Hey guys,
New to motorcycle servicing, I checked out the cost of Motorcycle oil & was surprised how much more it costs than normal car oil :sad: .
Jumping online I did a search to find what others use & what might be better value for money, I came across various threads from riders who use Diesel oil & swear by it.. 1x in particular being Shell Rotella T 15w40.
Unfortunately this oil is only available in the USA :mad: , and so far, all my hits have come up with USA riders using generally USA available products.
So.. just wondering, what do you Aussie riders use in your steed ?
My ride is a 08' GS500 & apparently it's recommended I use 10w40 (but 15w40 seems good too). Has anyone used 5w40? is there pros/cons to using a low viscosity in your bike than recommended.. especially in summer ?
Also, where do you guys buy your filters from ?
regards,
I use Motul. It isn't cheap but I use even more expensive Motul in my car as well so >$20 a litre is normal for me. As for filters, they are reasonably cheap from any Suzuki dealer and OE quality is better than most of the aftermarket ones.
If you want to try Mobil1 (also good stuff) you can get a good price from GL Lubricants (http://www.gllubricants.com/index.php?p=1_3_Mobil-1-Price-List) in Sydney. They are a parallel importer and have pretty good prices but the don't carry much for bikes. A quart is near enough to a litre for most purposes.
I went from Motul 3100 to 5100 to 300V. I am now using Mobile 1 Racing 4t - dang that is some pricey schtuff. BUT, oh the gear changes are so buttery smooth.
Don't use diesel oil... it's not bad, but we don't have the same type of diesel oil as the Rotella in the US and it is lacking in some key areas like zinc so it's not the same.
I actually ran Castrol GTX diesel in my 450 for about 10000km's or so after I rebuilt it and it was ok, but then I tried some Shell Advance SX motorcycle oil I had and it was about the same.
Then I tried Penrite Everday fully synthetic and that had a marked improvement in gear changes but unfortunately introduced some weeping from some of my gaskets. Not hugely bad, mainly annoying, but after 5000km's I'd gone through nearly the whole 5 litre bottle. 2.6L fills my bike, the other nearly 2.4L went in top ups along the way from the weeping.
I've just done the next service and this time I have gone Motul 5100 semi synthetic and so far I've only got one good ride (read fanging it) done and so far the weeps are either gone or not noticed yet. The daily commute doesn't typically show them up for me.
Given how new your bike is, I'd go the Penrite Every Day but that's just my opinion... you can get it for a good price from Supercheap too which is quite convenient.
I just get my filters from the local Suzuki dealer...
I use Motul on my bike.
Using Valvoline 15/40 super diesel ... Gear changes are also very smooth .... Compared to misters .. I dunno ? :dunno_black: ...
I got the filter from my local suzuki dealer .... Coulda got cheaper online with a slight wait ... But I wasn't broke that week so I just grabbed one local... :thumb:
Thanks guys :)
Picked up a filter from Suzi dealer ($10) + 5L Mobil1 Delvac MX.. interested to see how it goes :)
Quote from: Widget on January 07, 2014, 09:32:32 AM
Thanks guys :)
Picked up a filter from Suzi dealer ($10) + 5L Mobil1 Delvac MX.. interested to see how it goes :)
You picked up Diesel Engine oil?
Mobil one in the gs and the new bike. Also penrite do bike oils you can get at autobahn and supercheap as well
Quote from: mister on January 07, 2014, 01:29:48 PM
Quote from: Widget on January 07, 2014, 09:32:32 AM
Thanks guys :)
Picked up a filter from Suzi dealer ($10) + 5L Mobil1 Delvac MX.. interested to see how it goes :)
You picked up Diesel Engine oil?
sure seems that way! ... (http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/laughing/smiley-face-giggle.gif)
I use a semi synth (i thought it was full mineral) 10w 50 cant remember what brand it was though :S either way the bike shifts perfectly from start in the drive way every time, no clunks no false neutrals and still has its colour after about 3000 kms, the reason motorcycle oil is so expensive is because your asking it to do 2 things the engine and take a pounding in the gearbox, its purpose built with stronger molecule chains to handle the beating it gets even so most motorbike oil is knackerd after 5000k.
I don't know how diesel oil will work, but I wouldn't bet an engine and gearbox on it....... I'll take my $50+ and get the proper shaZam!
I've heard of quite a few American Yamaha FZ1 owners using Shell Rotella T6 which is a diesel oil. Not sure about the clutch but for an engine it should be fine.
Diesel oils used to have more detergents than the gasoline equivalents so the biggest danger was over-cleaning things like the bores. However, it was a good way of de-coking gasoline engines in the days before unleaded petrol.
Hey Guys,
yep, it is diesel, I've looked into it before buying and have read many man posts on various forums of people using diesel in their bikes for many many years without any issues, but with very good results ... soooo I'm ok with trying it out.
@Janx101 ... why you laughing :confused: ? didn't you just say you were using Valvoline super Diesel ? :dunno_black:
It's all good widget .... Laughing cos of situ ... 'Another user to the fold of diesel oil' .... over specific bike oil ... While the 2 camps of thought don't come to blows over it, there seems to be some definite minor tension about the what's and whys of oil type in the GS and bikes in general... :icon_rolleyes: ;)
To paraphrase gsJack ... It's a tractor science bike not rocket science .... Frequency of oil change and not letting it go over is far more important than oil type...
Aside from not using friction modified oil... Ever!
:thumb:
Quote from: Widget on January 08, 2014, 05:16:01 AM
Hey Guys,
yep, it is diesel, I've looked into it before buying and have read many man posts on various forums of people using diesel in their bikes for many many years without any issues, but with very good results ... soooo I'm ok with trying it out.
You will have also likewise found many posts on forums of people using Motul without problem. But you didn't buy Motul. :dunno_black:
Please, keep us updated on how the oil performs for you :thumb:
Fuchs Silkolene semi I think it is... nice drop :thumb:
I'm using Fuchs Silkolene pro 4 was onsale at supercheap so i grabbed a few big bottles. Seems to work great and my bike doesn't seem to burn as much of it.
Delo 400 (more diesel oil :woohoo:)
Every time I read of someone using Fuchs, I'm reminded of the movie The Thing with Kurt Russell. And in particular the line "It ain't fuchs, it ain't fuchs..."
I use Castrol Activ 4T Motorcycle Oil - 15W-50. Thats all i have used with no problems. Occasionally on special at super cheap auto. I have done 90000kms so far.
Quote from: dread_au on May 29, 2014, 08:57:11 PM
I use Castrol Activ 4T Motorcycle Oil - 15W-50. Thats all i have used with no problems. Occasionally on special at super cheap auto. I have done 90000kms so far.
That's what my local Suzuki dealer uses, and I have been using it.
I picked up my 2008 GS500 at just on 3400km's, it had been left sitting for some time and no idea what oil was being used when I purchased.
On the ride home, noticed the gear changes were ok, however when I got home struggled to get the bike into Neutral. However on reflection, this could have been because I needed to put out the clutch slightly to engage when stopped.
Anyway the next day I did a complete oil change to Motul 5100 (Semi-Synthetic) with a new Suzuki filter, didn't replace the O ring.
Ridden with it until now with just on 6000km's, gear changes have been mostly without issue and easy, a couple of times were tougher than others but could have been me learning the bike.
Just now changed to Amsoil 4T (Fully Synthetic) 10W-40 with a K&N filter and the gear changes are super super smooth, amazing, really surprised me just how easy you have to tap the gear lever for a change. I had read a bit about oils before deciding to just try Amsoil and thats it, I'm sold, done no more shopping around, unless over the next few thousand K's it causes me grief.