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Motorcycle Oils Vs Automotive Oils

I switched to Castrol GTX on my bikes. It's $18 a case @ Costco so I can afford to change it very often (sometimes once a week, if I ride my yz250f all weekend).

All the guys on ThumperTalk/yz250f seemed to use it, so I switched and I don't notice a difference.
 
Just my opinion......

I use Castrol GTX and change at least every 3k miles. Castrol was the recommended oil by Toyota when the 20 and 22R engines were making history with 250k lifetimes. That speaks for itself.

I change the filter every time and use only quality filters like Wix or Napa Gold. Why change the oil and put a crap filter on? Use the best. The particles a filter won't catch are surely more harmful to the degradation of the babbit lining in the precision bearings than the oil breakdown is. Babbit is the zinc/tin stuff that lines the precision insert bearing. Even if the oil gets thin, if it's clean it will still provide lubrication and lift the journal such that contact will not occur. Ever heard the term "wiping" a bearing? That's when the soft zinc gets hard from friction and melts off the steel backing. Like you "wiped" it with a butter knife or something. Ouch! Actually we used to use big knife sets to hand fit the big bearings using Prussian Blue on the 8" plus journals but that's another ball game.....

The oil is a hydrodynamic wedge that supports the journal and distributes the force during rotation. Actually the force is distributed away from the natural direction of climb one would expect. At startup the journal will begin to climb in the bearing in the direction of rotation but as soon as the wedge is formed it lifts and then centers slightly away from the side of the climb. The force is distributed by the wedge from the journal to the bearing. Hence the importance of viscosity and the importance paid to it. Other factors that are not as popular come into play though. What about shear strength for example?

Viscosity is simply a standard measurement of a fluid at a given temperature through an orifice or other device at a specified tilt etc.. Same as pour point is. These are the standards used by Tribologists (guys that study fossil fuels) to classify oils and their properties. Additives are typically used to prevent the harmful effects of the byproducts of combustion of fossil fuels. Take the TBN used in heavier fuel lubricants as an example. The Total Base Number refers to the basic (pH that is) quality of the oil. See, all oils have a bit of Sulphur in them. This, especially combined with moisture, can cause sulphuric acid residues that in turn not only eat metals but cause corrosion and particles......

There's so much to it and so much hype it's hard to keep track of. Given the above brief bit, do you actually believe that Pennzoil acts like "liquid ball bearings"? What a bunch of rubbish! But we see it on TV and the public swallows it just as people think all kinds of different things they read and hear....

If you really want to know then find a good Tribology text on the subject. I learned a lot about this stuff just from getting a BSME at a maritime academy where we also needed to know fuels. If you dig into it and get into the physics and fluid dynamics of the situation then you start to see the truth behind it.

So perhaps I'm a bit jaded, but I still belive in quality oil and filters changed often as the safest bet out there. I run all my stuff on Castrol GTX and Wix filters changed often. Hundreds of thousand of miles on vehicles and still counting so far. Only 68k on the k75s so far but check back in 100k or so and we'll see.

Just my opinion.
 
OK, Just a little questin regarding this topic based on oils.

I was running Castrol Actevo 10-40 in my 89 gsxr and changed it last week to a regular 10-40 Castrol. Not sure if I became dellusional or not but the bike seemed to run rough.

Went to Cycle Gear and told them about this and they swore up and down that I should NEVER, EVER go from a Synth to Non-Synth as I could ruin my engine.

They made it seem like I was playing with fire. So, I was told to change the oil again, and I was "safe" to begin using the Castrol Actevo again. Of course, I had to pay 17.00 for a jug of oil, plus an extra quart since I would be changing my filter.

I am now running a K&N OIl Filter with the Actevo and who knows, perhaps I was delusional for that week but my bike has yet to change in's running pattern.

Anyway, just wanted to know if it truly is safe to run say reg. Castrol next time around.

Also, when is it good to upgrade to a thicker oil like 20-50?
 
livedd0 said:
I was running Castrol Actevo 10-40 in my 89 gsxr and changed it last week to a regular 10-40 Castrol. Not sure if I became dellusional or not but the bike seemed to run rough.

Went to Cycle Gear and told them about this and they swore up and down that I should NEVER, EVER go from a Synth to Non-Synth as I could ruin my engine.

They made it seem like I was playing with fire. So, I was told to change the oil again, and I was "safe" to begin using the Castrol Actevo again. Of course, I had to pay 17.00 for a jug of oil, plus an extra quart since I would be changing my filter.

I am now running a K&N OIl Filter with the Actevo and who knows, perhaps I was delusional for that week but my bike has yet to change in's running pattern.

Anyway, just wanted to know if it truly is safe to run say reg. Castrol next time around.

Also, when is it good to upgrade to a thicker oil like 20-50?
Click to expand...
The folks at Cycle Gear that told you that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. You can switch back forth from synthetic to conventional motorcycle oil any time with no consequences.

You should run the weight oil that the bike is designed to use. The owners manual should have that information. The only time the bike might require 20w50 oil is in the summer time.

Scott
 
after reading thruogh the sportrider articles, I think i'm going to change over to castrol syntec. The results that the magazine came up wtih shows that it was pretty much up there with all the top brand m/c oils.

Danny
 
livedd0 said:
... and they swore up and down that I should NEVER, EVER go from a Synth to Non-Synth as I could ruin my engine.
Click to expand...

total bs
 
One thing that I have heard is that switching to a synthetic oil on a high mileage/old car/bike could result in a vehicle that did not leak in the past begining to leak. I seem to recall having read something about smaller molecules in the synthetics being able to penetrate marginal seals and gaskets much more easily than the longer chain hydrocarbons in the petroleum kind.
 
The explanation I have read, which I will pass on because it passes my smell test, is as follows:

Switching to synthetic oil on a high mileage will not cause leaks. However, on a high mileage engine which has not had it's oil changed frequently enough, you can run into problems. The reason is that sludge builds up around the seals and gaskets. This causes the seals and gaskets to dry out and the only thing preventing a leak is the sludge build up. When the switch to synthetic is made, it's superior detergent properties displace this sludge, exposing the dried out seals and gaskets and you wind up leaking oil all over the place.

Long story short - it is safe to switch to synthetic oil on a high mileage engine so long as it has been properly maintained. I would not risk it on a used vehicle.
 
To add to the high-mileage synthetic oil discussion. I believe that "high mileage oils" have a higher zinc factor. I'm not sure what the purpose is.

I wouldn't hesitate to put synthetic in a high mileage motor. If you have problems, then switch on back.

off-topic. Kragen is having a decent sale on Mobil 1. They have teh 15w-50 for 3.99/quart. Basically a dollar off, not too shabby
 
R6Elmo said:
I wouldn't hesitate to put synthetic in a high mileage motor. If you have problems, then switch on back.
Click to expand...

Assuming my theory is correct (big assumption:p ), then once the sludge has been removed from the inside of the engine, exposing dried out gaskets, switching back to dino oil won't stop the leaks.
 
Excellent replies on that little topic I added. Yeah, Cycle Gear made me feel like I put sand in my baby and now I was royally fucked.

Common sense was telling me that my bike was running fine I was just trippin on the the way it was running. That's exactly it though. I was trippin. There was nothing wrong with my bike.

Anyway, that Actevo oil is not cheap either and I think we can all agree at this point that next time around, any decent 10-40 will work cool.

Regarding the grade, I was just wondering because I still have my owner's manaul which calls for 10-40 but I have heard of others running 20-50 but I nener could figuyre out exactly why.

OK, hopefully this thread dies soon but it was a good learning topic.

Now if we can send a copy of this to Cycle Gear...
 
I think Actevo is only a Semi Synthetic, the law states that the manufacture must include at least 5% synthetic to advertise it as a blend, however they don't have to state the percentage

So semi sythetics are a bad deal, you are better off buying the real stuff and mixing it yourself with dino for cheaper and better oil.
 
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