Which oil and when

[nksmfamjp]

You are probably fine, but if you are not, the price is pretty expensive. If Yamaha can prove you are out of spec, you'll pay. Frankly, the warranty is short and so you'll pay anyways.

For me, I'm not changing oil a lot. Yamaha recommends 10W-40 or 20W-50. I buy synthetic 10W-40 Mobile 1. Probably should get 20W-50, but I see more low end temps than high end. The price is a lot higher $30 in oil vs like $15.

I buy Pure One filters. . .Even though not recommended. I have seen filter cut aways which show me this is better. I have sseen Fram cut aways and specs and they make me feel ill.

You makes your choices and pays for your mistakes. To that end, my oil changes are roughly annual/biannual and cost $35. Not much more than $20 over that time period.

 

[Cameronhall]

sounds like a plan ill change before winter and try 10w and upgrade the filter.


id love to find an artical the brakes down the different oils wieghts what to use in what season ect ect ect:thumbup:

 

[CBRF3RIDER]

sounds like a plan ill change before winter and try 10w and upgrade the filter.


id love to find an artical the brakes down the different oils wieghts what to use in what season ect ect ect:thumbup:

Here is a great article-

http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html

It's a bit long but if you take the time to read it all you will have a much better understanding of oil!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pookamatic]

As a first-time biker owner, I've come to the realization that autozone doesn't have squat for bike oil. All the synthetics were far from the weight I wanted. And thanks but no thanks on the 20w50 dino "autozone" oil. They don't even stock Purolater filters!

To the internet/Walmart mobile!

 

[Downs]

Pick an oil........one that is in the recommended weights. Pick a filter..........anything but fram (IMO Super Tech is higher quality than Fram and is as good as lots of other filters)....................change every 5k miles [/end thread]

People stress out over this way to much and put WAY too much time and thought into this.

For the .02 that it's worth I run Synthetic Rotella T and a Super Tech (Wal Mart) filter and change every 5 k miles. I could probably do more but 5k is a nice number and easy to remember. My last bike a FJR1300 had over 75,000 miles on it doing this. Most bikes will do the same even if you used el cheepo Wal Mart Supertech oil and filter. GASP say it isn't so :spank:

 

[CBRF3RIDER]

Most bikes will do the same even if you used el cheepo Wal Mart Supertech oil and filter. GASP say it isn't so :spank:

Don't tell this to the Amsoil guys!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pookamatic]

Oh I'm not one to stress over this. The consensus is correct: it's (almost) all good. But I didn't find anything close to the weights I was looking for at AZ. Walmart has a great, and well priced selection. Now if they only had a separate, speed checkout for oil-only customers.....

 

[red06]

Walmart.com: Mobil 1 10W-40 Full Synthetic Motorcycle Oil, 1qt: Automotive
Yamaha FZ6 Oil Filter - Replacement Oil Filters
wait until 10 000 miles before full synthetic

 

[surfandsummit]

I just took mine for the first ride after switching to the Rotella T6 5w-40, and I'm pretty amazed. The whole bike seems to run smoother, and it shifts like butter. I'll never run anything else.

 

[vinmansbrew]

I have used rotella 5-40 in other bikes and it has always been good. Changed the FZ last night and used rotella and the engine is so much smoother now.
rotella t6 FTW!

I will keep oil filter choice to myself for the time being but I have used this brand for 20 years in cars and 15 in bikes with ZERO trouble.

 

[pookamatic]

I will keep oil filter choice to myself for the time being but I have used this brand for 20 years in cars and 15 in bikes with ZERO trouble.

*cough**cough*FRAM*ahem*

 

[iSteve]

I'm pretty sure the T6 is a "fuel efficient oil". Usually this means it may not be good for wet clutches I don't know for sure but if you like fleet oils the T5 may be a better choice. At least until we know what modifiers are being used to make it a fuel efficient oil.

 

[pookamatic]

I'm pretty sure the T6 is a "fuel efficient oil". Usually this means it may not be good for wet clutches I don't know for sure but if you like fleet oils the T5 may be a better choice. At least until we know what modifiers are being used to make it a fuel efficient oil.

I don't know about the fuel efficient part, but I do question the weight of 5w-40, which I cannot find in any manual. 5/40 is quite a gap. Unless you're doing cold winter starts in Canada, then cruising around Texas in the summer on one type of oil, I wouldn't want that range. Ideally, we want the "w" weight to be low enough for the coldest start the oil will see, and the bigger weight to be high enough to handle the hottest the engine will likely get.

I forget where I read this. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[vinmansbrew]

There is nothing wrong with a 5-40 oil. The molecule chains are just longer. Virtually all modern engines want a 5 weight oil in. The 1st number is flow rate ad certain temps. The colder it is, the slower it flows. So a lower number means the oil will get into the engine quicker. Do you want more or less start up wear? After all, most engine damage occurs at start up.

Now for the 40. This is your viscosity index. The higher the number, the better viscosity it has against thermal breakdown. Something to be desired in a motor oil, especially on motorcycles. Or other vehicles such as diesels which have a much more severe operation then even a motorcycle. Look at the superchargers on diesels. They spin at a very high rpm, much higher then a simple fz6. That charger is lubed by the motor oil. Now, if rotella t6 can handle that, what makes you think it cannot work in a fz?
Not to mention I use it in a 30+ year old bike that STILL has the original clutch plates and there is NO slip. OH and it uses NO oil other than what weeps by the ORIGINAL gaskets.

iSteve, rotella t6 is NOT an "energy conserving" oil AND contrary to what many here know, virtually all oil uses MOLY and THAT is the ingredient that can be bad for wet clutched...In large amounts.

The problem is too many people are too ill informed about oils. So many think they need to use a certain weight. Too many think they need "motorcycle" oil. And too many listen to other people that have no idea what they are talking about. THIS is why oil threads are so "controversial".

The fact is that an engine can work just fine a wide range of oil weights and types. People has even gotten by with "energy conserving" oil and wet clutches. Just change it when it needs and you can tell that just by the sound, vibration, and shifting of the engine.

Oh and on 6-14 of the owners manual, you are not supposed to use oils labeled "energy conserving II or higher". Oil is supposed to be yamalube 4 10w-30 or 20w-40.

So, if oil is such a big deal, you all better be out buying your yamalube 4 right?

 

[vinmansbrew]

*cough**cough*FRAM*ahem*

Yes it was. The filter I took off was too. I have never had an issue with fram. Those so-called studies are done by average joes. It all comes down to perception and nothing more.

If fram made that bad of filters, where is the class action lawsuit? On the probably 10+ vehicles, including cars, trucks, and motorcycles, I have not had 1 issue with a fram filter if any kind.

Honestly, until a lab such as blackstone(who analyze oil btw) does a real test, I just can't buy the "cut the filter open" tests.

 

[pookamatic]

There is nothing wrong with a 5-40 oil.

I understand the numbers and get the concept of short/long chain molecules but again, I did read somewhere that simply going with the biggest range possible is not desired. If it was, why wouldn't we all run 0w-50? Or -20w-100? I think the reason was that multiweight oils perform well at their lower or higher viscosity, but not so much in between?

 

[04fizzer]

There is nothing wrong with a 5-40 oil. The molecule chains are just longer. Virtually all modern engines want a 5 weight oil in. The 1st number is flow rate ad certain temps. The colder it is, the slower it flows. So a lower number means the oil will get into the engine quicker. Do you want more or less start up wear? After all, most engine damage occurs at start up.

Now for the 40. This is your viscosity index. The higher the number, the better viscosity it has against thermal breakdown. Something to be desired in a motor oil, especially on motorcycles. Or other vehicles such as diesels which have a much more severe operation then even a motorcycle. Look at the superchargers on diesels. They spin at a very high rpm, much higher then a simple fz6. That charger is lubed by the motor oil. Now, if rotella t6 can handle that, what makes you think it cannot work in a fz?
Not to mention I use it in a 30+ year old bike that STILL has the original clutch plates and there is NO slip. OH and it uses NO oil other than what weeps by the ORIGINAL gaskets.

iSteve, rotella t6 is NOT an "energy conserving" oil AND contrary to what many here know, virtually all oil uses MOLY and THAT is the ingredient that can be bad for wet clutched...In large amounts.

The problem is too many people are too ill informed about oils. So many think they need to use a certain weight. Too many think they need "motorcycle" oil. And too many listen to other people that have no idea what they are talking about. THIS is why oil threads are so "controversial".

The fact is that an engine can work just fine a wide range of oil weights and types. People has even gotten by with "energy conserving" oil and wet clutches. Just change it when it needs and you can tell that just by the sound, vibration, and shifting of the engine.

Oh and on 6-14 of the owners manual, you are not supposed to use oils labeled "energy conserving II or higher". Oil is supposed to be yamalube 4 10w-30 or 20w-40.

So, if oil is such a big deal, you all better be out buying your yamalube 4 right?

Who are you and why should anyone listen to you over anyone else?

 

[vinmansbrew]

Because much of what I posted can be verified, that's why. And lots of people ARE ill informed about oil and spend too much time listening to others that are ill informed.
Honestly, as long as an oil covers the operating range of the engine, it can be used. Even the first generation of "energy conserving" oil, or don't you even believe yamaha?
Additive packages and weights affect how LONG before you need to change the oil and how clean the engine stays.

Everyone changes their oil, some just spend more to do it.

Here, try reading this. It is quite long but informative.
http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html

 

[vinmansbrew]

I understand the numbers and get the concept of short/long chain molecules but again, I did read somewhere that simply going with the biggest range possible is not desired. If it was, why wouldn't we all run 0w-50? Or -20w-100? I think the reason was that multiweight oils perform well at their lower or higher viscosity, but not so much in between?

This depends on the type of oil used.
The post right above this has a link with a lot of info in it.

 

[pookamatic]

You found exactly what I was talking about! Good (re)read.

An excerpt, with some bold/italic highlighting by me:

To make a 10w-40 oil, the manufacturer would start out with a 10 weight oil as the base stock. All by itself, this oil would thin out so much at normal operating temperatures that the oil film would be useless. So, they add these very special very long molecules, the VIIs. The VII molecules are as much as 1000 times as long as an oil molecule. The VII molecules curl up in a little ball at room temperature, but as the temperature gets higher they uncurl and stretch out, like a cat sleeping in the sunlight. The more stretched out the molecule is, the more it impedes the normal flow of the oil, thus raising the effective viscosity. Now, this sounds just a little too good to be true. Well, there are two catches: first, these molecules are not lubricants, so the more of them that you add the less oil you have sitting around lubricating things. Secondly, these VII molecules can be broken into pieces by various pressures and forces, like being squeezed through the transmission gears in a motorcycle or the hydraulic valves in a diesel engine. Every time a VII molecule gets broken, the oil loses some of its high temperature viscosity. Synthetic oils made from pure PAOs and/or Diesters typically have very few VIIs, so these oils are far less subject to viscosity breakdown due to shearing of the VII package. As a result, synthetics are far more stable in a motorcycle engine.

10w-30 oil increases its viscosity at high temperatures by a factor of three, which requires a significant amount of these VII molecules. 10w-40 oil increases its high temperature viscosity by a factor of four, which requires even more even longer molecules. 20w-50, which sounds a lot like 10w-40, only increases its high temperature viscosity by a factor of two and a half, so it requires fewer of these molecules than even 10w-30. 15w-40 also increases its high temperature viscosity by about two and a half, so this oil is also substantially more stable than 10w-40. Most passenger car oils today use inexpensive VII molecules that break apart relatively easily. Conversely, most diesel engine oil VIIs are chosen from more expensive chemicals that are more shear stable, since an oil change in a large diesel is expected to last for 15,000 to 150,000 miles.

One way to judge the VII content of your oil is to read the VI, the Viscosity Index, at the manufacturer's web page. The base oils all have similar VIs to start with, so generally speaking, the higher the VI in the blended oil, the more VIIs are present, and the less suitable the oil is for motorcycle usage. John Evans did just such a survey of Valvoline, Chevron, Exxon, Quaker State, Citgo, and Conoco oils. He found that the 5w-30 oils all had VI's in the range of 158-162; the 5w-20 oils had VIs of 148-154; the 10w-40 oils had VIs of 147 to 150; 10w-30 oils had VIs of 134 to 139; and 20w-50 oils had VIs of 120 to 125.

In 1994, Dr. John Woolum tested the viscosity of several 10w-40 oils in his motorcycle. He found that all of the petroleum oils had lost highly significant amounts of viscosity within 1500 miles. Only Mobil-1 held up in his test. I have personally tested Delvac-1 synthetic in my ST1300. It was 5w-40 when I put it in, and 5w-25 9,200 miles later. By 1500 miles, the petroleum oils Dr. Woolum tested were at 10w-25 equivalent. By contrast, Dr. Woolum tested a petroleum oil in his Honda Accord. After 3600 miles, the 10w-40 oil was 10w-37 equivalent. Motorcycles are indeed significantly harder on their oils than cars. Based on this result and the VI numbers above, it would seem that 10w-40, 5w-20, and 5w-30 oils cannot be safely used in motorcycles for more than 1,000 to 1,500 miles.

So, clearly you know what I'm talking about when I was referring to the range... it really has to do with the way it's made. According to this research, 5w-40 (any multiweight, really), would do almost nothing to protect your engine at temperature after 1,000 miles if it were conventional. I forgot the part about synthetics, and their lack of VIIs, that really help stability over time.