the time I have been riding the bike to work everyday since last Thurs. Today no exception its 30*F right now and I will be heading out the door in a few minutes to work. I put Rotella synthetic back in for the spring and will see how it holds up. It seems to do great so far iwth the cool mornings and 45-70*F afternoons but the ride to work isn't a long one either.

 

i found an interesting page when looking up information after reading PVSchultz post - ok guys just make a personal note i am not a salesman so no need to warn me here this is strictly informational

http://www.performanceoiltechnology.com ... utches.htm

 

It's never a bad idea to change the oil prior to putting her away for the year. Last fall I went for a nice ride, and while hot, drained the old oil (from the summer), removed the filter, and replaced with the cheapest oil that I could find (that didn't have those pesky friction modifiers in it). This spring I warmed up the engine and drained the "storage" oil out of her and replaced it with the Rotella 15W-40. I had a gallon of the 10W-40 synthetic in my hand, but instead went with the three quarts of the dina blend for half the price. Had my local store had the synthetic in quart bottles, I would have went that way, but it is dino this year. I really don't ride that much, just 7 miles round trip to work, and then around town so the synthetic really won't get me that much based on that.

 

The P.O did the amsoil fully synthetic. I don't really know which weigh. I don't know if I should stick with it or not. The PO seems to have been sold that whole line that the oil won't have to be replaced for 3 years etc... I'm the type of guy who prefers regular oil and prefers to do regular oil changes as well. I'm thinking on going rotella. Any input on amsoil on our bikes? Mine seems to not want engage when starting up sometimes. The starter spins and catches but sometimes it seems to slip out. I heard that could be caused by the oil one runs. It does it more when cold.

 

xulf13 i bought my seca last year and 1 week before a bike trip i changed my oil since i bought it. p.o. let it sit for 2 years. i used a synthetic oil and that motor went down hill from there. the starter clutch never was the same again and had to swap motor out. there is a thread on here about oil with out the friction and in that thread it says we need it for the starter to catch.

 

i guess i should have loaded a Poll into this so from what i can tell the XJ's like the rotella, i may have to pick some up on the way home and try that.

 

I'm still experimenting. Right now I am running Mobil 1 Synthetic Racing 4T 10W-40 made for motorcycles. Haven't noticed any problems yet.

 

Rotella is good. If you want to deep clean the interrnals try Delo 400 fo di
I've used both I prefer Delo 400

 

Ran across this while looking for info on oil and to get a better understanding of weights. Thought I would share with the group in case some haven't seen it.

Motor Oil Bible

 

ok so i did a little bit of expieramenting... with the rotella i noticed a high pitch whine that wasnt present before. not sure i dig on it all that much... engine did seem warmer..

i got a flyer / coupon in the mail for the auto parts store that showed the Valvoline Motorcycle wet cluch blend 20/50 2.99 per qt

i'll need to rack up a few hundred miles or so to see what it does but so far the bike is idling a little smoother... clutch isn slipping as of the oil change , and it seems to grab a bit earlier - BTW this is stuff i noticed on the first 50miles of the new oil.



so to sum it up.... ditching Castrol (wow... never thought i would say that ... been using if since i have been turning wrenches "22 yrs")

 

My experience with the 900: I bought the AmsOil Motorcycle synthetic, 20 W 50, and immediately had the starter clutch problem. I even resorted to bump-starting it just so I could run the "good" oil. Then I drained without a filter change, which leaves 1100 CC behind, and added a quart of Castrol GTX and a quart of Rotella T for some of that "diesel" compound.
Both clutches are liking the Mad Scientist blend. (27,500)

My 750 Seca is still running Mobil-1 20 W 50 synthetic, with 41,000 miles, no starter clutch problem, and a slightly slipping tranny clutch that it always had. My Turbo clutch will go in someday.