Yet another oil question.....

[Poot]

Hello all,


I am currently debating with my brother on which oils to use in the summer. Both our bikes are 10w-40 recommended, but he runs 20w50 because he feels it gets too hot when hes in stop-n-go traffic.

I dont think I want to put in 20-50, but possibly it is beneficial?



comments?

[earlfor]

I use 15W50 Mobil1 year around. I would still use it year around if I lived north instead of in Florida. Before using Mobil1, for 30 years, I used Castrol GTX 20w50 during hot weather. (which is year round in Fl) :-)

Earl

[bwringer]

I mostly use 15w50 Mobil 1 or 20w50 Spectro.

In my bike, the engine makes less noise and it shifts better with the slightly thicker stuff. Stone cold, the clutch is a bit more draggy, but that goes away in less than a block.

Use whatever makes you happy!

[Anonymous]

In my bike, in the hot aussie summer I use none less than PENRITE HPR30

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH PENZOIL (major problems with it)

HPR30 is 20W60 and works well in all my bikes. It also states on the container that it is suitable for bikes with a wet clutch.

I am in no way affiliated with this company, I have just used their products for the last 15+ years.


See

http://www.penrite.com.au

and

http://www.penrite.com.au/pispdf/HPR30.pdf

[Dink]

The Tractor has always run Valvoline XLD, I tried to change to different oils a couple of times it just chews them up or mis-behaves, so I put it back on XLD end of problem.
Kitty runs Castrol activ 4T 15-50 and rums well on it, I am considering the swap to Mobil 1 though.
Dink

[saaz]

10W-40 oil was originally specified. It is good for the temperature range from -20c to above 50c ambient. A 20W-50 is good for -10c to above 50c ambient. Unless you live in a climate in which this matters, don't worry. In the GS I use either 20W-60 or 15W-60. I also used 20W-50 for many years before this. I would not loose any sleep over the differences between a 10W-40 and a 20W-50 unless you were in a really cold climate. In hot wether the 50 weight makes more sense.

Years ago I ran a 20 litre drum of straight 50 weight penzoil in the bike during summer. Ran perfectly allright, in fact did not really perform better than a 20W-50.

With age a multi grade oil will break down. A 10W-40 is a 40 weight oil that acts like a 10W in low temps, similar for the 20W-50. In higher temps the 20W-50 will last longer before it breaks down.