Oil Thread

[Striple]

Yeah, I know. But every self-respecting motorcycle forum must have an oil thread every now and then.

So -

1. What brand and weight of oil do you use for your bike(s)?

2. Where do you normally purchase it, and at what (approximate) price per quart?

3. At what mileage intervals do you normally change your oil? Why do you choose those particular intervals?

4. Why are you using that particular brand? Cost? Availability? Bike manufacturer's recommendation?

5. What other brands have you tried? What was your experience with them?

[fixxervi6]

1. Red Line 10W40 synthetic
2. Cyclegear or where ever, not picky, dunno what it costs
3. 4,000 miles or after a track day, just because its a nice round number and the book says every 4K
4. it comes with it's own funnel built in
5. In the GSXR that's it.

[milesmiles]

1. Mobil 1
2.autozone/cycle center 8.50 a quart
3.4000 I have no idea why
4.a lot of people recommend it. And it's by far the easiest to find
5.only Mobil 1. But I really really want to do rotella

[Firewa11]

1. Vegetable Oil
2. Albertson's
3. Every 17 miles or until the engine seizes.
4. Oil is oil right?
5. I've tried Canola oil but it smells funny.

[Striple]

1. Mobil-1 Synthetic 10W-30 & 10W-40
2. Wally World, $26.48/5qts ($5.30/qt)
3. Usually at around 3,000 miles, but for no particular reason
4. Initially, because of the manufacturer's recommendation, but the combination of price and quality seems difficult to beat.
5. I've tried Honda Synthetic and Royal Purple, among others. I've never been able to tell a difference between any of these.

fixxervi6 - I'm thinking about giving Red Line a shot, in order to see how well it resists shearing under heavy stress. It would be interesting to have comparative UOA data for different oil types used in the same engines. That said, the cheapest that I've seen Red Line oil is $131.40/12qts, which at $10.95/qt is significantly more expensive than even Royal Purple.

dufremle - I'm guessing Amsoil is in the same or even higher cost neighborhood?

[milesmiles]

I can never find the mobil1 at Walmart!!

[Bewst]

Amsoil, whatever Bryce @ FPS puts in it!

[Firewa11]

For cerealness:

1. Mobil 1 (motorcycle-specific, not wally-world) was the last oil I used in my Ninja. I used Castrol G4 Superbike in my race bike.
2. Cycle Gear, the only place local I could find at a decent price. I found cheaper places online, but when you factor in shipping, it was about the same. Plus CycleGear periodically ran specials, and when they did I would stock up on the next 2-3 oil changes worth.
3. For the street bike, usually around 3k miles, sometimes less, sometimes more, depending upon the riding conditions and if I felt like changing the oil. For the race bike, after every race weekend. No real reason, other than constant high revs and high heat on the track.
4. Started using Mobil 1 because of cost and availability. I went in to find Castrol R4 and they were out, so I started using Mobil 1. It was slighly cheaper than the Castrol so I kept using it.
5. I've used Castrol GPS, Amsoil, Royal Purple, Castrol G4, and Mobile 1. I didn't find any difference whatsoever with the type of oil blends, with the exception of how much money I spent. The only real difference I ever experienced that was actual real results was switching to Engine Ice (no, not oil, coolant).

[fixxervi6]

For cerealness:

1. Mobil 1 (motorcycle-specific, not wally-world) was the last oil I used in my Ninja. I used Castrol G4 Superbike in my race bike.
2. Cycle Gear, the only place local I could find at a decent price. I found cheaper places online, but when you factor in shipping, it was about the same. Plus CycleGear periodically ran specials, and when they did I would stock up on the next 2-3 oil changes worth.
3. For the street bike, usually around 3k miles, sometimes less, sometimes more, depending upon the riding conditions and if I felt like changing the oil. For the race bike, after every race weekend. No real reason, other than constant high revs and high heat on the track.
4. Started using Mobil 1 because of cost and availability. I went in to find Castrol R4 and they were out, so I started using Mobil 1. It was slighly cheaper than the Castrol so I kept using it.
5. I've used Castrol GPS, Amsoil, Royal Purple, Castrol G4, and Mobile 1. I didn't find any difference whatsoever with the type of oil blends, with the exception of how much money I spent. The only real difference I ever experienced that was actual real results was switching to Engine Ice (no, not oil, coolant).

I wondered if that engine ice was worth a damn

[milesmiles]

I just put engine ice in about two weeks ago. Talked to the people about it and they spoke of it very highly. From what i can tell it cools much much better now. It took forever to get my fans to kick on! I'm happy with it. If you are still running the same coolant that came with the bike i recommend changing it out.

[dufremle]

How many oil threads do we need?

[Striple]

How many oil threads do we need?

One for oil itself, one for filters, and one of oil analyses. Annually.

Speaking of which, can you get me some quotes for Amsoil 10W-30 and 10W-40?

[Striple]

For cerealness:

1. Mobil 1 (motorcycle-specific, not wally-world) was the last oil I used in my Ninja.

Wally World carries that one as well, $9.97/qt.

[milesmiles]

I think we should also have one for oil disposal as well i would like a quote on 10W-40 as well please

[fixxervi6]

How many oil threads do we need?

One for oil itself, one for filters, and one of oil analyses. Annually.

Speaking of which, can you get me some quotes for Amsoil 10W-30 and 10W-40?

When do you use 10W-30? and what in?

[milesmiles]

his lawn mower. He just wants the best for it

[DarcShadow]

Given the life expectancy of most sport bikes the type of oil and frequency of changes really doesn't matter.

[fixxervi6]

Given the life expectancy of most sport bikes the type of oil and frequency of changes really doesn't matter.

I dunno about that, mine has already made it past 23,000 miles, seeing how it is such a high reving engine to me oil changes in my bike are more important tha the oil changes in my truck.

[milesmiles]

i believe he is speaking from his experiences with crashes!

[Striple]

When do you use 10W-30? and what in?

I've used 10W-30 in the CBR during the cooler months (per manufacturer's recommendation).

Given the life expectancy of most sport bikes the type of oil and frequency of changes really doesn't matter.

I dunno about that, mine has already made it past 23,000 miles, seeing how it is such a high reving engine to me oil changes in my bike are more important tha the oil changes in my truck.

I've got to agree with fixxervi6 there. If you plan on keeping your bike long-term (i.e., past, say, 40k miles or so), and ride it reasonably hard, then it only makes sense to pay attention to proper viscosity and active additives in the oil, both of which can be affected by the size of oil change intervals.

[DarcShadow]

Planning and doing are two very different things. lol The engine, in my oppion, is the least likely thing to die. Other parts will fail and total out the bike long before even a half assed cared for engine dies, unless you have a kawasaki, they seem to eat pistons.

[fixxervi6]

If I was one of these guys that buys a bike for the parking lot or to look pretty in my garage, or plan on running into cars when I get board with the bike I wouldn't be so concerned.

If all goes well, I'll put more miles on this summer than I did last, for a sport bike my engine is seeing touring miles.

[fireblade]

I change the oil on my bike per the manufacturers book it came with and mine has been doing great. 55,000 miles and counting.

[Striple]

Planning and doing are two very different things. lol The engine, in my oppion, is the least likely thing to die. Other parts will fail and total out the bike long before even a half assed cared for engine dies, unless you have a kawasaki, they seem to eat pistons.

True, shit happens. Granted, I'm not enough of a pessimist to assume that my bike is going to be totalled on my watch, even though there is a chance that it might happen (and has happened in the past). I guess it comes down to different philosophies - mine has always been to take good care of my vehicles, electronics, and animals. Ownership also goes beyond the necessities for me, since I enjoy taking care of stuff and take pride in ownership.

Unless I've just laid it down, in which case I don't want anything to do with it for at least a couple of days.

[U-Turn]

Yeah, I know. But every self-respecting motorcycle forum must have an oil thread every now and then.

So -

1. What brand and weight of oil do you use for your bike(s)?
Repsol - 5w15 I think. Whatever their selling at CycleGear. I have ran Mobil1 Synth and probably will go back. Clutch was a *lot* smoother with those friction modifiers in the oil.

2. Where do you normally purchase it, and at what (approximate) price per quart?
CycleGear for the Repsol and Walmart for the Mobile 1. $37 and $27 respectivly.

3. At what mileage intervals do you normally change your oil? Why do you choose those particular intervals?
5k - easy to remember.

4. Why are you using that particular brand? Cost? Availability? Bike manufacturer's recommendation?
$$ - slipery is slipery. You can fall for the marketing hype, I most often dont.

5. What other brands have you tried? What was your experience with them?
I tried that stuff they put in at The Dealership. It was slipery, but $120 for an oil change was TOO FREAKING MUCH ! !
Oh, and 46000 miles.