Bikey no likey the 20-50

I did that 34 years ago with my Z1. Took forever to warm up. However, I lived in the UP of MI at the time. Here in Texas, no problem in the summer.....chris3

larrycavan wrote:

Oils have come a long way since the 70s. 10/40 should be fine for pretty much any street setup.

100% correct for cars, bikes maybe have an asterisk: the base oil on 10-40 is 10W, the viscosity enhancers bring it up to 40 (that's a 400% increase) On 20-50, the enhancers only have to bring it up 2.5X which means 10-40 has a lot more viscosity enhancers by volume than 20-50.

There are two downsides to that:

1) The viscosity enhancers are not oil, they are "volumizers" that change the viscosity but don't lubricate. More of that means less actual oil.

2) Viscosity enhancers are long chain molecules. Bike gearboxes act like scissors constantly shearing them shorter, so their effect goes away... and pretty quickly. Some have said that 1500 miles is pretty much the limit and then the enhancers are pretty beat up. And when 10-40 gets beat up, it starts looking like 10W oil. 20 -50 can't go lower than 20W when the enhancers are shot.

some interesting info here:

www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Oils1.html

That was some very good info on oil and motorcycle oils.I have been running Kendall 20w-50 4 cycle motorcycle oil.It is MA and jaso certified.Look for part #527-7177 .Kendall is made by ConocoPhillips Houston.Texas

Lots of web pages with lots of oil information. Mine comes from over 30 years of building motorcycle engines. Makes no difference to me if you pay 29 cents per quart or 29$ per quart...Take that for what you think it's worth.

I'm all in favor of good oil but IMO, 20/50 is not required in motorcycle applications under normal use. Grab yourself some Joe Gibbs break in oil and run that for your regular oil. Six bucks a quart. No more expensive than some other oils and worth every penny IMO.

I have guys who run nothing but Mobil 1 and have great success with it in motorcycle engines. I know a guy with a KZ650 with over 90K on the odo.....Always had 10w40 Valvoline run in it and changed every 3k with filter. Now tell me it's no good.......sorry ...not buying some webpage's info over what I've seen with my own eyes.

The Internet is heaped up full of information that conflicts with reality....

JMO,

Larry C

Here's an interesting thread on oil with a lot of opinions:

www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/forum/kawasak...l-vs-automotive.html

I use 20-50 amsoil synthetic because I figure that's what's best for my bike. If other people think other things, I have no problem with that unless they start telling me to do something else.