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Best Oil Brands Pro/Cons

JPress

Getting there...
Location
North Carolina
Just curious on what brand of oil everyone is using and the pros/ cons that you have found. My bike was finally delivered and have been researching different oils for its first oil change.
 

TN_twowheeladdict

Well travelled
Location
Tennessee
I have never found any cons about using any brand of motorcycle specific oils. I choose to go full synthetic after the break in miles, and buy what is on sale that is designed for wet clutch motorcycle use. Just use the proper rated and viscosity as called out in your manual.

If you are the type that keeps a motorcycle forever, then decide what you want and stock up. It is more important to follow all the recommended change intervals based on time, miles, and conditions, than the particular brand of oil.

I have only put 60,000 miles on one motorcycle before getting tired of it, and average about 30,000 miles on a bike before parting ways with it, so I have never put enough miles to know if a particular brand made a difference or not.

You planning to run this bike for 200,000 miles?

Just my thoughts from having read hundreds of oil threads for various makes and model motorcycles.
 

Eatmore Mudd

Moderator
Staff member
Factory recommended oil till break in then full synthetic after that is what I do. Change it by schedule or when it gets dirty whichever comes first and fresh oil change when putting it up for any length of time. Reason for that last part is combustion gasses make oils turn mildly acidic, no sense in storing an engine with acidic oil inside.
 

Eatmore Mudd

Moderator
Staff member
Haggisman, I made a mistake. I posted my bit on oil in the wrong section, I don't own a Interceptor yet. Otherwise, my oil thing is what I do with my bikes. The main reason I went with synthetic is that it holds up better than Dino oil at high temperature. None of my bikes are water cooled.
 
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Roy Gavin

Well travelled
My R80 G/S has struggled out to 460,000 km on the OEM crankshaft bearings.
On M1 for the last 250,000.
But it is still on the original clutch too, so how you care for the bike is probably just as important as the brand of oil.
All the main brands have oil specifically for air cooled bikes and /or thumpers, and they would seem to be the first choice.
Usually top priced synth --------!
I like to stock up too, when the price is right - saves you having half a dozen jugs in the shed with 1/2" of oil in the bottom which you don't really want to mix with something else. And having it around helps to ensure the oil gets changed on time!
My oil gets dark quick, so I change it and the filter at 5000 km - probably the only way I am going to live long enough to use all the pack of ten filters I bought too!
 

TN_twowheeladdict

Well travelled
Location
Tennessee
The fully synthetic oil is for the benefit of the slipper clutch I believe, never had one of them before.
The motorcycle specific oil designed for use with a wet clutch is more important than synthetic alone, and don't make the mistake I have seen on forums where someone puts car oil in their motorcycle to the detriment of the clutch because of the friction modifiers.
 

BurnieM

Well travelled
If you are caught out and need some oil go for truck oil with the right rating. It does not have friction modifiers like most car oils which as stated above is bad for bike clutches.
 

Wintrup

Well travelled
Location
Cumbria UK
Used Motul oil in my TDM and the screeching from clutch slip was horrendous. Started using the cheaper Halfords Semi-Synth car oil and the bike ran like a peach. Year in year out, didn't get clutch slip once. Go figure. My Himalayan will get the same every March, regardless of mileage, just like my trusty TDM.
 

TN_twowheeladdict

Well travelled
Location
Tennessee
Used Motul oil in my TDM and the screeching from clutch slip was horrendous. Started using the cheaper Halfords Semi-Synth car oil and the bike ran like a peach. Year in year out, didn't get clutch slip once. Go figure. My Himalayan will get the same every March, regardless of mileage, just like my trusty TDM.
You only change once a year? Is that because you don't exceed the recommended mileage for a change? Which Motul oil did you use? Motul is just a brand name. If you don't use motorcycle specific oil designed for a wet clutch I can see why you were getting clutch slip. We didn't get the TDM over here.
 

Wintrup

Well travelled
Location
Cumbria UK
Once a year normally equates to 3k, occasionally I'll do up to 6k if I do a long tour. The Motul was motorcycle oil and I did indeed get clutch slip. Halfords car oil works for me, no clutch slip and cheap. You did get the 850 TDM, but not the 900. That's a great shame, because the 900 would've sold like hot cakes. It's a wonderful bike. Had mine 13 years and it never once let me down.
 

Wintrup

Well travelled
Location
Cumbria UK
If you are caught out and need some oil go for truck oil with the right rating. It does not have friction modifiers like most car oils which as stated above is bad for bike clutches.
You're right about truck oil. I went back and re-read the articles I'd read, as I tend often come to an understanding about something and then, over time, forget how I arrived at that particular conclusion (I read a lot of stuff). One article I read say's the following:

"Most motorcycles have wet clutches, which means the motor oil runs through the clutch. If the motor oil has too much molybdenum in it, there are fears that the clutch can start slipping. No one I know has ever actually had this happen to them, but the warnings are all over your owners' manual and the oil companies' web pages. On the back of all certified oil cans is a circular stamp with the certification. Avoid oils that say "energy conserving" in the bottom half of the donut. These oils contain friction modifier additives that could cause clutch slipping over time. Essentially all 0w-20, 5w-30 and 10w-30 oils are energy conserving, and should not be used in your motorcycle."

He also states:

"Most motorcycles run the engine oil through the transmission, and the transmission gears are very hard on the oil's VII package. This means that over a couple thousand miles, the oil's viscosity can break down. Standard car oils are only good for typically 1500 miles before they've lost about half of their viscosity. Remember, 10w-40 oils contain a lot of VIIs which tend to shear in your transmission, so I believe 10w-40 oils should be avoided. You can't use 10w-30 because of the friction modifiers. This doesn't leave much. Commercial 15w-40 oils are a good choice, because they have relatively few VIIs which are the more expensive shear-stable sort. Synthetics typically don't contain much of a VII package, so shear is not as big an issue with them."

Full article here: https://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oil.html
 

Roy Gavin

Well travelled
Shell Rotella T6 , which is a 20/40 full synth intended for Turbo diesels actually has MA3 certification in addition to the the relevant diesel grades, and it is a favorite on the Bobistheoilguy forum , which is unique in that some of the posters are oil industry pro's and actually know something about oil!
 

Pegasus

Getting there...
Location
GB
After careful research, examination of all the big brand spec sheets and years of use, I use only Penrite, their full synthetic types. In my Enfield Pegasus edition I use Penrite MC4ST 15W50, this is a motorcycle specific product, so meets and exceeds JASO MA specs for wet clutches . Their stuff isn't cheap here in the UK, as it's an Australian brand, but it is the best synthetic available.
 

Roy Gavin

Well travelled
If it is it is repackaged Mobil M1.
Nothing wrong with that, most of the fancy priced premium race oils are too.
And it is conservatively priced, at least here in Oz
But anyone who promotes Zink, full Zink , or whatever has just lost me.
Last UOA I saw on M1 had nil FE and no diminution of the Zink, that is, zinc had just played no part in the lubrication process, and there had been no wear on the iron/steel parts.
 
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Pegasus

Getting there...
Location
GB
Definitely not repackaged Mobil. Checkout their website. My second choice would be Motul, quite close to Penrite on specs but more expensive, again, here in the UK as per everything else!
 

Roy Gavin

Well travelled
They are only a blender, they must buy their base stock from somewhere.
There is a site, Bobistheoilguy which is unique in that the posters actually know something about oil , and post their UOA's instead of opinions.
Never seen a UOA for Penrite with nil FE, but haven't been there for a while.
But zink whatever is snake oil, which is what turns me away from folk who emphasize it in their marketing, but I suppose having a lot of it floating around doing nothing unless the oil breaks down might not prevent it being an OK oil otherwise.
 

imnvegas

Well travelled
Shell Rotella T6 , which is a 20/40 full synth intended for Turbo diesels actually has MA3 certification in addition to the the relevant diesel grades, and it is a favorite on the Bobistheoilguy forum , which is unique in that some of the posters are oil industry pro's and actually know something about oil!
I used Shell Rotella in my 1964 Corvair because of the Zinc that is necessary for classic engines. Zinc is not needed for modern engines
 

Pegasus

Getting there...
Location
GB
They are only a blender, they must buy their base stock from somewhere.
There is a site, Bobistheoilguy which is unique in that the posters actually know something about oil , and post their UOA's instead of opinions.
Never seen a UOA for Penrite with nil FE, but haven't been there for a while.
But zink whatever is snake oil, which is what turns me away from folk who emphasize it in their marketing, but I suppose having a lot of it floating around doing nothing unless the oil breaks down might not prevent it being an OK oil otherwise.

I know the BITOG site. BTW, it's Zinc, unless you knew that and are deliberately mis-spelling it for fun.
Basically the majority of lube oil manufacturers are blenders, except for a few oil industry majors who pull the stuff from the ground and refine it! It's the quality and spec of the base oil thats important and where a large proportion of the cost is. Thats why very few oil sellers use the very best synthetic base stock, Penrite are one of these.
Anyway, I base my choice on careful research of spec sheets and experience. I've been using Penrite for over 20 years and have nothing but good things to say about it. I've used it in everything from my Bantam to Ducati Bevels, to British singles, eg. Velo & Matchless, my Vincent Rapide, now my Enfield Peg, and even my MV Brutale. So it's more than opinion it's long time user experience. Actually though, I'm more inclined to trust a relatively small independant than a massive multinational who has an ad budget to force their product on consumers. Mobil for one, Castrol for another, look at their spec sheets to see the truth of their flagship products.
 
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