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]

Originally Posted by OP

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.