Oil thread - not a question

[WacoBill]

Well, due to various factors, I went with 20W-50 Amsoil synthetic in my Suzuki 1400. The primary reason was that I had 3 new quarts of amsoil, 10w-40 dino, 20w-50 dino & 20w-50 syn. I had been considering going with synthetic on a number of bikes but had not. I had also been looking to step up the vicosity because it gets hot here in Texas and in my cars, I typically step up due to that reason as well.

Since the bike has 33,500 miles on it, and many discussions on various boards (IA, harley, kawasaki) there are recommendations to switch to synthetic after 30,000 miles.

I know there are cheaper oils that work very well (it had Rotella T 15w-50 in it) and that I wouldn't expect any trouble from even walmart oil, but at this point in my life, I have made it to the ability to start spending extra on stuff just because I can and there MIGHT be some associated benefit.

I figured I would start a thread that I could post to in order to provide feedback on this transition, as well as let others learn of my experience. It may help someone at somepoint. In the very least if I screwed the pooch, it will provide a source of humor.

[WacoBill]

with the bad timing and bad weather, I haven't been able to ride much. Since I have to park the bikes under a pavillion with a dirt floor - it stays covered in dust.

After changing the oil but before the test ride I discovered a seepage leak on top of the engine - not sure if it is new or not - I'll check torque this weekend and wash the bike thoroughly.

I had read somewhere that sometimes a leak will appear after a change in oil, but it seems to me that high viscosity oil would be less likely to leak. Let ya know.

[WacoBill]

did 80 miles test ride - didn't blow up! engine noise seems a little quieter, but with the wind yesterday, it was hard to hear. I could hear the exhaust but I was also wearing a full face helmet. will have to ride lidless for a little bit and see if valve noise has decreased.

I did test top end - at 96 (previous WOT topend) it was still accellerating but I backed off due to a rapidly closing tailgate on a pickup truck.

I did notice some hesitancy on the ride - I had filled up with regular - I'll run that to reserve and top off with high test and see if there is any difference. I also need to swap the sparkplugs due to regular service interval, so there may be some improvement there. Due to dusty conditions, I am sure I need to blow out the dust from the k&n filters to get a little more air in there.

[twin1300]

I just switched to Ansoil this year myself. I think the motor is a little quieter, but hard to tell with these K-2's singing so loud....hehehehehe I think shifting is a little smoother too!


.................bobby

.

[Muntz]

I just switched to Ansoil this year myself. I think the motor is a little quieter, but hard to tell with these K-2's singing so loud....hehehehehe I think shifting is a little smoother too!


.................bobby

.

You found Amsoil locally?

[twin1300]

Yes, it's the same guy who going to put on your car tire....


.................bobby

.

[Muntz]

Yes, it's the same guy who going to put on your car tire....


.................bobby

.

Whats he gonna do after he closes his shop?

[Toasted_311]

We've got Amsoil at our shop...still too much $$ at my costs for my tastes.

Plus the Honda open houses here I get the oil for under $2 a quart.

[DS-Wing-Nut]

I'm running Rotella T 15w 40 in my shadow. Smooth as glass. Helped alot.

I'm considering going synthetic too. Any of you guys run synthetic??


Darkside Shadow

[Muntz]

I'm running Mobil 4T. Its fully synthetic. I switched over at 2200 miles so the only thing I noticed was downshifting into first the big ka-chunk noise was lessend quite a bit.

[titaniumwing]

Hey Muntz, The cheapest price I have found on Amsoil is at friendly Yamaha/Honda on Airline

[Muntz]

Hey Muntz, The cheapest price I have found on Amsoil is at friendly Yamaha/Honda on Airline

I didnt notice it ther when I went in for my filter. Then again I think by that point I had decided on the Mobil 4T.
Do you think theres much of a difference between the two?

[titaniumwing]

All oils are pretty good, but after doing a little research i went with amsoil. Changing it reguarly and making sure it has no moly in it are more important. The moly is not good for the clutch plates...all that being said, you should get you filters from that filter place on airline in prarieville before hwy. 42...It just changed names and is now called carter-chambers...I bought a case of filters for my wing last week.....price 5.25 a piece.....They sell baldwin filters[very good] and any kind of oil made...Friendly is cheaper on oil, hope this helps......acy

[Muntz]

Thanks for the info.

[vtxreaper]

Amsoil, Why not do it? The best thing about synthetics in all of them is there shear ability, They handle the heat better and don't break down,ie. longer life. Been running Amsoil 10/40 for over a year, just switched to Mobil 10/40, 4t.. Bike runs smoother with synthetic, less friction in the motor, and also runs cooler, less cycling of the fan motor.. Also cost realy isn't an issue. With syn. you get a minimuum of 8000 miles per change, some go to 10,000 with no problems.. I have read extensivly on the oil subject.
With the Syn. at 4,000 miles you just unscrew the filter, put a new filter on and top off the crankcase, very little oil loss during the change!!! Then you go another 4,000 miles and do a full change at 8,000.. These oils can hold this mileage with no breakdowns in there performance!!! So you are saving one oil change!!! Price balances out dollar for dollar and you are running the best oil possible for your machine,!!! With these synthetics the life of your engines is greatly prolonged. I have a 1994 Jeep V8 243,162 miles ran synthetic for the last 120,000 miles, no loss of compression no oil burning, no oil leakage..Just my 2 cents, REAPS

[DS-Wing-Nut]

Reaps,

I'm using Mobil 1 as well and plan on doing the 8,000 miles with a filter change at 4,000. Mine is running great and I've also noticed the fan doesn't come on as often. I'm happy. Hope the engine is!

[pvt93]

Reaps,

I'm using Mobil 1 as well and plan on doing the 8,000 miles with a filter change at 4,000. Mine is running great and I've also noticed the fan doesn't come on as often. I'm happy. Hope the engine is!

+1 I had about 24,000 on my bike when I bought it used. I had no idea what the other guy ran in the bike and have used Mobil 1 in my new vehicles for a long time. I decided to go with Amsoil 10w40 and have had no problems and it seems to shift great and the fan hardly ever comes on, even in 100+ days. I changed it at about 8,000 miles and I hardly noticed a difference in shifting after I changed it out. So to me it was still doing a great job after 8,000 miles and no filter change at 4000.

[horseman8m]

OIL, OIL and OIL , after looking at tons and TONS of data from all over the web i was at a tossup so i called a friend of mine that worked at an oil analysis lab in the air force and now in civilian lab.

Here is the oil recommended in the service manual for the VTX.

" PRO HONDA GN4 OR HP4 (without moylbdenum additives) , 4 stroke oil or equivalent motor oil.
API service classification: SG or Higher .
JASO T903 standard: MA
Viscosity: SAE 10w-40 "



SAE is Society of Automotive Engineers.
JASO is Japanese Automotive Standards Organization
API is American Petroleum Institute
I could not find honda's ratings even after calling the local honda dealer.

First SAE is the VISCOSITY CLASSIFICATION? How thick the oil is, we are to use 10w-40.
The JASO standard is "MA" and "MB" , we use the rated MA .
With the API you can see a label symbol looks like a disk in a disk and the ratings go up with the litters .
like SG is better then SF and SH is better then SG and so on . we look for a rating of SG or better.

Now a word Molybdenum, NOT good for your clutch. enough said.

so with all i have read and talked to people as long as you use an oil in these standards and without moly then you are good to go . BUT for better to great protection i would use a full Synthetic oil.

read these , great info:

http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Oils1.html
http://micapeak.com/info/oiled.html
http://www.amsoil.com/performancetests/g1971/index.aspx
there are others just run a search and look through them.

I went with AMSOIL.

On the front of the Amsoil AMO1G label you can see that even thay say this is for Cars, Motorcycles, RV's




On the back label you can see the API SG , the JASO MA and the SAE 10w-40
it also says "( Motorcycle Wet Clutch)" , now skip down and read "Recommended for use up to 15,000 miles or one year whichever comes first".
WELL i had to check this out , so on the phone i went , called my friend and he told me that in his goldwing he puts 12,000 miles on the oil but changes the filter every 4,000 miles and then does a top off.
he has checked the oil every 4,000 miles and even the 12,000 mile oil checked good and if he wanted to he could have gone on with it but he changes it at 12,000 anyway . WOW i was impressed. Now you know why i went to AMSOIL.
BY the way i am not a dealer for AMSOIL so i am not trying to sell it to you , this is what i did. just my $.02



good luck have fun. your friend , Horse

[WacoBill]

I was very concerned that this would happen and it did...

I can't take advantage of the 1400cc engine in my bike anymore. If I try to accelerate as quickly as I did on even my sportster, the clutch slips, and that 6th gear hunt causes me to lose momentum like I had just popped a parachute.

I am ordering some custom made clutch springs that have had a ton of great recommendations, so I'll get those installed and hopefully that stops that nonsense.

Thought I would get this update made since it is tremendously annoying and something that has been reported by some in the past.

One thing of note is that the previous owner was known for occassionally hot rodding the bike - not a lot, but enough that he may have put a small glaze on the plates. I probably hot rod it more than he did, so it may required new clutch plates as well. If so, as long as the new springs and plates let me get up to speed faster, then I'll be happy.

In the meantime, I'll let ya'll know if the problem worsens.

[mark_1bx]

The AMO 10-40 is OK for your clutch (as it says on the back of the container) If you have slippage it's not the oil but the clutch or the stock weak springs. The AMO 10-40 does not have friction reducers or any "slippery additive". MC 10-40 or MC 20-50 is motorcycle specific. BTW I know on the other board there have been many many, way to many debates about oil, and I don't want to start one. (Use whatever oil you want) Now having said that, I wanted to say it is OK to use 10-40 & 20-50 in our VTX's. If you read your owners manual and if you read AMSOIL service spec or limits, you will find running 20-50 will work OK. Where the "rub" comes from, or rather the "debate", is most people are comparing performance characteristics of the typical petroleum oil. As we all know petroleum oil, when talking about 20-50, is very thick. Now look at the flow characteristics of AMSOIL or any other synthetic oil. They are all very good, even in cold weather. The difference is this synthetics are built from the molecule up for it's strength and durability. So they don't necessarily need "thickness" to create "strength", where as petroleum oil needs to.

Just one last thing. I have used and I still use 20-50 in my bike. I do use Amsoil.
No my gas mileage doesn't suffer, and yes I ride in the winter as long as there isn't any snow, ice or fricken salt on the roads. I have a 1800 Retro and I typically get 189 miles per tank w/ 1/2 gallon + left.
Yes I ride my bike hard, just like most of us.
Just pulled my clutch @ 20K. The steels were in perfect shape with NO scaring, burning or tarnish. I re-installed the same clutch (stock) w/HD Barnett Springs. same as I've had from the start.
Yes I am a dealer.....since 1976. I know first hand it works, so I will continue to use it.

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