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What weight oil to use

5K views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  Motogypsy 
#1 ·
Just bought an 2004 GT. It had jsut had its 6000 service and the dealer told me that 10w40 oil was used in the engine. I have always run 20w50 in all of my bikes. Summers are pretty hot here in Nebraska also. What do you think? Leave the 10w40 or swap it out before it gets too hot?
 
#2 · (Edited)
04GTRider said:
...and the dealer told me...
Fuckin' dealers.:rolleyes:

I use 20W/50 exclusively year round. It is perfectly acceptable according to your owners manual.:thumb:
 
#3 ·
Proper oil weight to use

Crank shaft and connecting rod bearings generate lots of heat. The applied oil stream besides stopping metal to metal contact also cools these bearings. Using a really thick oil does not allow as much leakage at each bearing thereby reducing somewhat the amount of cooling that takes place. Heavier oil also takes longer to circulate on a cold engine startup allowing slilghtly more wear each time you start the motorcycle. Yes you could run 20W50 and if you don't keep the motorcycle to high mileage you might ever experience a problem. 10W40 however will allow your engine bearings to run a little cooler and will let the engine survice to a higher mileage. That is my view of things anyway.

Buckwheat
 
#4 ·
I would use what it tells you in the book.....aint worth the worrie.....the gt has a tendency to leak by the rings while on side stand.....and smoke on start up....could be worse with a lighter oil......and i bet the engineers at bmw say to use 20 50 for a reason.....I have 30,000 miles on castrol syn blend 20 50 42,000 on bike....no problems no smoke on side stand and starts fine in 30 deg temps....never have to add between changes.....now...did he put 10 40 in the motor...or did you mean that it had 10 40 in the motor when he did the change...he could have been talking break in oil......but check...see if he really put 20 50 in....
 
#6 ·
If you can use 5w-30 and it doesn't use oil, you should be good. I know that's not what's recommended, but the lighter the oil, the sooner parts have oil flowing arond them at startup.

Having said that, the dealership that's serviced my bike has always used 20w-50. It does use about a quart between the 6k oil changes, which isn't excessive. Ya, I'd like it to be zero, but at 93k, I figure it's as broken in as it's gonna get, and I'll live with it.

If I knew then what I know now, though, I would've gone for the 10w-40 from the get-go. If you do a lot of stop-n-go driving, you might opt for the 20w-50, but if not, go with the dealer.



 
#7 · (Edited)
Buckwheat said:
The level of ignorance expressed on this forum is monumental. :v:
....Well now that your here we can all expect to learn all the things you know....so if you could...would you please make sure you check up on us more often ...maybe you could post threads on a daily basis with all your knowledge....maybe break it down into subject matter...so when we need to know something about something...all we have to do is look for your posting.....thank god you came.....i have been reading your books for years.....but notice that they are getting real hard to find....but maybe if you have your people get with Opras people....you could get a book plug.......and we could finally get to see what you look like on tv.....and be sure...i ll be takin the day off....get my ho hos....and my pepsi ....and my ass on the couch...just waitin....for the extravaganza
 
#8 ·
BAK04GT said:
....Well now that your here we can all expect to learn all the things you know....so if you could...would you please make sure you check up on us more often ...maybe you could post threads on a daily basis with all your knowlege....maybe break it down into subject matter...so when we need to know something about something...all we have to do is look for your posting.....thank god you came.....
I propose to ask moderators to start special conference "Backwheat wisdoms" or so :))

It would be top-visiting page :))
 
#9 ·
BAK04GT said:
....Well now that your here we can all expect to learn all the things you know....so if you could...would you please make sure you check up on us more often ...maybe you could post threads on a daily basis with all your knowledge....maybe break it down into subject matter...so when we need to know something about something...all we have to do is look for your posting.....thank god you came.....i have been reading your books for years.....but notice that they are getting real hard to find....but maybe if you have your people get with Opras people....you could get a book plug.......and we could finally get to see what you look like on tv.....and be sure...i ll be takin the day off....get my ho hos....and my pepsi ....and my ass on the couch...just waitin....for the extravaganza

:rotf: :rotf: :D
 
#10 ·
Oil

Well, I want whats best for my bike. Id spend a little extra to make sure the bike gets what it need to run it best and last the longest. Guess I'll have to do a little more research. Buckwheat seems to make some good points. Dealer says it water cooled so it runs cooler so 10w40 is fine. The mechanic in the back says he'd put 20w50 in it... Every other bike I have owned was air cooled. 10w40 just seems so THIN to me. I guess Im used to 20w50. Thanks a lot for your replies. Looks like we are all running different shit in our bikes....
 
#11 ·
Well remember, all you are doing is comparing a 40 weight to a 50 weight oil. Becaues they are multi-viscosity, when they get warm they should act as the heavier weight oil. The difference between 40 and 50 weight isn't all that much.

When it is cooler, and at start up, the lower viscosity comes into play. Again, not a lot of difference between the 10 and 20.

I think of more importance would be whether you are using Dino or Synthetic.
 
#12 ·
When I was last in my auto store I'm sure I saw 10-50 but it was more expensive than the other oils.

10 wt oil is good if you ride in winter, less load on the battery/starter, quicker starting and marginally better fuel economy.

Somebody will chime in, but I've always thought with a multigrade viscosity oil at 'normal' temperatures their viscosities would come out about the same. It's only when running very hot, or very cold that oil benefits a wider range. On a K bike you're soon running hot, If you're getting the most out of the bike and the water stat is working properly. I'm sure our oil coolers aren't big enough to realy do a lot and I've not found an oil thermostat yet, but I'm still digging. Personally on road vehicles I've always preferred my oils to be sticky so some gets left behind on cold engine parts. Same with transmission oils.



 
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