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Oil type change


McDuugle

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I live in Florida and it gets hot here, especially in traffic. I have been running Castrol 4T 20w50 (non-synthentic) but it gets dark very quickly and I was considering going to a part synthetic - Castrol Actevo 4T Part-Synthetic Motorcycle Oil 20W50. Im hoping that it holds up better to the heat but also still has the seal conditioning properties the previous oil had. Anu thoughts fellas? (bike has 67k on the clock)

 

-Dave

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I've always used Mobil 1 15-50 in my oilheads. (When I say "always" I mean for over 300K miles.) I've never had an engine issue and I spend a lot of time above 7K rpm.

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I live in Florida and it gets hot here, especially in traffic. I have been running Castrol 4T 20w50 (non-synthentic) but it gets dark very quickly and I was considering going to a part synthetic - Castrol Actevo 4T Part-Synthetic Motorcycle Oil 20W50. Im hoping that it holds up better to the heat but also still has the seal conditioning properties the previous oil had. Anu thoughts fellas? (bike has 67k on the clock)

 

-Dave

 

Morning Dave

 

Part synthetic or semi-synthetic is more of a marketing ploy than a real oil designation. How much of the oil is actually synthetic? What part of the oil is actually synthetic?

 

There can be some good semi-synthetic motor oils as well as some that are not so good.

 

Under the US marketing rules just about any modern motor oil could be sold as semi-synthetic or even full synthetic.

 

When it comes to motor oil or motorcycle oil a rider really needs to go by oil specifications or test data & not marketing names or advertising hype.

 

With the above said if you are looking for best high heat handling then find a good up level full synthetic oil with test data & long term service data to back up the fancy name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Most of the syn mixes are only 10% synthetic.

Not worth the extra price when you can mix your own. I use 1/2 gt Mobil 1 15-50w and 3 1/2 gts 15-40w brand names. That gives you 12+% and change every 3,000.

Never had a lube problem.

 

 

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Here it becomes an Oil Thread, but synthetic has never helped my oilheads, and in fact, weeped out of valve cover and filler seals more readily/ Good quality old-school 20-50 stuff and never longer than a 6K change works fine, in my experience (300K on 2 oilheads).

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Sam Taylor,

 

+1 for dino oil. My 96 owners manual is very specific about using old school oil. So I stick with it. I use the Castrol 20w50 engine oil and dino gear oil as spec shows it. No leaks anywhere and gives good service life.

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...and of course a new HiFlo Racing filter - the one with the 17mm nut welded on the end so you don't need to mess about with that alloy cup thing - every time you change the oil - for me that's every 5K Kilometres. We get a lot of talcum powder-like stuff deposited in our atmosphere and on our southern Spain landscape; comes from the Sahara.

That's why the air filter lasts about as long as a knee-trembler.

AL in Andalucía.

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...Anu thoughts fellas? (bike has 67k on the clock)...

 

Yes, my thought is, you could get the cheapest, no-brand, recycled oil there is. Way, way in the back. In the leaky gallon jug. As long as the specs match up, you will not see an oil related failure, for the typical service life of that model.

 

If you're loaded, sure, buy the high-dollar stuff. If you're a regular guy, just get a reasonably priced brand name product and quit worrying about it. Enjoy the ride, don't stew over it. :-)

 

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I live in Florida, and have always used Castrol 20w50 in the BMWs: 190,000 mile RS and 90,000 mile RT. I also have a 165,000 mile FJR (with 10w40) with the same outcome.

My oil seems to turn black overnight, no matter what oil I use, or how often I change it, so I just go 6000 miles and change oil and filter, and ignore the color of the oil. Doesn't seem to be hurting the engines any. After all the black is caused by combustion by-products, not engine wear... right???

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