Best oil to stick with for new bike?

[Kelvininin]

Amsoil is marketed and sold via a multi-layer pyramid scheme, so not a very good value in motor oils. The oil is (probably) fine but it is marketed too aggressively with all kinds of unsubstantiated claims of its superiority. That alone puts me off it, regardless of the price. It is the Dyna Beads of motor oils.

I can only go on my own experiences and the experiences of my friends.

A friend, for instance, recently sold a '99 Tundra that'd had gotten oil changes at 16,000 to 20,000 mile intervals using Amsoil. It had 270,000 miles on the clock when he sold it and still used no oil and ran like a top. Would it have done as well with some other oil? I don't know. My commuter car was a '97 Cavalier that I bought with 132,000 miles on it. I sold it at 241,000 miles, and it was using a pint of oil every 4000 or so miles at that point. Everything else was breaking, but the little engine was still running fine. I changed the oil once a year with Amsoil -- usually around 16,000 miles. Again, I don't know how it would have fared with some other oil. My Goldwing went 11 years and 111,000 miles with 12 oil changes. It used no oil when I sold it.

It's worked for me

I have considered going to a lower priced oil now that my annual ,mileage is down, but it wouldn't save me much, so I guess I'll keep pouring that $10 / quart oil in my stuff

Meh.... I had a 1994 Dodge Caravan, I sold in 2004 with 270,000 miles on the clock, didn't burn any oil, never rebuilt, did the oil changes every 3 to 5K miles using Valvoline conventional. These days with direct injection, variable valve timing, turbo charging. ect. I would trust the extended internal oil changes without getting the oil tested at $30 a pop.

 

[El Toro]

This is important, and that's why I'm here to post in this important thread.
The guys at D&H Cycle were adamant that Kawasaki 20-50 was the only suitable oil for the FJR, and we should use premium gas. I thought that was interesting because they sell more FJRs than any other dealer in the U.S.

That's exactly what Jerald (sp?) told me too ... and that was many years ago when Yamaha was changing the specs on their FJR recommended oil ... probably around 2008 or thereabouts. Maybe it was later.

In any event, Jerald had a large amount of anecdotal evidence from their vast experience with oil changes in high mileage bikes. He was convinced that the Kawasaki oil was harder to shred, and that the long chains held up better over time.

I bought every gallon of the Yamalube that had been recommended for my 2006 AE that he had in stock that day.

I don't know what insights he has. I've spent a fair number of hours listening to his Alabama Wisdom about Presidential Politics and such. Maybe he's been right.

He's said that he was more or less going to retire for quite a while too, but whenever I go back down there, he's still pluggin' away.

He sure does sell a lot of FJRs. He's the sort of dealer that 50 years ago would have been called a pirate and a discounter by the guys who want to hold up MSRP. Still, we're lucky to have him ... and that Kawasaki stuff must be pretty special. Probably just rebadged Amsoil.

 

[El Toro]

Oh, and incidentally for the OP, this is the definitive answer to your question.

Use AGIP 10W60 4T Racing Full Synthetic.

Why?

Because it is nearly impossible to find (I had to buy a case from the distributor when I wanted to use it in an Italian sport bike). The effort necessary to find it proves that you care. This translates into a better relationship with your bike.

And because they have the coolest logo of any oil company ... the Fire Breathing Six Legged Dog.

https://www.eni.com/en_NA/home.htmlk.

Note the dog in the upper left corner. If the link is broken, you can just google American Agip and you'll find the www.eni.com web site.

We've seen tigers, and four legged flying horses, and how can one ever forget the scallop shell ... but for a truly creative and wonder inducing logo, you've got to hand it to Eni.

Edit:

The link doesn't seem to work, but it does take you to the logo. Another approach is to just go to www.eni.com and you'll see the dog in the upper left. FWIW, Eni used to be a pretty aggressive sponsor of racing in Europe. Maybe we'll see their logo on the MotoGP feed this weekend at San Marino.

 

[ionbeam]

^^^^^^

 

[El Toro]

Thanks ^^^^^^^

 

[Fred W]

I never knew that was just a fire breathing six legged dog. I always thought it was something far more exotic.

 

[El Toro]

Maybe this will work ...

https://www.eni.com/enipedia/en_IT/history/brands/the-six-legged-dog-the-history-of-enis-trademark-from-1953-to-1998.page

It's the history of the six legged dog and its relationship to Eni.

 

[ionbeam]

IMO --

Avoid high mileage engine oil, the kind meant for engines with >100k miles. These oils typically contain seal swelling agents, intended to prevent or mitigate front & rear engine seal leaks and control valve guide seal leaking.

===============================================================

The early Gen I engines had a rare but not unheard of issue with valve guide wear which the Forum named 'Tickers' due to the noise the valve stems made rattling in the guides. Yamaha finally traced the root cause back to valve stem seals which were too tight. This oil starved the guides which then led to premature guide wear. Do you really want to add something to your engine which will swell the valve guide seals?

 

[DennisJ]

I do enjoy reading the "best oil" threads. More laughs per minute than pretty much anything else; going to the darkside is another good one. This site is a great source of good, reliable, time tested tips from people who have been riding FJR's for a lot longer and for many more miles than I will ever accumulate. Humbling to look at some of the mileage numbers. Rotella T6 is my oil of choice, almost always right around $21/gal and with the occasional rebates or coupons I usually pay less than that. Easy to find, FJR runs and shifts well. Why change.

 

[MajBach]

Oil is like beer...they're all pretty much the same. The only difference is in your head.

Beer is all the same?

You're right, my mistake. I meant to say all American beer tastes the same.

 

[Fred W]

I do enjoy reading the "best oil" threads. More laughs per minute than pretty much anything else; going to the darkside is another good one. This site is a great source of good, reliable, time tested tips from people who have been riding FJR's for a lot longer and for many more miles than I will ever accumulate. Humbling to look at some of the mileage numbers. Rotella T6 is my oil of choice, almost always right around $21/gal and with the occasional rebates or coupons I usually pay less than that. Easy to find, FJR runs and shifts well. Why change.

I felt the same way about T6, until I tried running Mobil1 15W50. It is cheaper per quart, comes in a 5 gallon jug so you'll have enough to top it up without buying an extra quart (FJR takes just over a gallon) and actually shifts a little smoother in the FJR than the T6 did without any required ZDDP additives. Try it sometime, you may find that you like it better. Of course, Y (oil) MMV

Oil is like beer...they're all pretty much the same. The only difference is in your head.

Beer is all the same?

You're right, my mistake. I meant to say all Canadian American beer tastes the same. (You know, Molson, Labatts, Moosehead...

)

Phyxt it for you. Anyone that thinks all US American beer tastes the same hasn't tried any of the 10,000 offerings besides BudMillerCoors.

 

[Birdman2010]

I do enjoy reading the "best oil" threads. More laughs per minute than pretty much anything else; going to the darkside is another good one. This site is a great source of good, reliable, time tested tips from people who have been riding FJR's for a lot longer and for many more miles than I will ever accumulate. Humbling to look at some of the mileage numbers. Rotella T6 is my oil of choice, almost always right around $21/gal and with the occasional rebates or coupons I usually pay less than that. Easy to find, FJR runs and shifts well. Why change.

I felt the same way about T6, until I tried running Mobil1 15W50. It is cheaper per quart, comes in a 5 gallon jug so you'll have enough to top it up without buying an extra quart (FJR takes just over a gallon) and actually shifts a little smoother in the FJR than the T6 did without any required ZDDP additives. Try it sometime, you may find that you like it better. Of course, Y (oil) MMV

I love the Mobil 1 15W50. It is cheap at Walmart. In addition, the image matches the requirement in the Yamaha Owner's manual. If you look at the rating seal, you will notice that the bottom of the seal is blank. That empty space is required by the owner's manual. I used to have an ST1300 before I bought my FJR. In my Honda ST1300 manual, they actually showed a picture of the seal and pointed to the bottom part and stated that it should be blank (not "energy saving" or "energy conserving" or anything else).

 

[airboss]

Six months later I'm still not convinced to move away from a motorcycle specific motor oil, you need to try harder.

Like Motul, nice golden color and smells good too.

 

[Fred W]

No convincing needed, no problem. That's the beauty part... we all get to make our own choices.

 

[Joel S.]

The Yamalube Advantage, if your bike qualifies for it, 20 year 100k warranty, could be a consideration.

https://www.yamalubeadvantage.com/

 

[RossKean]

The Yamalube warranty is BS. First of all, the failure has to be directly caused by lubrication issues. Doesn't cover normal wear and tear like worn rings.
No modern engine of reasonable size should fail according to their criteria.


QUALIFIED BREAKDOWN means: (1) the immediate and apparent total mechanical failure of a
Covered Part to work as it was designed to work in normal services due to failure of the engine oil;
and (2) the Qualified Product electrical, fuel, computer engine management, cooling, induction and
exhaust systems are all working as designed and are not the cause of engine failure. A Qualified
Breakdown does not include the reduction in operating performance due to lack of maintenance
and/or wear and tear, including a reduction in engine compression due to worn rings or valves, or
abnormal sounds such as knocking, pinging or rattling sounds when a breakdown has not
occurred.

 

[Fred W]

I agree, it's purely a gimmick. The failure also has to be directly attributable to an oil failure. I have never once in my life ever heard of an engine failure directly attributable to oil failure unless someone used the grossly wrong type of oil or didn't change it at reasonable intervals.

 

[eflyguy]

.. but it's expensive, so it MUST be better!

 

[MrZappo]

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

 

[FJRBluesman]

Oh boy, another oil thread...