oil question

[Anonymous]

some of the big name oil companies have oils out for "high mileage vehicles". these oils have a "seal conditioner" in them. will this oil with its seal conditioner harm the old gs's in any way (ie:seal conditioner on clutch,etc)? and yes, it is an automotive oil. thanks gs'ers

[AOD]

i ran good ole regular Pennzoil 10W40 in my 78 for over a year with no problems. i switched my 79 (had 11,500 miles on the OD) to synthetic Mobil-1 15W50. i've had no problems with the synthetic...and its worth it for the money if you want your motor to last.

I suggest you try that over any other kind of oil. if you dont want to pay for synthetic, i suggest sticking to a quality 10W40.

~Adam

[robben]

I ran automotive oil in my bike, because I didn't know any different. The engine would always run hot, to the point that there were times when it wouldn't restart until a half hour cooling time. Switched to Suzuki's 10x40, and yeah, it was twice the price, but I haven't had any of the overheating troubles since.

It was explained to me that motorcycle oil is designed for wet clutches and the like. Automotive oil is not. Oil discussion can even get heated up sometimes. IMO, if you want an older bike to last, change the oil often. And use oil designed for bikes. Just my 2 cents.

Robben

[AOD]

The engine would always run hot, to the point that there were times when it wouldn't restart until a half hour cooling time

sounds more like a problem with your coils then the oil. i had the same issue with my 79 before i replaced them.

on the topic of temperatures, synthetic oil will run cooler then a conventional oil. if you want the science behind it, i can get into it.

~Adam

[robben]

I'm open to any ideas on oil. I haven't seen any synthetics designed for bikes, or maybe I just wasn't looking for it. It'd be interesting to hear the science on it.

My coils are original, and I had 'em under suspect at the time, but once I changed to bike oil, it stopped being a problem... thought I just got off easy. 8O

Robben

[KGB]

I used Castrol for higher mileage last oil change.
I did about 650-700 miles last weekend on it.
No difference, yet.
Shifted fine, didn't use any oil.
Everything seems normal.......so far.

My bike hit 29,000 on the trip.
1980 S model.

[AOD]

most conventional oils are going to run around the same temperature. i would not expect any more then a 5 degree shift in temperatures. however, with synthetics, you can and sometimes might see higher temperature drops.

I changed the oil in my bike last night, it came out brown'ish color..i was impressed. The shifting changed a bit with fresh oil, so i think after 1500 miles the synthetic was due for a swap.

they do make synthetic bike oils...but its not cheap. Amsoil might have one, Rotella, and Honda makes their own. They aren't much different then Mobil1.

~Adam

[argonsagas]

It would probably take a while to go through all the threads, but there was one on this question about two months ago, and one response gave a
web connection that showed the results of clinical tests done specifically to determine the differences between motorcycle-specific oils and automotive oils in a motorcycle engine. They used a few major brand automotive oils, brand name motorcycle-specific oils, synthetics and semi-synthetics.


Mobil-1 not only came out on top, it was a runaway victory.

There was a considerable gap between Mobil-1 and the semi-synthetic oils, but almost no gap between the semi-synthetics and Castrol GTX automotive oil, at half their price.

All of the motorcycle-specific oils tested came in beneath the Castrol GTX, and there was no discernible justification for their higher prices.

The opinion offered was buy Mobil-1 for the best performance, but if cost is the critical and deciding factor, buy Castrol GTX for your motorcycle.

The suggestion was to change oil frequently, preferably after about 1500 miles, due to increasing loss of lubricity and viscosity beyond that point.

[Anonymous]

oil question

thanks guys, and feel free to keep 'em coming.