Engine Oil:

[deeptekkie]

I've read many various opinions on engine oils including types, (petroleum or synthetic), weights, and brands. I really like synthetics but I am puzzled why some mechanics do not recommend it, although Yamaha sells it, (in limted weights). I know many of you here have gone with other brands besides Yamalube. Of those using synthetics, does anyone use Mobil 1 and/or does anyone use Mobil 1 "Motorcyle Oil"? If so, have you used it for long? I'm leaning toward Mobil 1 synthetic for motorcycles, but, I have to think that Yamaha, in all of their wisdom in building these fine machines, should know better than anyone what their engines need inside of them! What are your opinions please?
(I know I could have posted this as a poll but often you will get much greater detail and more diverse thinking if people can share their thoughts. Whatever, thank you)

 

[dean owens]

sadly this isn't going to end well so i'll throw my thoughts out here before this gets locked down.

everyone has opinions so take it for what it's worth.

from looking around the things i have learned is that you want to stay away from anything that has "energy conserving" conditioners. it will say pretty plainly on the bottle. outside of that i don't see a big deal in conventional vs. synthetic. because i wanted something that was decent, cheap and easy to get i have gone with rotellaT full synthetic from wal-mart. i'm happy with it so far and plan on sticking with it until the bike dies or i sell it.

hope that helps some.

ps, you're also going to get a lot of people to tell you to search. sadly again, oil is three letters and won't come up in a search. but there is a very long, cumbersome thread about oil on here. someone thought it'd be a great idea to combine everything ever posted about oil into one thread. it makes it very frustrating to read. but if you can weed through it you will find some good information in there. be warned... it's 100 pages.

 

[Cali rider]

The short reply: It a personal choice and there IS NOT A DEFINITIVE ANSWER!

I know that you are sincere in your quest for honest answers and information about oil. However, it will be in your best interest to search the forum as this topic has been discussed many times before.

EDIT:
If you want to search this site for oil, click on this link:
Google search: FZ6 forum, oil

This bypasses the limited capability of our search engine.

 

[Powerman]

Since you asked about Mobil, yes I have used it from the first change and have had no problems. I use Mobil 1 in all of my cars and the motorcycle version in the FZ. Don't know if it's any better but it's recommended in my Vette and Mercedes. Of course the manufacturers may get a deal on it. Who knows. I'm sure you'll get some wild recommendations especially about Amsoil but I think any quality mineral or synthetic is good.

 

[Dunno]

If so, have you used it for long?

Stop right there mate. How long is long?

Oil is oil to a certain point. Regular changing of oil before it breaks down is a fine way to lengthen the life of your engine.
Dont leave oil in your bike cos someone on the internet said they went 20,000 km between oil changes.

Buy what you like. Run it & dump it.

For what its worth I run Motul semi synthetic 5100 10/40W & change oil every 5000 km & do an oil filter every 2nd oil change.

Keeping fresh oil in your engine will never harm it.
If you like Mobil 1 then use it. But dont abuse it :thumbup:

 

[Kriswithak]

Stop right there mate. How long is long?

Oil is oil to a certain point. Regular changing of oil before it breaks down is a fine way to lengthen the life of your engine.
Dont leave oil in your bike cos someone on the internet said they went 20,000 km between oil changes.

Buy what you like. Run it & dump it.

For what its worth I run Motul semi synthetic 5100 10/40W & change oil every 5000 km & do an oil filter every 2nd oil change.

Keeping fresh oil in your engine will never harm it.
If you like Mobil 1 then use it. But dont abuse it :thumbup:

This is good advice, it doesn't matter how good your oil is if you don't change it often enough then it won't be doing you any good.
Personally I recommend trying a few brands, either you will find one you feel works best, or you won't notice a difference in which case you can use anything thats appropriate to the bike.
I have always found Motul to be a good and reliable brand.
I tried Mobil and didn't get the results I wanted, and went back to Motul.

 

[deeptekkie]

Yeah, I ran several searches and kept coming up empty. Thanks!

 

[chihuahuastud]

I was using Motul at $30.00 a gallon, needless to say the cost encouraged me to ask around and find out what some of my friends were using. Plain vanilla oil from the auto parts store seemed to be the consensus among the guys with the most riding experience, track and street, so I am now using Pennzoil and saving $20.00 per oil change. To my surprise, my engine has not blown up yet.

 

[Wolfman]

Oh gosh....another oil thread, can someone please pass me my pills....I can feel a "turn" coming on.....

:BLAA:

 

[youngGun]

I have run Mobile 1 4T Full synthetic since i bought my first FZ 2 years ago..its expensive but i believe you get what you pay for but whatever you use just be sure to change it often, and you should be fine.

 

[Norbert]

Oh gosh....another oil thread, can someone please pass me my pills....I can feel a "turn" coming on.....

:BLAA:

As the weather gets colder and people ride less, expect more oil threads.

 

[Kriswithak]

On a related note you should all be cooking with Olive Oil, its much healthier.

:hijack:

 

[dean owens]

Oh gosh....another oil thread, can someone please pass me my pills....I can feel a "turn" coming on.....

:BLAA:

this is one of those things i don't get. i don't understand why these threads have to turn out bad. respond to serious questions and ignore trolls.

ps, this has nothing to do with wolfman specifically. he just so happens to be the first to point it out and gave me something to quote.

 

[Gcontroller]

sadly this isn't going to end well so i'll throw my thoughts out here before this gets locked down.

everyone has opinions so take it for what it's worth.

from looking around the things i have learned is that you want to stay away from anything that has "energy conserving" conditioners. it will say pretty plainly on the bottle. outside of that i don't see a big deal in conventional vs. synthetic. because i wanted something that was decent, cheap and easy to get i have gone with rotellaT full synthetic from wal-mart. i'm happy with it so far and plan on sticking with it until the bike dies or i sell it.

hope that helps some.

ps, you're also going to get a lot of people to tell you to search. sadly again, oil is three letters and won't come up in a search. but there is a very long, cumbersome thread about oil on here. someone thought it'd be a great idea to combine everything ever posted about oil into one thread. it makes it very frustrating to read. but if you can weed through it you will find some good information in there. be warned... it's 100 pages.

This is good info. Don't use oils that are marked as "Energy Conserving" Why you ask? Good question. Since our FZ's use a wet clutch the additives that are put into the oil can or have the possibility to cause clutch slippage. In America if you look at the back of most bottles of oil on the lower right corner you will see a small round lable with info as to the oils ratings. Here is a link to more info on that. Engine Oil Grades and Classifications: API Motor Oil Standards, Ratings and There Meaning | Suite101.com That being said a lot of times oils marketed as "Motorcycle Specific" don't have this information.

I use Rotella blue bottle 5-40 synthetic. At WalMart it's about $20 a gallon or so. I also pick up my oil filter there it's only about $3 bucks and is bigger then a comparable motorcycle filter for the FZ6 plus it's black and matches the bike.

Yamaha recommends 4000 mile intervols between oil changes and 8000 mile intervols between oil filter changes. This is with Yahama Lube non-synthetic oil. Take it for what it's worth.

Some folks feel better buying oils that cost $10 bucks plus a quart and change it at 1500 miles or so. That's fine it can't hurt. I just cant see doing that for the type of riding I do. Turned 21,000 miles over last night on my way to work. I ride about 1100 miles a month. Sometimes more sometimes less.

So in the end stay away from oils labeled "Energy Conserving" and change it regulary. If you don't put 4000 miles on your bike in a year change it anyway it can't hurt.

 

[x47b3207]

I've just been using the Yamalube 20w-40, the manual also lists the 10w-30. I'd like to give the synthetics a try. I noticed that many of the synthetics are xw-50.

Any concern about going outside the weight range to 50 on the upper end?

 

[deeptekkie]

I appreciate the input everyone here has offered.....even the Olive Oil input, (which BTW is great for seafood). Having spent the entire day today and part of the night last night reading and researching I think that I am going with the Mobile 1 4T Full synthetic and the Walmart Supertech filters. (Who cares, right?)
There are tons of data out there on both topics and it's amazing what a high quality filter they say the Supertech filters are. I must say the innards of the Yamaha filter are very impressive, (but unfortunately), so is the $15.27 price tag! Thanks to all!

 

[Hellgate]

Per DefyInertia:

"I know that you may be considering the use of synthetic oil in your bikes. But you really should Very cautious of synthetic oil! It can do terrible things both to you, and to your bike. Synthetic oil will not only leak out of your engine faster than you can put it in, but it will also cause your oil filter to clog and implode, dumping debris and dirt into your lubrication system. It also will make every part of your bike permanently slippery because of its linear molecular chain dispersion action.

Then it will leak onto your kickstand causing it to retract automatically and without warning, dropping your bike flat on the rocky ground! But that's not all . . . . Synthetic oil will round off your gears and spin your bearings. Synthetic oil will also splatter onto your seat causing your girlfriend to fall off in the apex of a turn and then she will never ride with, or sleep with, you again. Synthetic oil coats your oil sight window with a whitish pro-emulsification additive that is both non-removable and highly corrosive. Synthetic oil will completely leak out onto the ground overnight, force your favorite dog to drink it at gunpoint, and he will then die a slow horrible writhing death.

Synthetic oil will wear out your tires and make your battery leak. It will give you the desperate need to urinate after you put your full leathers on and then jam all your zippers shut. Synthetic oil will contaminate your gasoline causing your bike to stall on railroad tracks and accelerate uncontrollably near police cars. Synthetic oil will make it rain during rallies and on every weekend. It will causing your cam drive to jump teeth and break your valves to bits. Synthetic oil chemically weakens desmodromic valves and causes the clearances to change every sixteen miles. Then it melts the black soles of your riding boots night before you walk across your new carpeting.

While riding past groups of attractive women it will cause both of your handlebar grips to slip off at the same time so you smash your windscreen with the bridge of your nose. It also causes your swingarm to crack, your studs to break, and your rotors to warp. Synthetic oil then voids your warranty by changing your odometer reading to 55,555 overnight. It also dries out your wet clutch and wets your dryclutch. It makes your clutch cable or slave cylinder seal fail in the heaviest traffic on the hottest day of the year while putting an angry wasp in your helmet for good measure.

Synthetic oil hides your 13mm socket and puts superglue on your earplugs. Synthetic oil will scratch your face shield and make your gloves shrink two sizes the night before track day. Synthetic oil will then steal your neutral and sell it for $1.25.

So let's be careful out there"

 

[dean owens]

i wish we had a hall of fame for posts. cause that one is a classic. wish i would have remembered it and been the one to post it.