What Oil Do You Run?

Gentlemen,

I searched for this already and learned one thing... the word "oil" or "oily" is used a KAW-zillion times here over the past forever!
I could not find anyone speaking directly to my question though.

Since I need to change the oil and filter; I was wondering what everyone's experiences and recommendations are?

I was going to use 20/50 weight but not certain yet.

I've used Castrol GTX 20/50 in all my stuff for 40 years. I noticed my oil was going away too fast. Come to find out they changed it without telling anyone. I changed to Rotilla 15/40, the bike stopped burning oil and it's better for the clutch. It's in my truck now as well.
Steve

Rotela 15w40 in the white jug wall mart has the best price about $12 a gal.

I have run 20/50 motor oil in all my KZ900's and 1000's for 40 years, (speed bikes, cruisin' bikes, and Sunday-go-for-a-spin bikes) and have yet to harm an engine internally. I am a 20/50 user, but that's just me. You'll probably get a gazillion differing opinions on this topic. ................................Mike

Vroom-vroom!!!

Been using 10/40 Valvoline bike oil for quite a while ..... would use 20/50 but most of my rides are from 65 to 80 degree's. Remember Yoshi saying in a article that his Suzuki super bike picked up a little over 3 hp going from 20/50 to 30 weight.

Unicorn blood, oil is a hotly debated subject.

I run diesel engine oil. It has more zinc and phosphorus than automotive oil which is good for protection of highly loaded internal engine parts such as transmission gears and similar. Rotella diesel oil is MA certified, which means it plays well with wet clutches, but in my experience all diesel oils are fine, whether they have the MA certification or not. Performing the certification testing costs a good bit of money and the oil makers don't want to absorb the costs for the relatively small motorcycle market.

Most diesel mineral oils are 15W-40 which is fine for bike use unless you ride the bike when it's really cold outside. The 15W indicates the cold weather viscosity (flowability). The lower the better if you ride when it's cold. Most synthetic oils have a lower W viscosity rating which is good. Rotella synthetic is 5W-40 for example.

Synthetic oil has a few advantages over mineral oil: 1) it doesn't break down as fast so you can extend the drain interval, 2) it doesn't thin out as much at killer high temperatures, so if you ride in traffic during rush hour in the city the synthetic oil will help protect the engine better than mineral oil, and 3) the lower W viscosity allows the oil to flow faster during cold startups, thus reducing startup wear. Down side of synthetic is cost. Some people think synthetic oil will cause oil leaks which is not exactly true. Because synthetic oil is intended for extended drain intervals it tends to be high detergent, and this cleaning ability tends to exploit leak paths that may be clogged up with sludge in your engine at present. In my opinion this isn't really an oil problem per say though.

I have been running Spectro Platinum 4 full synthetic since back in the 80's. It used to be called "Race 40" oil back then. Its not cheap, but I have been very happy with its results in my motors. My GSXR750 motor with many Yoshimura parts has never shown any type of wear on its rocker arm pads or cam lobes. This has always been a problem on the early model GSXR's with big cams.

Same in my KZ1000 motors. Never any wear on any of my cams, or cam bearings. Pistons never showed any type of scuffing or excessive wear patterns either.

my oil cap says 10w-40

15/40 is good enough as long as it's approved for bikes.
Steve

www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/motor-oil...e-oil/?code=MCFQT-EA

WD40