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
Your kidding right?
Quote from: slipperymongoose on October 14, 2013, 12:36:01 AM
Your kidding right?
Obviously some oils are better than others im just more curious about synthetic or not?
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
Agree with synthetic Mobile1 racing 4t. Purrs like a cat. :thumb:
Without getting into brand debates, yes, full synthetic here. I find it maintains shift quality throughout the oil change interval better. Engine likes it :)
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!
Oh goody, another oil thread. :icon_lol: 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! :thumb:
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.
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... :thumb:
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 think the real answer is......depends on how you use the bike :dunno_black:
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 :dunno_black:
Awesome thanks for the info :)
.. 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! ;)
Quote from: ohgood on October 15, 2013, 09:33:39 AM
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
Quote from: Dr.McNinja on October 15, 2013, 08:54:55 PM
Quote from: ohgood on October 15, 2013, 09:33:39 AM
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 :)
Quote from: Jimbob on October 14, 2013, 12:14:19 AM
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.
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.
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.
Quote from: burning1 on October 22, 2013, 11:10:43 AM
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?
http://www.amsoil.com/techservicesbulletin/MotorOil/TSB%20MO-2004-04-03%20Oil%20Consumption.pdf (http://www.amsoil.com/techservicesbulletin/MotorOil/TSB%20MO-2004-04-03%20Oil%20Consumption.pdf)
It gets past rings, seals, etc and gets burned in the combustion chamber. All engines do it, and my old Land Cruiser has a chapter in the owners manual dedicated to explaining it; because the Toyota 1FZ-FE engine was also well know to have the "characteristic" of burning lots of it.
Dan
Got what the had in stock at Autozone. Castrol 10w-40 motorcycle oil. No issues.
Golden Spectro seems to be a good oil for the price from what I hear.
Caltex havoline 20W/50 :/
Quote from: Turd Ferguson on October 22, 2013, 07:13:40 PM
http://www.amsoil.com/techservicesbulletin/MotorOil/TSB%20MO-2004-04-03%20Oil%20Consumption.pdf (http://www.amsoil.com/techservicesbulletin/MotorOil/TSB%20MO-2004-04-03%20Oil%20Consumption.pdf)
It gets past rings, seals, etc and gets burned in the combustion chamber. All engines do it, and my old Land Cruiser has a chapter in the owners manual dedicated to explaining it; because the Toyota 1FZ-FE engine was also well know to have the "characteristic" of burning lots of it.
Dan
1FZ-FE engine! ... Luxury!! ... :icon_lol:
Used to have a '82 HJ47 ute ... 2H motor .. But it burned bugger all oil eh! ... :thumb:
The H motor (gen 1) used to use a little though ... And was known as 'the rattler' ... At idle all the mirrors on the vehicles would vibrate.... And I don't mean just vibrate....like Shake so bad you couldn't use them for vision! .. And the door panels, bonnet, roof etc ... Not a well balanced unit for idle!
But yeah ... Oil use in some/most engines of whatever type is to be expected... And more so I think if the engine gets pushed to near or on its rev limit often... Part of the fun of engines!
Cheers for all the info :D
I learned about the GS burning oil the hard way with my '06. Checked it after a thousand miles or so (WHOOOPS!) and it took right around 3/4 qt to reach the full mark. I hope that I didn't completely destroy the engine. I've put around 200 miles on it since topping off and haven't heard any knocking, so crossing my fingers.
I owned a '00 Isuzu Amigo that burned 1 qt every 1K miles which was very typical for the V6, and actually quite easy to maintain. My '06 F-150 hardly burns a drop. Go figure.
Assuming I didn't completely destroy the GS, I'll start checking it every other fill up as others have suggested. I could just kick myself!!
Oil gets burnt through the valve guides doesn't it on these things?
Don't confuse burning with evaporation.
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/Newrider/newriderresults/2010/December/dec1510-know-your-bikes-oil-consumption/
Explains why some owners whose engines are in otherwise good condition have lost a high amount of oil on long run.
Yeah but you didn't answer my question. Does it get lost through the valve guides or under the pistons? Specifically for this engine on this bike where does the oil go?
Pressurize the cylinder and listen for where it is leaking out. Intake, exhaust, crankcase.
Just be careful if you have it in gear, hold the rear brake to keep it from running off the stand.
regards
Mech
Quote from: slipperymongoose on October 23, 2013, 06:57:48 PM
Yeah but you didn't answer my question. Does it get lost through the valve guides or under the pistons? Specifically for this engine on this bike where does the oil go?
Sorry...I wasn't talking to anyone specifically, but to answer your question.....
If the valve stems, guides and seals are in good order the amount lost through them will be minimal. And assuming the lower end of the engine is in good order you are far more likely to suffer loss through evaporation than through burning if the bike is ridden hard for long periods, particularly if the oil you are using has a low resistance to volatility (or evaporation)
http://www.combscustoms.com/pdfs/Amsoil_Study.pdf
Check the test figures on page 17. It would appear some brands evaporate at up to almost 3x the rate of others under the same conditions :dunno_black:
Well holy shaZam! a proper answer
That was an interesting read. Something useful for once.
I think I'm making the switch over to 20w50 next spring. Oil consumption is creeping up especially on my long spirited back road commutes. I'm not hard on my bike by any means, but I do drive it the way the Suzuki gods intended.
Yeah i just read it all was very interesting
Quote from: slipperymongoose on October 23, 2013, 06:57:48 PM
Yeah but you didn't answer my question. Does it get lost through the valve guides or under the pistons? Specifically for this engine on this bike where does the oil go?
Evaporation , then into the breather, through the combustion chamber, and our the pipe? The engine has to circulate air, and oil is sloshing in there, a lot.
The oil study is neat, but doesn't define what is an acceptable low limit for engine oil. It's focus is only the high limits of wear. The 4 ball bearing test is an extreme exaggeration of what should not happen in an engine, ever.
Or maybe I missed it ?
I understand oil evporation under the hot pistons being a consideration but still don't believe it has much of anything to do with the GS's much higher oil consumption at high speeds after it gets high mileage on it, the evaporation should be about the same regardless of the bikes mileage. The more the rings wear the more the oil sprayed up on the cylinder walls gets sucked up into the combustion chambers to burn.
Burned oil is then expended back down past the rings into the sump as well as out the exhust. Way back in the good old days, pre EPA, crankcases were vented to the atmosphere thru an open tube runnung down towards the road under the engine. On an old worn engine there was a steady thick cloud of smoke coming out. Now all that worthles crap is recirculated back thru the engine again.
Quote from: hovermn on October 23, 2013, 04:04:20 PM
I learned about the GS burning oil the hard way with my '06. Checked it after a thousand miles or so (WHOOOPS!) and it took right around 3/4 qt to reach the full mark. I hope that I didn't completely destroy the engine. I've put around 200 miles on it since topping off and haven't heard any knocking, so crossing my fingers.
I owned a '00 Isuzu Amigo that burned 1 qt every 1K miles which was very typical for the V6, and actually quite easy to maintain. My '06 F-150 hardly burns a drop. Go figure.
Assuming I didn't completely destroy the GS, I'll start checking it every other fill up as others have suggested. I could just kick myself!!
The worst part about the gs500 engine is that it hasn't had much done to it since 89 (and really even earlier than that).
The best part about the gs500 is that it hasn't had much done to it since 89 (and really even earlier than that).
Basically if you're not knocking you're probably fine. Don't do it again. The GS500 engine, as old, outdated, and unimpressive as it is, is basically a tank. I wouldn't worry about it.
I use to be the "Mobil1 Poster Child", I have since drank from the Rotella T Golden Chalis. Rotella T6 Full Synthetic works fine, I also picked up a gallon of Rotella T3 SAE 15W-40 for $12.99 at Wal-Mart. My WR is my guinea pig at the moment, all bikes going to Rotella T soon. Mobil1 T4 is good stuff, but @ over $10.00 a quart :nono:
Changing your oil on time is more important than what oil your changing
(http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4779964770223902&w=116&h=179&c=7&rs=1&pid=1.7)
Ive never used moto specific oils in my bikes. except for one oil change on my harley. used car oils. w/o a problem. certain car oils you shouldnt use btw. but fwiw i cannot remember which ones.
Motul 5100? Used it, tt's good.
Motul 300v? used it, it's better.
Mobile 1 racing 4t? Used it, it's better-er.
But now... I hang around KFC joints and take the boxes out of the trash cans and get the oil out of the boxes. Man, that is finger licking good right thar :thumb:
Quote from: Suzuki Stevo on October 26, 2013, 12:14:30 PM
I use to be the "Mobil1 Poster Child", I have since drank from the Rotella T Golden Chalis. Rotella T6 Full Synthetic works fine, I also picked up a gallon of Rotella T3 SAE 15W-40 for $12.99 at Wal-Mart. My WR is my guinea pig at the moment, all bikes going to Rotella T soon. Mobil1 T4 is good stuff, but @ over $10.00 a quart :nono:
Changing your oil on time is more important than what oil your changing
(http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4779964770223902&w=116&h=179&c=7&rs=1&pid=1.7)
Bingo
I used to buy dog food at Walmart, and $4 prescriptions.
My dog died, and my kids aren't as sick as much anymore.
So now all I buy there is Rotella. Honey in gallon jug.