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Oil Preference

48K views 53 replies 28 participants last post by  Dshrek49 
#1 ·
I scanned the forum for threads on preferred oil but didn’t see anything (or missed it).

So, what oil brands rank high amongst Triumph riders (Mobil 1, Red Line, etc)?

My Harley Davidson neighbor swears by Amsoil and I personally like Royal Purple.

Any comparison stats or comments would be great!
 
#2 ·
After reading about oil ad nausium both in oil threads at many forums and doing google research, i've come to the conclusion any good oil is going to be as good as the next if you change it VERY often. The shear factor in bikes with shared oil between case and gear box is what kills oil much quicker than in a car. It's said 3k is the point at which it loses a large portion of it's lubrication properties. So may say change it every 3k instead of worrying about oil types. Thats from what i've read seems to be the overwhelming general consensus.

That said, i think no one would disagree that you can't go wrong with M1 bike oil or amsoil. But as far as which bike oil has been the #1 most touted overall in my searches i'd have to say it's probably motul. I've never heard a bad thing said about it, only real positive things. It was also recommended to me by triumph a mechanic i probably respect more than any other triumph mechanic. So that would be my choice.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I also went the M1 4T route. There was a noticeable difference in noise and shifting when I changed out the break-in blend. Mobil1, Amsoil, Motul, Lucas, Royal Purple...all good stuff. Go with what you can get and make sure its API SH+ and JASO MA compliant. BTW, the "MA" is VERY important here, it means that the oil has been tested and approved for wet clutch applications in motorcycles. If it's not JASO MA, you're asking for problems so be careful with that. NEVER NEVER NEVER run automobile oil in a motorcycle with a wet clutch.

Here's a few (use this term loosely for some of these) "studies"...

http://www.hdtalking.com/oil/1032-4_bikes_4_oils_the_test_begins.html

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/amsoil.html

And there's a few thousand links out there showing the Amsoil propaganda testing. Easy to find and think what you want about them. I would prefer the tests were funded and presented by someone other than Amsoil if you know what I mean.
 
#26 ·
15/50 or 20/50 v twin



I have been tempted to use Mobile One v Twin 20/50 instead of the 15/50 Mobile One recommended by Triumph when I bought my BA 2008. It is available at Auto Zone. It is cheaper than 15/50. Since I live in a warm climate (warmer thamn MN) I think this would be fine. Surely it is the same formula as 15/50 or 10/40 Mobile One motorcycle oil. Also what is a good filter for the 865 motor? The Triumph filter is too pricey. I heard there is a Honda automobile equilavent.
?Que te dice?
 
#15 ·
I think i mentioned this before. But a while back there was a law suite which i think was filed by mobil in which they tried to stop companies like castrol from claiming thier oil was synthetic when they weren't. Mobil lost and it was decided that now any oil can be called synthetic as long as they ad a certain additive package. So consequentially there are only a few true synthetics left, and from what i read i believe even mobil 1 is no longer a true synth. (don't quote me, but i did read something about that) Probably because they can't compete that way. On the other hand a few oils are true synthetics because they have a reputation as high end oils and can demand the prices they need to in order to make it profitable. Those are amsoil, motul, and i think royal purple and redline tho i'm only sure of motul and amsoil.

I may be off on some of the details, but it's based in truth unless what i've read in several places is rumor or such. And like i said before tho, as long as you change it regularly and use a quality oil i don't think it will make any measurable difference. I think everyone knows that. My dealer supplies me with free oil and filter for 90000 miles and i was considering passing on that to use motul or amsoil. The the cost is so high on those, especially compared to free i've just been using what they sat if great oil. (Torco semi) They build bonnevilles there for racing, some as high as 300HP (at least thats what they told me) and broke 5 records last time out. So whether Torco is as good as amsoil or motul, it's gotta be good enough.
 
#17 ·
Comment



I now use Amsoil 20W50 year round. Usually warm here, and this oil works fine. Amsoil recommended 12,000 mile changes. I am not that trusting, and use 4500-6,000 miles. There are a number of good oils available. There is a relatively close local dealer, so there are no shipping costs and they always have it in stock.
 
#20 ·
Does anyone know what blend oil the dealer has in it when you buy it new? When I took delivery of my bike the service dept. did the "hand off" and it was explained to me that the factory puts oil in the bike, and does some sort of break in, then it is drained and shipped dry to the dealer. The dealer then puts in some kind of interim oil to be ran from 0-500 miles then changed out to a full synthetic. I was told to baby the bike 0-100 miles, then run it like I stole it from 100-500mi, hard acceleration and deceleration for good break in, then the full synthetic would "seal it up"? Did the rest of you get the same lecture? At any rate - so far so good, I have 1800 miles on it. I didn't have the dealer do the 500mi service tho - they are far - but a local bike shop did the service and put in Motul Full Synthetic ETECH 100 10W40 which from what I can tell from this thread must be pretty good stuff. It had BETTER be for $13.95 a quart!!!
 
#21 ·
I don't know, but believe it is a standard, non-synthetic, oil.

I did what the manual said during break-in, which is what my dealer told me to do:

During the first 500 miles (800 kms):
  • Do not use full throttle;
  • Avoid high engine speeds at all times;
  • Avoid riding at one constant engine speed, whether fast or slow, for a long period of time;
  • Avoid aggressive starts, stops, and rapid accelerations, except in an emergency;
  • Do not ride at speeds greater than 3/4 of maximum speed.

From 500 to 1000 miles (800 to 1500 kms):
  • Engine speed can gradually be increased to the rev limit for short periods.

However, I don't think it would make any difference. The first 100 miles would likely be the most critical and tolerances are tight to begin with.
 
#22 ·
I just want to echo Engage's comments. That is what the manual says, and what I did as well. I'm highly skeptical of the "take it easy for 100 miles then run it like you stole it" philosophy. I think there are two reasons for the Manual's approach...one is to avoid immediate significant failures and the other is to optimize longterm performance and in-service life of the piston/bore mates. With the Tbird's design...most notably the cooling system...a little care at first will go a very long way. My 2 cents...

John

PS and as far as oil is concerned...every expert I've ever discussed it with comes back to a) in service temperatures (particularly auspicious with wet cooling) b) not exceeding the life of the additives and c) the biggest problem otherwise is always fine metal particles... One can argue magnetic filler plugs and high oil filter capacity, but you can't beat a thorough oil change for eliminating metal filings. I'd focus more on the mechanics than the chemistry in this case. I'm not saying 3,000 miles with synthetic...but neither am saying 15,000 *grin* 6,000 with good oil feels about right...and again it's almost like the Triumph engineers gave this some though *grin*
 
#23 ·
I'm in agreement with you guys - I like to break in easy gradually running it harder and harder. You have to do it gradually because things stretch microscopically and if you go easy for 500 miles and then nail it hard the rings are reaching an area slightly different, you want the rings to seat early for where they will always run - it's moot anyway for me - my bike had 182 miles on it being a dealer demo so I'm sure it got ran hard from the get go - but being a new rider I've been fairly easy on it since. Until recently I wasn't sure the Tbird had a rev limiter...is that confirmed? My salesman didn't know, nice huh? Be nice to not have to tuck my chin and check the Tac when going thru the lower 3 gears...
 
#24 ·
was told the break in oil is a oil that has no "silicones". I think he meant no additive package with any sort of additive to add slickness like moly or whatever. So it's probably the same oil that used to be standard automotive oil back in the 60's and earlier before they began developing ways to artificially improve oil's slickness and longevity. The most basic dino oil.

as for break in, everyone has their opinion on it and no 2 are the same. So i think it's mainly a matter of just using common sense and whatever you do chances are it will be fine due to today's technology. Those nikasil sleeves are diamond hard. All you're doing is breaking in the rings, and with those sleeves i doubt theres a big difference there between the best way to break in and any other way. I rode mine like i normally do for the most part just as my mechanic told me. I never wound it out to redline but i did ride it as hard as i normally do.
 
#25 ·
Back when I was buying my first cars, it wasn't drive easy for 100 miles and then like you stole it, but it was drive easy for a hundred miles or so and then floor it once in a while to seat the rings. We were told that if the rings didn't seat, their would always be some level of oil consumption. I'm not sure how much truth there was in this, but I suspect the advice Daryl got was a version of this.
 
#27 ·
I've always been partial to Castrol, but couldn't find their full synth. JASO MA stuff here in Denver (well, without going and buying it from the dealer at "Please rape me" prices). Of course, I could have gone with Motul or Amsol or Repsol.. a few independent shops sell it around here. But, at $12 bucks a quart, the cheap-skate in me just couldn't stand the thought... especially when the Rotella T6 stuff has been getting RAVE reviews on many boards lately. And... it's CHEAP: $20 bucks a gallon at Walmart and a few bucks more at the local auto parts chains like Pep Boys, Auto Zone, Checker, etc.

The Rotella T6 only comes in 5W40.

Ok, and before anyone goes a bit crazy on 5W "thinness" vs. 10W "thickness"...

This holds true for conventional oils, but 5W in full synthetic will perform equal to if not better than 10W regular or blend at running temps. regardless of outside ambient air temps. (aka: hot weather vs. cold weather riding).

And because the Rotella T6 is JASO MA, it has the appropriate shear strength needed for our beloved motorcycle engines.

Changing it out at 2000 miles should give me the margin of error I like to have for excessive break-down of the shear strength... and at $20 bucks a gallon it won't break the bank and will allow me to splurge on the K&N oil filter

A bit from Shell about viscosity...

http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=rotella-en&FC2=/rotella-en/html/iwgen/ask_our_expert/2008/zzz_lhn.html&FC3=/rotella-en/html/iwgen/ask_our_expert/2008/answercolumn_Q8_2008.html
 
#28 ·
Narsisco - I understand your logic, but I've also read that engines are designed to run oil within a certain viscosity range and no matter how good the oil is and if you are outside the range, you could have issues. It's been awhile since I read this, so maybe it's not an issue anymore, but something to consider.
 
#29 ·
Yeah, I've read something very similar.I'm sure Triumph engineers did the numbers when picking an oil viscosity for their engines and I'm sure their logic makes total sense, too. But, the skeptic in me says that the manufacturer's relationship with certain oil manufacturers also comes into play when they make their recommendations. I've read SO much on varying engine oil viscosity over the years since I've owned quite a few performance cars and bikes. I've varied the viscosity in almost ALL my vehicles and have never noticed any adverse reaction to those choices... KNOCK ON WOOD :D

Again, from what I've read I'm pretty confident that using Rotella T6 and changing it out at 2000 miles gives me a pretty safe margin of error just in case the slightly-lowered viscosity does effect long-term shear strength.

I'm betting that almost any decent full synth. oil that's not too thick or too thin will do a competent job in the 'Bird's engine. I'm also betting that there are quite a few engineers that can come back with charts and graphs and tests to prove me wrong. All I'm saying is that my gut feeling and my 30+ years experience with performance engines of all sorts tells me that at that level, it's just splitting hairs. Use a full synth. that's moderately within the recommended viscosity, cut the manufacturer's recommended change interval in half, and don't be a jerk-off that crazy-revs your engine at stop lights (kidding! :D ) and you'll be ok.

Of course, I'm planning on going for the big bore kit right around the 12K mark, so I can only do so much damage in that time :D
 
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