Oil Weight ??

[recumbentbob]

Question
I have an 08 Nomad, 8000 miles on it. here in So. Indiana it gets in the mid to high 90s in the summer.
I have been using a synthetic MC oil. 20W50 in the summer and 10W40 the rest of the year.

I have been thinking of using a 5W40 synthetic oil year around or a 15W40 conventional oil both are MC rated.

I would rather continue to use a synthetic but not sure about the 5W40 weight.

Which one would you use? Or should I just keep using what I have been.

[Yellow Jacket]

I would probably stick with the 10w40 synthetic all year round.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

I use the Mobil 1 full synthetic motorcycle 10W-40 year round here in Alabama. I don't see that a 5W-40 would hurt anything. There are some oil sites I have seen and they said that motorcycle engines have very tight tolerances and they recommended to use the oil recommended in the owners manual. I use 20W-50 for one oil change but decided to switch back to 10W-40. Some of the guys use varying weights. I definitely would use a motorcycle oil. I know some of the guys will probably differ on this. Just my thoughts.

[phenrichs]

I just changed oil to Rotella full synth 5w-40. It gets into the 90s regular here in SD as well.

[Jared]

I use the 10W-40 if your not going to be riding in 100+ degree temperatures.

[fish]

mobil 1 10-40 syn. all year

[cactusjack]

I just changed oil to Rotella full synth 5w-40. It gets into the 90s regular here in SD as well.

I just changed to RotellaT6 5W40 at my last oil change. It gets down into the 90's here at night.

[dogdoc]

+1 fish. Mobile 1 10W-40 motorcycle full syn oil here.

[hammer]

Uh,oh another oil thread. I use Shell Rotella 15/40 all year in even the hottest temps. I change my oil and filter at +or- 3000 miles and do not see the value in synthetic at that duration at all. I have used the syn 5/40 Rotella version and could not see any difference in shifting and such. It's just more expensive. I have also had the 15/40 oil tested at 3000 miles and it came back nearly pristine.

There are far too many scientific tests and long-term user tests done on MC specific oils that indicate they are a waste of $'s. None of the oil companies can tell you the additive packages or formulas that they use that qualify them to be MC specific and the JASO rating is not dependable as a recommendation. The new Rotella T6 5/40 qualifies. How did that happen?

Most oils that don't have any additives or detergent agents noted in the bottom half on the small circle in the back of the can/bottle can be used in the Nomad in particular because it is not a high reving machine.

Will another oil debate ensue?

[Yellow Jacket]

Since the proboards search function will not allow you to search on a three letter word it is extremely difficult to look up any of the previous oil theads. That pretty much guarantees having the same topics come up over and over.

I pretty much agree with what hammer just said. I would add that the main thing you need to look out for if using something other than a "motorcycle with wet clutch" specific oil, is to make sure that it's not an "energy conserving" formulation. If the container states EC your clutch will not like it.

[recumbentbob]

I didn't mean to start an oil thread; I was just asking about oil weight.
I searched first to no avail.

Thanks,

[hammer]

I know, it's not your fault, it just happens.

So far I have found the 15/40 weight works well. I did try the Mobile 1 15/50 syn. grey cap for higher summer temps and it seemed to fair well too. Many still swear by that oil fortheir bikes. I tried 20/50 Penzoil for a little bit but did not like the shifting on that weight of oil at all.

[lonewolf]

have used the synth. rotella 5w40 with no problems. i know it apples and oranges, but hav a friend who has a goldwing, and has used nothing else for over 50,000 miles.

[heath3n]

GTX 10w-40 ..all year round.

[hammer]

Yes lonewolf and I know a lot of riders on all types of bikes on VolusiaRiders use that too. I did in the VOL because it was higher reving but dropped to the 15W40 when I got the Nomad.

[ndbigfish]

I've tried a couple of synthetics; Royal Purple (10W-40 & 20W-50)) and Rotella T6 (5W-40). I honestly think that the shifting is more difficult or notchy feeling with the synthetics than with Rotella 15W-40 HDEO. I have no desire to try Mobil 10W-40 4T at $10 quart. I quit using RP because of price ($11 a QT) and it quickly lost the smooth shifting characteristics. Delo 400 shifts the best in my bike, but it only lasted for about 2,200 miles and then it was back to rough shifting; also I worried about the amount of molybdenum possibly causing the clutch to slip. It gets hot here in South Central Texas; already been in the mid 80s. I used 10W-40 all the time when I lived in the northern plains. 10W-40 or 15W-40 would serve you well. To use synthetic or not is your choice. Personally I can't make my self leave the oil in longer than 3,000 miles, so what is the benefit of synthetic for me, not sure?

[ffron69]

Just switched myne to the Rotella T-6 5w40 so far so good

[hammer]

Ron I love your sig!! Truer words were never spoken. Peer pressure for sure.

[ffron69]

Ron I love your sig!! Truer words were never spoken. Peer pressure for sure.


Thaks Hammer

Hello my name is Ron & I'm a mod-a-holic!

[recumbentbob]

The 10w40 and 20w50 oil I had been using is Mobil 1 MC oil at $9.50 a qt I'm switching. And since Rotella T is now JASO-MA certified I'm going to that.
For some reason I'm just not comfortable with the 5-w40 grade so I will go with the conventional Rotella T in 15w40 and change every 3000 miles.
When I was using the Mobil I changed every 4000 miles.

I'll use it in both the Nomad and my wife's 950 Yamaha

[billyboy]

The "W" rating is the "winter" or viscosity of the oil tested at extreme low temps. The 40 weight rating is the viscosity at engine operating temp. So, a 5W rating means that the oil will behave like a 5 weight oil at the low temp for cold starting lubrication.

So, unless you're worried about starting your motorcycle engine at -10F to go for a ride, the W rating doesn't matter. A 5W-40 is NOT thinner (or more viscous) than a 10W- or 15W-40 unless you live in the Arctic.

It gets in the 90s during the summer here in northeast Ohio, but not every day. So, while you could go to a heavier weight in summer, I wouldn't bother unless I happened to need to change the oil in late June/early July when it starts getting really warm.

A 5W- or 10W- or 15W-40 all year would be fine in my opinion. There is a chart in the Kaw manual.

[snarleybill08]

oil opinions are like a-holes, everyone has one. there are so many oil experts out there that don't know didily. go to bobistheoilguy.com that is where the real experts hang out. you can spend hours there and learn alot, and form your own honest opinions on the best oil for any mechanical device from motorcycles to industrial machinery with actual oil analysis. just go there and click on forums, and start learning. i hear more folks say my oil works better than your oil when the fact is how would they know. why people deviate from buying top name brand tested oils and buy off brand snake oil, i will never understand. i know the color's pretty or the name sounds exotic. been there done that. go by the owners manual on viscosity and use a good quality name brand oil and change it and the filter at regular interval and believe it or not that motor will love you. here's food for thought. everyone worries about viscosity being to thin. picture how thin the oil film is in twocycle engines when the oil is diluted by the gasoline. at a ratio of 50 to 1 as in chain saws and some outboard motors. the thinner the oil the faster it can get to, and cool vital engine parts such as bearings and piston rings. the newer engine run tight tolerances and require a lower viscosity to circulate properly. bill

[phenrichs]

snarleybill that is good advice except that bobistheoilguy and similar sites haven't been updated in a while. So one should take note that their advice on specific brand/type of oil may no longer be available or may have been renamed. Like the rotella T6 which so far appears to be just a repackage of their original full synthetic.

[snarleybill08]

snarleybill that is good advice except that bobistheoilguy and similar sites haven't been updated in a while. So one should take note that their advice on specific brand/type of oil may no longer be available or may have been renamed. Like the rotella T6 which so far appears to be just a repackage of their original full synthetic.i may be wrong but i think basically the t6 has the jaso approval, probably the same oil. the forums on bob the oil guy are used daily. they have some excellent oil analysis forums where you can see how the oil performs in various motorcycles, and motor vehicles.

[phenrichs]

Crap thanks. I didn't know there was a forum over there. I have been missing out.

[landman]

mobil one 10-40 synthetic year round is what i have used for a few years now on several differant bikes with excellent results.
temps here run from 100 degrees to -25 degrees.

[jay02904]

Just wanted to add my recent experience regarding the hot topic of oil...I changed the oil in my 2008 nomad (4,500miles) used Mobil 1 Full Syn/V-Twin 20w50. The ambient temp was about 65 degrees. I started her up and shifted into first, the bike "jumped" forward and stalled. So I started her again and with the clutch held in the bike actually began to roll forward in first??? So I called the dealer and his answer was it was slippage due to synthetic oil...went back to autozone with 1 of 4 quarts to refund, nice guy refunded me all $45, then bought 4 quarts of valvoline 20w50 conventional motorcycle oil changed the oil out again and the bike has been fine. Any thoughts or similar results out there? Thank you :)

[hammer]

Hey jay, wouldn't that be grabbage not slippage????

[jay02904]

Ha true!

[lonewolf]

snarleybill that is good advice except that bobistheoilguy and similar sites haven't been updated in a while. So one should take note that their advice on specific brand/type of oil may no longer be available or may have been renamed. Like the rotella T6 which so far appears to be just a repackage of their original full synthetic.i may be wrong but i think basically the t6 has the jaso approval, probably the same oil. the forums on bob the oil guy are used daily. they have some excellent oil analysis forums where you can see how the oil performs in various motorcycles, and motor vehicles.
word is, it is the same oil, rotella just never went for the jaso rating before.

[hammer]

It's been more than 15 years for me since first getting into oil topics. I appreciate what snarleybill has to say, I have been on the site he mentions and too many more. So far I have not been able to find where oil companies can tell you what is different about their motorcycle specific oils and they probably can't. I wish I could find the document I did get but it basically said there was little or no difference in the Mobile 1 MC specific oil and the 15/50 RedCap (now grey cap) in similar viscosity automotive oil and the same is largely true of others that do not have anything in the energy conserving bottom half of the circle. If you go back far enough Castrol GTX then Red Cap then Rotella, etc., became popular for the same reasons. The bottom line is most manufacturers will not be motivated to put Jaso on an oil if they can make all the extra money by selling it at 4 times the price as MC specific. For the most part, IMO of course, it's just a waste of money.
I can hardly believe it showed up on the new T6 as I am sure there is far more of it flowing through long haul trunk engines than motorcycles. Bonus.