I put 20w50 oil in per the recommendation of some local bike people when I did my first oil change. Obviously 10w40 is the recommended weight, but is there any downside to using a heavier oil?
i have only found a down side, when it gets cold, and only on my yamaha, the sprag drive(starter clutch) slips
Quote from: CrimsonI put 20w50 oil in per the recommendation of some local bike people when I did my first oil change. Obviously 10w40 is the recommended weight, but is there any downside to using a heavier oil?
After 10-15K I'd go to 20W50. The down side is that it takes a extra fraction of a second for it to get pumped up when you start it in the morning but the payoff is that you have mire viscous oil flying around which makes it a whole lot easier to pressureise your bearings. The bike already has bearings that dont keep any pressure...I'd love to replace it with bearings that are tight and make and keep pressure but that opens up a whole new set of problems...You start to run the risk of binding up and seizing the motor, being tight makes more heat and sucks power and other issues...
Cool.
Srinath.
and from what i hear Srinath the all knowing BS of GS knows ALOT about SUCKING :nana:
I'm getting a little tired of people bashing. There are other boards to bash on. I don't mind if you're poking fun around here, but please leave the bashing to the other boards.
Scratch,
You have to understand that is just Werase's sence of humor hense his title and he has some sort of ghey infatuation with Srinrath :kiss: . I think it is a SC thing.
Quote from: scratchI'm getting a little tired of people bashing. There are other boards to bash on. I don't mind if you're poking fun around here, but please leave the bashing to the other boards.
You must be new.
Quote from: CrimsonI put 20w50 oil in per the recommendation of some local bike people when I did my first oil change. Obviously 10w40 is the recommended weight, but is there any downside to using a heavier oil?
You can get around the cold pumpability issue of the heavier oil by using a full synthetic. Other than that the only other downside will be a slight reduction (I don't know if you would even notice it) in HP due to the thicker oil.
Quote from: scratchI'm getting a little tired of people bashing. There are other boards to bash on. I don't mind if you're poking fun around here, but please leave the bashing to the other boards.
I can understand that you didnt know he was joking(kindof, it
was a little obvious), but honestly... what other posts have you seen on this forum where people are getting bashed?
Im part of roughly 10 or 11 message boards, and i have never seen the comradeship (is that a word?) and friendly association that i see here, on ANY other board. EVER.
Thats why im on here 24/7
It feeds your soul to see people at their best so much... just to help others... for no profit or any other reason but to help.
SO.... what other posts in particular, have made you grow tired of bashing? :?
gee, the politically correct are out in force.....
the suck my ballz....was a cartman comment......i guess they don't have Southpark in OZ
i eat lunch with Srinath about once a month
i've been to an indian buffet and a Malaysian place
CURRY....GOOD
Srinath is cool.....just likes crap tires and belt drive....
as others have posted...get over it :roll:
I'm due for an oil change, and I'm about to turn over 10K soon. I'm thinking of going Synthetic, maybe Amsoil.. I hear it's great. Question is, can I go from normal oil to synthetic oil without harming the motor? What's the best way to make a transition from non-synthetic oil to fully synthetic oil? :cheers:
When I did my first oil change after getting my GS, I put 20/50 in because I had some already..............the bike got sluggish and would not do over 90 mph, so after a week or so of this I worked it out and bought 10/40 and did another change - everything came back to normal. The answer is, don't put heavier oil in, it slows the machine down, might even cause other damage if used long term.
The heavier weight oil will not pump as easliy through the oil passages, and you will have less oil at critical areas where it is used to carry away heat.
The GS uses oil jets (much like the carb jets) to meter the oil flow to the cams and head. If the oil is too viscous, less oil will get up there. Start up wear will increase because the oil won't pump to critical areas for considerably longer.
There is no benifit of using heavier oil in an engine not designed for it. Why would you do it?
So the question is, I'll use 10-40, but the question is, is it OK to switch from regular oil to synthetic oil in one oil change? I've heard a lot of good stuff about Amsoil oil and filters, so I'm going to see if I can get some of it locally at a shop... if not I'll order a case from them directly. The filters are pricey (5.95 ea, I think) but I've heard really good stuff about their products. Any opinions on that oil, or answers to the synthetic question?
Thanks! :cheers:
I've switched back and forth between synthetics and dino oils repeatedly in several cars and bikes, with no ill affects I can notice. I love the synthetics in the winter - the car starts so much easier, and the oil light goes off right away.
I don't like the price of the synthetics much, and Amsoil is one of the most expensive. I've heard good things said, but on the other hand, I've run the lowest cost automobile synthetics I could find in my bike, and they seemed good too. I think the prices they charge for speciality "motorcycle" oils are ridiculous. From the tests I've seen, there is essentially no difference between the "motorcycle" oils, and automobile oils, as long as they aren't the fuel saving or friction modified car oils. Except the price gets multiplied by two of course.
Quote from: 90GS500rehabYou can get around the cold pumpability issue of the heavier oil by using a full synthetic. Other than that the only other downside will be a slight reduction (I don't know if you would even notice it) in HP due to the thicker oil.
He knows what he's talking about. All the research I've done supports this. I run 5W40 synthetic for the quick pickup and slight HP improvement since I don't feel the GS motor is "tight" enough to worry about a lack of cushining causing extra wear. I'm more worried about the startup wear than the running wear. Plus since it's still acts like a 40W when hot I'm not losing as much as if I went with a 5W30 or even a 10W30. At least I hope I'm not ;)
EDIT: I'm using a full synthetic. Shell Rotella T 5W-40. Available at Wal-Mart in 1 gallon jugs for about $17
If anyone wishes to purchase AMSOIL simply click the link in my signature line. I will donate 100% of profit to GSTWINS.com
I cannot cut any cheaper prices through the online ordering - but I will donate any money made through GSTWIN monthly back to the site. If you do not want to purchase the oil at retail prices contact me privately and I will give you a better deal (read - my cost). This is for GSTWIN members only.
AMSOIL carries a 10w-40 and 20w-50 (geared towards V Twins) motorcycle oils as well as a better oil filter.
I use Castrol Syntec Blend 10W-40. No problems that I can tell so far. Only about $2.50 per quart.
Automotive and Motorcycle specific oils are not equals in any way. The automotive manufacturers have demanded that the oil industry remove Zinc and Phosphorus from their product, because these ingredients poison the catalytic converters. The reason you want these ingredients in your motorcyle is that they adhere themselves to your internal engine parts and protect them from wear.
Some oils are high in the Anti-Wear package, and others are high in Acid-Neutralizers. Dirty oil is dirty oil...so the oil and the filter should be changed often. The manufacturers that tout long intervals between changes are high in Acid-Neutralizers.
If you don't know what's in the oil that you just poured in your motorcycle...you may suffer the consequences later. Read several scientific oil comparison reports to be able to make an informed decision.
Im using Vavoline 20w50 VR1 racing oil in my bike. I get it for free of off the race team I help out so I might as well use it. The manual shows the 20w50 is ok for temps down to 14 degrees. I dont figure riding my GS much below 50 so I should be alright. Once oil is warmed up it thins out a bunch so I figure a little thick when cold is much better then too thin when hot. That and thicker oil doesnt leak out as bad as thinner oil.
we had used a LOT of 20w50 oil while at mmi, then again just about everyone in phoenix uses 20w50. some days it was like 80 hi, vs 32 low in dec. so the 20w50 was quite usable there, dont know about other places. :cheers:
Quote from: BUZZIN
Some oils are high in the Anti-Wear package, and others are high in Acid-Neutralizers. Dirty oil is dirty oil...so the oil and the filter should be changed often. The manufacturers that tout long intervals between changes are high in Acid-Neutralizers.
Quote
Well, some are high in both neutralizers and anti-waer. If you use a better oil filter, you keep the circulating oil from getting "dirty" as fast. That combined with a more stable base stock can allow longer change intervals.
I've been using Amsoil's 10W40 motorcycle oil and oil filter in my 98 GS for about 1000 miles now. When I researched things, I found they include more zinc and phosphorous than any other motorcycle oil. Their independent lab results using the 4 ball wear test shows very little metal scarring and they consistently beat out the other so called high quality oils.
The Amsoil oil filter price is comparable to the K&N oil filter. They both are very high quality filters--they ain't no Fram, baby!
In the end, you really get what you pay for.
My buddy is a dealer. Im gonna have to help him out and buy my oil from him. :mrgreen:
I will start using synthetic after the motor is good and broke in... Amsoil it is.
The small side notes to Kevin and Snowman...
The bike even if it has ~5K miles basiaclly is loose enough that there isn't going to be any tight spots where 10W40 can get in but 20W50 cannot. The bike is very very loose in all bearings. The only thing sloppier probably is a harley. The bearings all fill up with oil just fine, the bike is not capable of retaining high oil pressure and there is no worries with 20W50. In fact I barely made 5psi with 20W50 on my 90 with 5K miles at idle. You need pressure also but flow is more important in most places.
Cushioning is needed for a loose motor more than a tight motor. Tight motors will make and retain pressure and you put in 10W40 and you get the added benefit of quick (still just fractions of a sec) pump up and the bikes bearings are tight enough to keep a thin layer of high pressure oil. BTW a 99 600 GSXR made 15psi at idle with 10W40 in it. Cushioning surprisingly is better with dino than with synthetic cos the synthetic it too slippery it flows right off the places like cam faces and shims. When the cam lifts off the shim that gap takes on a little oil, that oil should stay there till the cam comes back to the shim...synthetic get out of the way faster than dino...But its still a very small diff and the benifits of synthetic far out weigh the issues.
Cool.
Srinath.