Oil, oil and more oil

You can get them cheaper thru an auto parts outlet.

SheWolf wrote:

You can get them cheaper thru an auto parts outlet.

Wait... Magnet? Where? How? Why? How much?

mtb wrote:

Chrispy...

are you a doc or something?

Not quite ..........but I do work is clean rooms sometimes.....

I just got a used '08 R2 with 950 miles on it. First thing I did was change the oil and filter and put in the Mobil 1 V-Twin 20w-50w fully synthetic from Walmart. I know that using heavier oil will rob some gas mileage, but I figure it will protect a bit better. Other than maybe a slight drop in MPG, is there anything bad about using 20w-50w in an R2?

wahilde wrote:

I just got a used '08 R2 with 950 miles on it. First thing I did was change the oil and filter and put in the Mobil 1 V-Twin 20w-50w fully synthetic from Walmart. I know that using heavier oil will rob some gas mileage, but I figure it will protect a bit better. Other than maybe a slight drop in MPG, is there anything bad about using 20w-50w in an R2?

Loss of HP and the engine won't spin up as quickly.

boogn1sh wrote:

wahilde wrote:

I just got a used '08 R2 with 950 miles on it. First thing I did was change the oil and filter and put in the Mobil 1 V-Twin 20w-50w fully synthetic from Walmart. I know that using heavier oil will rob some gas mileage, but I figure it will protect a bit better. Other than maybe a slight drop in MPG, is there anything bad about using 20w-50w in an R2?

Loss of HP and the engine won't spin up as quickly.

OK. That's what I figured. Energy is "wasted" by pushing the thicker oil around, so MPG goes down as well. I'll put up with that unless it becomes a problem. I just feel like my engine is better protected with the 20w-50w (even though it might not be) which gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. I'll trade HP for reliability. Even if it's only a perceived reliability, it still puts a smile on my toothless face.

i put 20-50 in my bike a week ago, and put 10-50 in today... something changed about my bike shortly after going to 20-50, it seemed slower? so in my quest to figure out what happened i went back to the weight im used to.

not sure if the oil has anything to do with my prob, im just eliminating possibilities.

probably seemed slower because of the heavier oil.
in 20w-50, 50 is the weight of the oil when the engine is hot.
so it is taking more power to turn the crank at speed.
15w40 rotella or delo sound like great alternatives to the OEM oil
50 weight oils are just too heavy imho.

PQRS... wrote:

i put 20-50 in my bike a week ago, and put 10-50 in today...something changed about my bike shortly after going to 20-50

Interesting. Both should flow about the same at operating temperature (both like a straight 50 weight). Think of the first number as how the oil flows at "room temperature". The two should act the same, in your engine, once it's up to temperature so not sure why you would feel a difference, unless it's was only when you first started it or maybe if one was synthetic (or conventional with high additives) so it acted different. That would mainly be felt in the transmission (shifting feel).

5w-50, 10w-50, 20w-50 and 50 all are 50 weight oils. The only difference in "flow" is how they do it at room temperature (like when you first start your engine). Same with 0w-30, 10w-30, and 30 weight.

[quote="Chadx"]

PQRS... wrote:

5w-50, 10w-50, 20w-50 and 50 all are 50 weight oils. The only difference in "flow" is how they do it at room temperature (like when you first start your engine). Same with 0w-30, 10w-30, and 30 weight.

I know this to be true (cause i read it on the interwebs, lol). I just don't understand then why they sell so many different kinds of the same weight. Wouldn't with most applications the lower first number the better? ie...why do they make 20w-50 when 10w-50 is just as good and there?

inspector wrote:

I just don't understand then why they sell so many different kinds of the same weight. Wouldn't with most applications the lower first number the better? ie...why do they make 20w-50 when 10w-50 is just as good and there?

They sell them because people buy them. Everyone has a different opinion on which multi-viscosity is appropriate so the oil companies cater to them all. Just to reiterate, though, the first number in a multi-viscosity rating is the "pours like" rating. At room temperature,a 10w-40, even though it's a 40 weight, pours like a straight 10 weight. At operating temperature, a 10w-40 flows just like a straight 40 weight.


In my opinion, one should identify the correct weight oil for your engine application and temperature range, be that 30, 40, or 50 weight, then buy the widest multi-viscosity oil they make in that weight (effectively meaning the lowest first number). I run Mobil 1 synthetic 0w-30 in my truck year round (it calls for any 30 weight that meets the minimum rating/standard and this far exceeds that minimum). The faster your oil pump picks up the oil and gets it moving at start up, the better. One perceived issue with wide multi-viscosity oils is they tend to break down faster, in some ways, that multis with a narrower range. Modern dino oils and synthetic oils have largely solved that, though it may still be true to some degree, however most people change the oil at recommended intervals, or sooner, so thought shouldn't be an issue.

In my mind, there is no reason to run a heavier weight oil than what the engine engineers determined was correct. Also, I have a slightly different interpretation of the BPG's original post. The R² manual's oil recommendations both end with arrows, meaning both the 30 weight and 40 weight recommendations go beyond the end of the arrow, otherwise it would be a bracket with a definite end point. Both weights have an ideal range, yes, but you don't have to drain your 30 weight and replace it with 40 weight as soon as it is 70 degrees. I'll probably run a 10w-30 year round rather than switching grades. If I knew I'd put 2 or 3 thousand miles on over a month that it was going to be 100+ degrees the whole time, then maybe I'd run a 40 weight, but that would be a 10w-40, not a 20w-40. Why run a 20w-40? In really high temps, you could change the oil a bit sooner, if it makes you feel better, but I don't plan on ever running a 50 weight oil, even if it was a 10w-50. Some folks automatically assume a heavier oil will protect better, but with modern oils, that's just not the case. Use the lightest recommended weight oil as it will hold up well beyond the recommended oil change interval.

That being said...and you knew this was coming...when it comes down to it, the "start-up-wear" differences or issues with running too high of weight oil are so slight that the average rider, and number of miles they'll put on a bike, would likely never show up in an oil-associated breakdown. So who really cares. Pick which ever one makes you feel good...after all, that's the only reason they make so many different multi-viscosity oils.

I've used Rotella and other diesel oils in my cars and trucks, but am
hesitant to use them in the bike because the manual specifically says
not to. Also Yamaha recently changed their oils, I think the 20w40 is no longer made and was superceeded by 20w50. It'll be interesting to see how Yamaha changes the manual as they don't make/relabel either grade of oil they recommend for the WR250R/X.

Anyway, the yamaha dealer I went to was out of Yamalube so I'm running 20w50 Spectro4 right now, no complaints. Motor feels fine and happy, just like always. Sticking with conventional oil until I get a few more thousand miles on the bike, then probably will change to a synthetic.

More oil info than you ever wanted....
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

skierd wrote:

I've used Rotella and other diesel oils in my cars and trucks, but am
hesitant to use them in the bike because the manual specifically says
not to. Also Yamaha recently changed their oils, I think the 20w40 is no longer made and was superceeded by 20w50. It'll be interesting to see how Yamaha changes the manual as they don't make/relabel either grade of oil they recommend for the WR250R/X.

Anyway, the yamaha dealer I went to was out of Yamalube so I'm running 20w50 Spectro4 right now, no complaints. Motor feels fine and happy, just like always. Sticking with conventional oil until I get a few more thousand miles on the bike, then probably will change to a synthetic.

More oil info than you ever wanted....
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

So does anyone have a 2009 WR250R/X? And could you check and see what the manual says for oil?
Just wondering if its the same at a 2008...since its seems like Yamalube 20w-40 is no longer made/sold.

I've got an 09. States recommended oil is 10-40, or 20-50; SG type or higher. I ran the 20-50 SM but this time I'm going with 15-40 being it's warmer out. It has a rating of CJ-4, which is nice. I run it in the logging truck, not to mention it's cheaper buying it by the 5 gallon bucket from the bulk plant.

still using rotella-t 15-40w, over 6000 miles no problems.

SheWolf wrote:

I've got an 09. States recommended oil is 10-40, or 20-50; SG type or higher.

Really? They dropped the 10w-30 recommendation all together? Wonder if that resulted from actual analysis? Or maybe they changed the weight of the yamalube they make (read: rebrand) and hence the weight of a recommendation changed to market that? Interesting none the less since nothing, that we know of, in the engine changed. Why one set of recommendations one year and different the next?

Interesting discussion. My 125cc X-Road's manual calls for 20w50, and believe me the motor is sluggish. I may, as an experiment, try some 30w in it next oil change and see if it's a little peppier. As far as the R², is there really any reason beyond long time between changes to use a synth oil?

(True) Synthetics generally hold up to abuse (heat) better and maintain their structure longer than conventional oils. Modern oils are very good and just about anything with the right rating should be fine changed at the recommended intervals. I'm more concerned with the oil filter than the oil personally, that damn thing is TINY.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought one of the things about heavier oils is they hold up to heat and shearing forces (high RPM's) better than lower weight oils. There's only 1.4L of oil in the bike and it does have a fairly high redline, that oil is getting the works.

What are you using in your wr250X ?

I'm just getting to the end of the break-in period and wondering what I should fill the bike with when I change my oil.

Summer here in the Mid-Atlantic region is typically in the 80's and 90's. Very humid mostly. Rarely lower than 60 until fall.

I figure I'll be changing the oil once the weather really starts to change in late fall.

So....what's your experience with summer time oils?

40 weights? 50 weights? 30 weights?

Oil is almost like religion to many. I generally subscribe to to mantras:
1. Use synthetic
2. Change it frequently.

In a weather conditions like you describe I use a synthetic, prefereably with a 50 in the top number but with as narrow a band as I can. I feel that a 0w-40 is not as good as a 20w-40. I would also choose a 30w-50 over a 20w-50. I use Royal Purple oil for all uses because it is synthetic and I can get a better deal on it than any other synthetic around. It's also a cool Purple color.
I also use motorcycle oil in my motorcycles, not regular motor oil.

Aren't you supposed to wait some standard amount of miles before you start using synthetic?

Like a few thousand?

You don't put synthetic in new engines do you?

You can run synthetic right off the bat. You can swap to synthetic too, FWIW, and not hurt it. Older engines you run into that problem because it's so slippery that seals begin to leak, but for a new bike, it's perfectly fine.

I forgot you were referring to a new bike. There are mixed opinions on putting synthetic oil in new engines.

I do believe my Ducati came with Synthetic and had semi-synthetic put in at it's first oil change. It took a long time for the engine to finally 'seat'. It was about 7 or 8000km when it finally felt broken in. It's now sitting at 25k and runs great.

On other engines that I build (recently my wife's XT225 and KLR650) I run pure dino juice for a couple hundred, then switch to synthetic. I think the rings break in quicker with dino juice, but I want synthetic in there to protect the surfaces ASAP, so it's a bit of a trade off.

Like I say, oil is like religion to many and engine bread in even more so. I've been happy with my methods for years on things as small as the XT225 and as large as my Unimog.

Read the opinions, make yours, execute, enjoy.

pssst.....was that an R rider posting in our section?

I know that to many, oil is very much like a religion.

For the most part I've always scoffed at the concept of oil changes as often as many think they are needed.
Unless you are driving in, or living in very specific conditions, the 3000 mile oil change in my mind is marketing and sales propaganda to sell more oil.
Kinda like the shampoo instructions of lather, rinse, repeat.

However, I've never owned something other than a lawn mower that holds as little oil as the WR250X.
So I think I'll be a bit more diligent about keeping this baby in some quality oil.