NOTHING can start an argument faster than a discussion about oil. They often dissolve into a Diss-cuss-n-fight. ;)
A LOT of B.S. surrounds the topic. Synthetic will damage your engine, it is to "slick". I have a good filter so I change oil every 20,000 miles, and bla, bla, bla.
This guy has some good advice on oil, he explains what the numbers really mean plus all the alphabet that gets stuck on a bottle of oil.
http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/oils.htm
I've figure out two pieces of genius
1 change it when it gets black
2 keep it full
That's everything I've learned from forty years of oil changes. Well, pretty much every thing I know really
Quote from: kylepeterson on January 18, 2018, 05:48:07 PM
I've figure out two pieces of genius
1 change it when it gets black
2 keep it full
That's everything I've learned from forty years of oil changes. Well, pretty much every thing I know really
I'll agree with this for the most part. Once you start making "drastic" changes to a motor, say for instance nitrous / turbo or LOTS of NA stuff (bored, stroked, comp increase, cams and headwork to where you get close to 40% or more than stock HP) oil really can become important. other than that close to the right weight and keeping it full and changed at regular intervals is more than good enough.
Oil changes, like voting, should be done early and often.
;D
Never let an opportunity for a good "discussion" go to waste...
While searching if "Motul" is really necessary for my bikes I came across a lovely thread where an Aussie gentleman ran a lab experiment testing claims of viscosity and durability across various leading synthetic oils.
His results probably won't surprise anyone - Royal Purple, Amsoil & Mobil 1 are API certified and all three will take excellent care of your engine if changed at the manufacturers recommended service interval. Oil problems are pretty much a thing of the past as long as you change it and use a viscosity recommended for the temperature range you're operating in.
If you want to understand the science behind why BobistheOilGuy has a pretty good write up on it. Just like Springer's link, he stresses that most of modern oil marketing is a bunch of hooey and to just ensure your brand meets the American Petroleum Institutes standards.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/
I have found that the Rotella works well in the YZ for the first and maybe second ride. If I stretch to 3 or 4 rides, I start getting false neutrals fairly regularly.
This may be more of an issue since it has a Rekluse!
I continue to use the manufacturers recommended Motorex in the KTM 690 just because I haven't had any issues with it and with known rocker arm bearing issues due to oil starvation, I will continue to use it.
I know none of this is scientific just my 2 cents for the diss-cuss-shun
Quote from: Fencejumper09 on January 19, 2018, 10:10:47 AM
I continue to use the manufacturers recommended Motorex in the KTM 690 just because I haven't had any issues with it and with known rocker arm bearing issues due to oil starvation, I will continue to use it.
I also use KTM's recommended Motorex, but a lot of Husqavarna's have the same engines and they recommend Bel-Ray!
The BEST oil is BMW's Advantec at near $20 a quart.
Because, obviously.
Quote from: Hammerdown77 on January 19, 2018, 02:10:06 PM
The BEST oil is BMW's Advantec at near $20 a quart.
Because, obviously.
Actually the BEST oil is Baby Seal oil...Why?
Well...
The only reasonable, sensible oil to use is Baby Seal oil.
Why?
Well its simple really. Most oil is made from dead dinosaurs that have been in the ground rotting for millions of years. Why would you want to use some old nasty stuff like that?
Baby Seal oil is made fresh every day. Every morning we get up bright and early to club the baby seals, bashing their cute little skulls in. Then we thoroughly squeeze every drop from their still warm bodies, extracting every drop of baby seal goodness.
But wait, that is not all we do for you. We also go around to all the mother seals to collect their tears.
Why?
It is simple really. The mother seals tears add a bit of sweetness to the oil that you can not find anywhere else.
We want the best for you, our customer, so this added work is our way of saying thank you for using the best oil in the world.
Baby Seal oil, they gave it all for you, so enjoy it.
(http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee446/owenwoolley/uploads/Funny%20forum%20pictures/5F406B0F-orig.jpg) (http://s1228.photobucket.com/user/owenwoolley/media/uploads/Funny%20forum%20pictures/5F406B0F-orig.jpg.html)
I use Rotella in all my bikes, it works almost as good as oil.
I only use new engine break-in oil. If it's good enough for a fresh engine, it's good enough for my engine with 50,000 miles. 8) ;)
gotta love oil threads.
:-)
Quote from: kylepeterson on January 22, 2018, 06:24:22 AM
gotta love oil threads.
:-)
Yea...but it IS winter after all...gotta talk about something. :D
Is Baby Oil really made from babies?
Quote from: norton73 on January 22, 2018, 10:26:10 AM
Is Baby Oil really made from babies?
Not sure about normal baby oil but Baby Seal oil...well that is a different story.
Quote from: norton73 on January 22, 2018, 10:26:10 AM
Is Baby Oil really made from babies?
Was BP products really made from bee pee? :-[
I have used the following response on any oil thread I have ever encountered on any motorcycle forum:
During to 20+ years I working in motorcycle shops, I have never seen an engine failure that could be directly and singularly attributed to the use of (or lack of using) any one particular brand of oil. Any major player brand is perfect for the job, just change it, along with the filter, on a regular basis.
Several years back I made the decision to just pick a brand and marry it, using them exclusively for all the lubrication/fluid requirements in all my bikes. I went with Maxima. I use their SynBlend 10w/40 in my 2017 GROM, 2017 Super Tenere, and my 2005 GSXR750 track only bike.
I could have just as confidently picked Bel-Ray, Spectro, Lucas, AMSOIL, Motul, etc. and had the same trouble free experiences. I know enough to understand that I made the perfect choice for me and that someone who chose to marry another brand made an equally good choice.
I think as long as you aren't pushing the limits of an engine Kyle's approach will work just fine. Now if you are approaching the limits of what a particular engine can do for example and over bored high compression high lift cam with lots of headwork and pushing the upper rpm limit of crank and rods or are running a turbo setup the yes a specific oil may become very important to keep up film strength Yada Yada Yada.
I run the expensive motul 300v in the zrx as I've built that motor pretty far and run it pretty hard, and I will say however I can notice a difference in cheaper oil like Rotella and the expensive motul mainly in shift quality, after 1500 miles the Rotella starts giving me false neutrals and generally feels like crap in the transmission however with motul at 3k I hardly notice a difference when I change the oil. The kdx gets Lucas semi synthetic atf because I got a case of it cheap. And the duc will probably get motul just as it's what I have laying around.
All that being said changing it regularly and before it's worn slap out is likely the most important thing on a non race bike.
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