What oil do you use?

[Jimbob]

Afternoon all I just curious to know what type of oil you guys use? Do you like to use synthetic etc is one better than others? Cheers

[slipperymongoose]

Your kidding right?

[Jimbob]

Your kidding right?

Obviously some oils are better than others im just more curious about synthetic or not?

[slipperymongoose]

Honestly go with what makes you sleep soundly at night. I woulda thought you seen enough oil threads? Me I use Mobil 1 synthetic. Used it in the gs and the BMW and it does it's job nicely. Smooth shifting, low consumption in the gs, engine ran smoothly. Overall very happy

[åsaka]

Agree with synthetic Mobile1 racing 4t. Purrs like a cat. 

[mitch79]

Without getting into brand debates, yes, full synthetic here. I find it maintains shift quality throughout the oil change interval better. Engine likes it

[makman]

10w40 semi synthetic Halfords own brand Motorcycle oil.  Change it every 3000 miles.  Job jobbed.  Change filter at the same time.  Cost effective way of ensuring the bike is kept in good condition mechanically.  Will be doing this as soon as it stops raining on me!

[gsJack]

Oh goody, another oil thread.   Bought my 97 GS new and ran Spectro 10-40 dino juice MC oil for first 5k miles then switched to Mobil 1 15-50 full synthetic for another 60k miles.  Then due to increasing oil consumption I switched to less costly 15-40 Rotella T type oils and found my 97 ran cooler while consuming about same amount of oil, no more gas knock on hot summer days.  Used these heavy duty aka truck oils up to 80k when bike was totaled.

Bought my 02 with 4k miles on it and ran Rotella T 15-40 type oils all the way to 100k miles and counting without a single ping and with similar oil consumption record after mileage passed 50-60k miles.  GS not really suitable for high speed interstate commuting and travel at higher mileage unless you keep some adding oil handy.

GS is tractor science not rocket science and that's part of it's charm!   

[pliskin]

Ditto on Rotella T 15-40. I even ran it in a cheap Lifan china bike. It's good. I run Bel-Ray 10-40 in my VFR because it shifts nice with that oil. Whatever oil you use just change it often and you will not have no engine/lube problems. Out of all the oils I have used the only thing I notice is in the shifting and clutch sllip. Some oils make shifting easy in some bikes. Rotella works good in dealing with both shifting and clutching in the GS IMO.

[Atesz792]

Motul 5100 here. Though I haven't been a GS rider for a long time yet... But I've been told it performs nice in SV's, so...

[ohgood]

awesome ! an oil thread ! man i never woulda thunk of that ! sweeeeet !


yes, please do keep oil in it. it will run very poorly, and for a very short time, without it.

if you -do- change your oil, just make sure it doesn't say "energy conserving" on the bottle/jug/can/tub/whatever you oil comes in. cause if it does, it will make the clutch pack slip until you change it with NON energy conserving oil 2-3 times.

otherwise, ya, make sure it has oil. and a filter (for longevity !) too. 10w30, 10w40, 20w50, whatever brand, who cares. the point is it continues to lubricate and cool the engine until the next time you change it. that is all.

oh, if you get some $30/quart 'special race uber wow' stuff, some people will high five you, but a lot more will laugh at you.

[sledge]

I think the real answer is......depends on how you use the bike 

In certain circumstances....... high revs for long periods in high ambients that old air cooled dinosaur can evaporate a significant amount of oil so if long runs in the heat is your style you may want to consider a full synth at the upper end of the range. However if you are just pottering about say 2-3 times a week and not imposing any great strain on the engine or racking up the miles you will be fine with something of lesser quality.

I have only ever used a bike specific mid-range, mid-price Motul semi-synth in GS5s and I have never had an issue.......but then again in over 10 years I don't recall anyone ever saying they have had a problem as a direct result of the oil they use 

[Jimbob]

Awesome thanks for the info

[Janx101]

.. just a random thought on this...

s'funny how some things work ... with ohgood's mention above .. of energy conserving oils... not good for bikes no doubt there!!

but .. what boffin was sitting in his lab ... and thinking ... this oil simply isnt slippery enough!! .. it must be even slippery-er-er-er!!

i shall add 'secret ingredient X' to the mix and the worlds car engines will love me!! ...

or maybe he was just looking for a superior viscosity for the "annual laboratory christmas party hallway sliding distance challenge" .. perhaps we shall never know! 

[Dr.McNinja]

awesome ! an oil thread ! man i never woulda thunk of that ! sweeeeet !


yes, please do keep oil in it. it will run very poorly, and for a very short time, without it.

if you -do- change your oil, just make sure it doesn't say "energy conserving" on the bottle/jug/can/tub/whatever you oil comes in. cause if it does, it will make the clutch pack slip until you change it with NON energy conserving oil 2-3 times.

otherwise, ya, make sure it has oil. and a filter (for longevity !) too. 10w30, 10w40, 20w50, whatever brand, who cares. the point is it continues to lubricate and cool the engine until the next time you change it. that is all.

oh, if you get some $30/quart 'special race uber wow' stuff, some people will high five you, but a lot more will laugh at you.

I go the opposite. I figured that since cooking oil is packed with energy I would do my oil change with that. My bike has been running better (and cleaner!) since I switched over to a mid-grade cooking oil. Just make sure it doesn't have any additives. Throw in a high-flow K&N oil filter and you can really feel the difference. Of course, this is strictly seat-of-pants only. The only problem is I have to do oil changes more frequently. But since I can get a change worth of mid-grade cooking oil for about 7 bucks I actually come out ahead.



im kidding please dont hurt me

[ohgood]

awesome ! an oil thread ! man i never woulda thunk of that ! sweeeeet !


yes, please do keep oil in it. it will run very poorly, and for a very short time, without it.

if you -do- change your oil, just make sure it doesn't say "energy conserving" on the bottle/jug/can/tub/whatever you oil comes in. cause if it does, it will make the clutch pack slip until you change it with NON energy conserving oil 2-3 times.

otherwise, ya, make sure it has oil. and a filter (for longevity !) too. 10w30, 10w40, 20w50, whatever brand, who cares. the point is it continues to lubricate and cool the engine until the next time you change it. that is all.

oh, if you get some $30/quart 'special race uber wow' stuff, some people will high five you, but a lot more will laugh at you.

I go the opposite. I figured that since cooking oil is packed with energy I would do my oil change with that. My bike has been running better (and cleaner!) since I switched over to a mid-grade cooking oil. Just make sure it doesn't have any additives. Throw in a high-flow K&N oil filter and you can really feel the difference. Of course, this is strictly seat-of-pants only. The only problem is I have to do oil changes more frequently. But since I can get a change worth of mid-grade cooking oil for about 7 bucks I actually come out ahead.



im kidding please dont hurt me

loll

[burning1]

Afternoon all I just curious to know what type of oil you guys use? Do you like to use synthetic etc is one better than others? Cheers

Jim,

The GS500 is a reliable old engine. The most important thing is that you check the oil regularly, and keep it topped off. Keeping an eye on the oil is far more important than what oil you run.

[Jimbob]

Thanks. I do keep an eye on it because it does leak from the left side. I replaced the oring on the gear changer rod but still leaks. So ill clean it up soon and use the powder to find out if it's coming from somewhere else.

[burning1]

These engines also burn a lot of oil. You'll probably burn more than you leak.

This is true of any air cooled engine. My BMW R series bike also burned a lot.

[Jimbob]

These engines also burn a lot of oil. You'll probably burn more than you leak.

This is true of any air cooled engine. My BMW R series bike also burned a lot.

Why do they burn oil? I mean it shouldnt be getting mixed into the combustion or anything right?