Oil for long distance riding

[art miller]

That Motorsex stuff makes great lube I hear, but who has sex with their motor? Damn kinky Swiss, that's who!
edit - The reason KTM recommends Motorsex oil is because they don't make KTM brand oil and Motorsex has an orange cap.

As for the "W40" or "W50" in the XXW40 or XXW50 oils, Yamaha recommends oil weights for the FJR engine per the below scientific ambient temperature / viscosity chart:

You can clearly see that the first number affects only the cold end of the temp range, while the 2nd number affect how hot the ambient can be. Unless you plan on starting your bike at below freezing temps then 10W oils are not needed. 15W or 20W will suffice. The advantage of a W50 oil over a W40 oil is only 10 degrees ambient. But I call BS since this is a liquid cooled engine it will run at the same internal temperature regardless of the outside ambient.

So there you go. It doesn't really matter.

I use 10w-40 only. Only once did I ride in temps exceeding 110F and that was not planned.

 

[Spud]

So, in a nutshell, yes, use oil for long distance riding.

 

[eflyguy]

I bet if you sent it for analysis it wound test fine.

I accidently ran over 7000 on Rotella dino (not syn) in my 2001 FZ1 once - sent in to Blackstone, they suggested I try 10k next time as it was WELL within all tolerances/limits, just a tad dirty. And that's a LOT of around-town riding.

So, yeah, 6k on a x-country trip is nothing.

 

[Kelvininin]

Keep going with what you already go with. One over mile oil change isn't going to hurt anything. I run T6 in pretty much everything we have.

 

[Hammer Down Brown]

Oil threads seem to go on and on but it brings to mind a question. Has anyone ever heard of an engine failure due caused by the oil as long as the correct spec oil was used?

I no one can cite a failure, what is all the debate about anyway. My oil goes 200,000 miles, your oil goes 200,000 miles, so?

 

[Fred W]

If no one can cite a failure, what is all the debate about anyway

We debate oil specs because we can. And in the end, it is like the special Olympics and everyone wins.

First beer's on you.

 

[Mad German]

You guys actually use dino oil on your cross country trips?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!? Your bike is gonna blow up!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Uncle Hud]

If you use the wrong oil, Yamaha voids your warranty and your insurance will not cover the smoldering pool of melted steel and aluminum after the fire department has left the scene.

 

[SLK50]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Uncle Hud" data-cid="1367046" data-time="1496182782"><p>

If you use the wrong oil, Yamaha voids your warranty and your insurance will not cover the smoldering pool of melted steel and aluminum after the fire department has left the scene.</p></blockquote>

Haha. That's pretty funny. Where's the smiley face?

 

[Fred W]

He's smiling with his eyes.

 

[eflyguy]

Haha. That's pretty funny. Where's the smiley face?

In his signature.. you don't see it?

 

[08FJR4ME]

I remember back in the day you only changed your oil every 12K miles. What changed?

Dave

 

[1951M38]

Oil threads seem to go on and on but it brings to mind a question. Has anyone ever heard of an engine failure due caused by the oil as long as the correct spec oil was used?
I no one can cite a failure, what is all the debate about anyway. My oil goes 200,000 miles, your oil goes 200,000 miles, so?

Guy I work and ride with went like 30,000 mi between oil changes on his 200,000mi Honda minivan. This was his theory, and it worked for him....I think he treats his bikes better...

 

[sullivan]

But I call BS since this is a liquid cooled engine it will run at the same internal temperature regardless of the outside ambient.
So there you go. It doesn't really matter.

I believe in KISS (keep it simple, stupid)

The quote is spot on. Nothing more to add.

 

[XWinger]

I remember a couple guys from my Goldwing days that used Walmart supertech 10w40 and were still going strong at 300k+

 

[Powerman]

In the 70's my dad's buddy was an oil distributor. We put, I think, Valvoline 40W from a 55 gallon drum in every engine there was.

Cars, trucks, lawn mowers, boats, race cars, motorcycles......

Never worried about it, never blew anything up. Lived in a moderate climate.

I guess they never got the miles you see now, but it wasn't the oils fault.

Higher mileage black oil still lubricates just fine, the detergent suspends stuff in oil.

Ever had a cheap buddy put your used oil in his car?

 

[RossKean]

I know a guy (BMW rider) with more money than brains. Doesn't believe in regular oil changes. He maintains that changing the filter regularly (5000 mi) is sufficient. He may be the one beemer owner whose final drive outlasts his engine. The guy actually rides quite a bit.

 

[rbentnail]

If you use the wrong oil, Yamaha voids your warranty and your insurance will not cover all of the smoldering pool of melted steel and aluminum after the fire department has left the scene.

ftfy. True, mostly. I discovered that they will pay for both the car tire and the illegally loud exhaust system.

 

[bgross]

"It is easier to keep track of because counting by 5's is easier than counting by 4's.

It is less work, and saves a little money by stretching out the intervals a bit.

It makes the service intervals more "regular", like the Euro/OZ schedules."

If I was planning on running @8000rpm all day in 115*f temps, and found myself losing sleep after about 3000 miles, with 3000 to go?

Spend 60 minutes and $60+/- at Wally World and do an oil change in the parking lot.

Whatever gets ya through the night.

 

[Uncle Hud]

<--- That's for my last post. (Really? "... smoldering pool of melted steel ..." That's funny, y'all.)

I re-read the original post, partly out of guilt for the thrashing handed out to birkdale10. What he's asking is -- paraphrased -- should he use a different oil for his 6k-mile trip from Texas to Minnesota and back?

Serious answer: No. Technically, the answer is, "It doesn't matter," but, no, you don't need to use a different oil for everyday riding and long-mile rides.

However, as bgross mentions above, if it will make you feel better, change the oil. There are plenty of things to worry about on a 6k-mile trip. Oil shouldn't be one of them.