changing oil "brand?"

[roondog]

My GL 1200 LTD is coming fr an oil change. Question is what is good to run in a 1200 engine with about 88,000 miles on her? How about Rotella? I am not sure what would be good to fill er back up with to help the engine last longer and run smooth inside. I am leaning towards synthetic. Wet clutch issues?
Thoughts and suggestions helpful, thanks

 

[slabghost]

Rotella is good enough for long haul trucks. I use it and Mobile1 and several other brands. Just watch for any claims of "enhanced lubricity" . Common now in oils but not wet clutch friendly in bikes.

 

[mcgovern61]

Rotella is good, but any quality dino oil will work fine. I have read many posts about oil and have seen wings with over 150K miles with guys that use dino and guys that use synthetic. The bottom line is having the right viscocity and weight for your ambient temps and changing the oil and filter regularly.

 

[Joep]

Yeah watch out for "energy Conserving" that = clutch slippage I have been told....

 

[roondog]

I appreciate the comments and suggestions. I do want to use a good oil as I plan on the bike to travel many more miles. I have ridden it a bit over 3,000 miles so I figure its time to solicitfeedback as to what would be good to use.
I live around Raleigh, N.C. so I was thinking.....what....20/50. Is it better to go straight weight?

 

[slabghost]

I personally prefer 20-50 for most applications. However at this time of year if you plan to continue riding 10-30 might be better.

 

[AApple]

I been runnin 10-40 Quakey State Motorcycle erl in mine, and it seems to be doing mooch better than automotive erl....at least the clutch works smoother, especially once it gets to operating temp...then it's smooth as glass, and the gear changes are much mo betta.

 

[mcgovern61]

Motorcycle oil does work better! Check the online manual for the right oil grade and viscocity for your local temps. I am also running 10W40 with no problems! I don't think you really need 20W50 unless you live in the desert with 100+ degrees all the time?

 

[ajclockga]

Used castrol 10w30 during winter.And castrol 10w40 summer.Tried store brand from autozone,and got clutch slip under heavy throttle.Havent had that with castrol.

 

[roondog]

any thoughts about Mobil 1 synthetic? Ok for wet clutch?

 

[slabghost]

I think Mobile 1 is rated for motorcycles. I have been using it in one of my other bikes.

 

[roondog]

I have decided to go quality and put Amsoil in the ole girl (85 LTD), and my VTX1300

 

[detdrbuzzard]

castrol 4t 20w50 cause it 10w40 causing the a lifter to tick in the 1200 wing and i don't have the tick using 20w50. i had some rotella that i was going to try in my wing but i ended up using it in my nieces 1100 wing

 

[sledge]

I was a Mechanic for a living for most of my life , and I have sit through several Seminars , on how Oil breaks down over time , and what heat does to it , and all that kind of stuff . and I started using Castrol 20/50 in everything I owned in the 70's ...and to this day thats all I use ... Lawn Mower , Motor Cycles , Cars , Trucks .... everything . I really think most oil is very close to the same , by the standards . because the FED's wouldn't have it any other way ........ :smilie_happy: But I really think unless you live in a REAL Cold place thats a good grade . and for hot weather I'm Sure it's good , because of the 50 weight , it's thicker and so it don't Thin out as much as say 30W ..... of course , thats just my thoughts . I'm not a Pro. or anything.

 

[mcgovern61]

On most oils (not synthetic) they pretty much all come from the same place....a refinery. When I was Captain on some tankers in New York, we would pick up barrels of refined oils and deliver them to all of the different companies......no one got a different oil, just changed the bill of lading for the deliveries!

Each company then adds their own detergents or other chemicals, but bottom line....the oil itself is all the same...just refined to different weights and viscocity.

 

[OldWrench]

All multi viscosity dyno oil starts off as 10w oil then the refineries put their additives in to create the varied viscosities. Oils with molybdenum (energy start) will cause clutch slippage in engines with a wet clutch. I stick with oils formulated for motorcycles and obviously a multi-viscosity that is recommended for my bike and the environment that I’m riding in.

All one needs is to do a google search on motor oils and there is a ton of information out there, probably more than anybody wants.