What Type Of Oil?

[motivater]

I am not mecahanicaly inclined and I checked my oil today in my xr650L and it is a little low. The manual for the XR650L recomends 10w30 oil but all stores are closed today. I have some (sae 20W-40/API SJ non-friction modified four stroke oil I use for my yamaha's (dirt and street). Can I add this to what I have in it or is that a bad idea? Im in Mississippi and it very humid and hot here during the summer.

[percyco]

Remember to check the oil when the bike is hot (after a ride), as long as your between the marks your OK. If you really need to add I would think that your Yamaha oil would not hurt anything. If I lived where you do, I would probably think about using something a little heavier than 10-30 anyhow. Congrats on your new scoot, I love my xr650l and Im sure you will too.

[Beyond The Pale]

I have a XR600 which has basically the same engine. I have never used an oil as thin as 10W-30. I run the diesel oil, usually the 15W-40. I use Rotella, but I have also used Delo and Devlac. They work great.

The 20W-40 will work just fine.

[motivater]

Thanks to both of you for your information!! Have a great weekend!!

[Firelyle]

I run the Rotella as well in all my bikes (xr600, Valkyrie) and it works great. You shouldn't have any issues with the 20w-40 though.

[Motosprtman]

I am not mecahanicaly inclined and I checked my oil today in my xr650L and it is a little low. The manual for the XR650L recomends 10w30 oil but all stores are closed today. I have some (sae 20W-40/API SJ non-friction modified four stroke oil I use for my yamaha's (dirt and street). Can I add this to what I have in it or is that a bad idea? Im in Mississippi and it very humid and hot here during the summer.

I use Castrol GTX 20-50W have for three decades in all of my bikes never a problem. In your climate the 650L will love you for 20-50.

[rdsrf]

Any truth to motorcycle specific oils working better for tranmission shift quality and heat breakdown? I have been using them in all of my bikes but I'd love to save some bucks and run the Castrol GTX as I do in my truck. Thanks for any help!

[Bibleman]

RE the 10-30 oil, I was talking to a very knowledgeable guy at my dealer who claims to build the high performance "L" engines. He told me that the recommendation for the 10-30 oil is a recent one and it has to do something with increasing the fuel economy. He said NOT to use such a light oil regardless of what the manual says. I've used the Rotella 15-40 for quite a while in several bikes including my "L" and have had good results. My 2 cents!!

[hrc1]

+1 on the rotella, i also switched to Mobil1 syntheric 15w50 redcap from wally world recently in my streetbike and it shifts like butter now, so i might try that in my XR next oil change.

[martinfan30]

i use honda 10w-40 in winter and now 20w-50 in summer. great results with those in the different seasons!

[TEETBOYSDAD]

I put 10w30 in my xr600 because I had some in the garage. Made the thing smoke! Replaced it with Honda 4 stroke 10w40 smoke went away. As far as better fuel economy and best oil for transmision gears full synthetic is your best bet in my opinion.

[Alex 400]

I have been using Mobil 1 synthetic motorcycle oil and i really like it. 10w-40. shifts way better

[goblin127]

10w40 full synthetic going to try a heavier 20/50 for the summer.

[reconranger]

For the last couple of years, Honda has been specing thinner oils. I have an 00, and it has the old oil chart that includes 20W50 for hot weather. I have the identical engine in an 06, and the chart recommends 5W30 as an "all weather" oil. You would have to be nuts to run 5W30 in a So. Calif. summer!

Just has been mentioned, the speculation is that they are trying to improve "fuel economy"....most likely at the expense of engine protection and longevity! This is what they did with cars some years ago: http://www.machinerylubrication.com/article_detail.asp?articleid=518&pagetitle=Motor%20Oils%20-%20Fuel%20Economy%20vs.%20Wear

[camoman]

I just changed out my stator,and picked up 10w 40 honda oil and put i back in...should i change to a thicker oil for summer????

[reconranger]

In the frozen north, I would run 5W30 in winter, and 10W40 in summer. Here in So. Calif., where winters are mild and summers are very hot, I run 10W40 in winter and 15W50 in summer.

Ohio is kind of in between. 10W40 should be an OK summer oil there.

[TEETBOYSDAD]

I've never had a honda that didn't shift like butter!!

[Motosprtman]

As a side-bar note some folks will tell you the reason for the thinner oil in cars nowadays is due to the tight tolerances in the engineering design and therefore a lighter oil is needed to penetrate these tight areas throughout the engine. Some of this same mindset - goes into the manufacturing of motorcycle engines. They are indeed of much tighter maching tolerances than of years past. So! does this mean the thin 5-30W that you run in your new Toyota also good for a air cooled motorcycle engine, I don't think so. No matter what climate your in 10-40W is a good all around oil, although it will in wamer temps run a bit hotter than 20-50W does. As far as a thicker oil not beiong able to creep into those tightly machined spaces, I don't think that is really a problem either. I have tried the Motorcycle specific oils to see if clutch and or transmission performance is better than using my old standby Castrol GTX 20-50 and noted no difference at all, except in price.

[martinfan30]

toyota has us use 0w-20 and 5w-20 in about half of our line of vehicles. the reason is for fuel economy.

[reconranger]

Actually, the automobile manufacturers were forced to run thinner oils to increase fuel efficiency. The thighter tolerances came as the result of that (not the other way around)! When they went to thinner oils, they had to tighten the tolerances because the thin oils couldn't bridge the gap in looser tolerance bearings.

Even water cooled motorcycle engines have only marginal cooling, so it is better to err on the side of going a little to thick rather than a little to thin. And, if you have one of the new generation 450/250/150's, you are going to get a lot of fuel contamination of the oil from compression blow-by, so all the more important there to run a thicker oil.