What kind of oil?

I'm sure this has been discussed over and over again, but here goes. I have an '86 Maxim X with under 5000 original miles on it. As I prepare for my first oil change myself, what kind of oil do .ou reccommend? Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

Castrol GTX 20W50 or Castrol 4T 20W50 "motorcycle" oil. Stay away from synthetics and automotive oils that say "energy conserving" as they contain friction modifiers that can adversely affect clutch performance.

 

you can also use diesel truck oil, rotella t 15w40 or mobil delvac,15w40 stay away from automotive oil .

 

uhhh never heard of diesel truck oil, didnt know it was different from automotive oil, not. They're the same, just different weights, bt most people reccomend 20w-50 or 20w-40 casteral or valvoline, and dont get anything wthat says "special additives" or anything like that.

 

I read a review for mobil 1 synthetic designed for motorcycles. It was up against about twenty other oils and did really well in all catagories tested (about 12). Any thoughts?

 

the great oil debate automotive oil and diesel oil the same? not .compare the api seal on the three types .automotive oil has friction modifiers the other two don"t .mobil one is premium oil ,there is none better,nuff said .

 

I believe Rick posted that diesel oil contains more zinc.
Which is very good for the motor.

 

AmsOil synthetic 20W50 affected the starter clutch in my 900, but not my 750. The rollers grind, rather than engage. I changed oil, left the filter and a quart of synthetic in the motor, topped of with Castrol 20W50 and the starter cluth works.

Next, I'm going to try 1 Qt Synthetic, 1 Qt Diesel, 1 Qt Castrol and see how the engine likes that cocktail.

 

Thanks for everyone's thoughts. Think I'll go with Mobil 1 for bikes. Seems like they cover all bases. Thanks again.

 

And if it doesn't like it, it will reward you with a spun main or galled camshaft journals. It's NOT a good idea to mix synthetic and conventional oils. If you want to play around "formulating" your own oil then stick to the various types of conventional oils you listed. Adding synthetic to the mix is asking for trouble.

 

I went the OEM route with Honda cycle oil in my XJ650j. It was $2 cheaper than the Yamaha brand. I figure if the Manufacturer recommends it it can't be all bad. But, there may be better oils to use. Seems to be working out. Although I'm tempted to try Astroglide. It's really slippery. Makes the bike feel kind of sexy too!!

 

Shell rotella or mobil delvac heavy duty diesel oils are about the best oils to put in the xj. They dont contain any of the friction modifier bullcrap that tears up clutches and starter clutches. And best of all they do contain higher levels of zinc which helps these engines greatly. If someone has any complaints for rotella I say hogwash! I have used that oil in 20+ bikes ive owned with zero complications and I have serviced numerous semi's that use only rotella which have over 2 million miles on the original engines. I figure if it is good enough to cushion the loads and lubricate the engines in trucks which get abused 24/7/365 then it is good enough for my bike.

 

You do realize there's no such thing, right? Neither Honda nor Yamaha make oil (nor does Harley but boy do they have the faithful roped.) OIL COMPANIES make oil; Castrol, Shell, Texaco (Havoline) Sun (although I don't think they market motor oil under the Sunoco name) Exxon (Mobil) etc. There are also some specialty manufacturers like Spectro and Bel-Ray (are they still around?) Yamaha and Honda (and Harley) buy oil from an oil company and have their name put on it. It's nothing special and you really have no idea what "brand" of oil it is. I've run Castrol GTX 20W50 in the Norton its entire 34 year life; and use either the same or Spectro 20W40 in my XJ's. (It's the only 20W40 I can find.) Any "clean" oil is fine, car oil USED to be fine until they started this friction-modifier stuff.

 

My personal choice in the deisel truck is Rotella 15W-30. 150K and no issues at all.

In an old dodge Polara I used to have with a built 383(around 600HP) I used Valvoline Racing Formula 20W-50. This is one of the highest zinc content oils around. When I tore that engine down with 60K on the rebuild (was gonna put it in a new project that went the way of the two peckered billy goat), the bearings looked like the day I put them in. And it was not an easy 60K miles either. Flogged the hell outta that motor!!

In the new (to me) race car, I use Royal Purple 10W-40. Supposed to be the best oil out there for racing purposes. but a $8 quart, I don't think it is something I would want to use in a daily driver, cage or otherwise.

Just my $.02

HTH

Greg

 

so you didn't know amsoil sold synthetic motorcycle oil as well?

 

I had one of these a '72, no a '74.
Mine had a 360ci in it, can you say boat.

 

Boat is the only word!!!! Still, with the motor in it, it ran 10.83 @ 127MPH. Definite sleeper, except for the insanely loud exhaust at full throttle!!!

 

To be safe use Yamalube Motorcycle Oil. I use Castrol GTX 20W50 in my XJ650J Maxim 90% of the time. The other 10% I use motorcycle oil for wet clutch systems. The important thing is to change your oil when recommended!!

 

Getting ready to put my '66 Yami back together after holeing a piston and the '66 manual calls for 30 weight SE crankcase oil. No one seems to know what this is. I suspect specs have changed in the last 43 years. Can anyone tell me the new designation for SE?

 

Bob; You are correct sir! A bit of Googling turned up "Oils meeting API Service Category SG may be used when API Engine Service Category SF, SE, SF/CC or SE/CC are recommended." But SG is now obsolete, replaced by SH. This according the API (American Petroleum Institute) issuer of the ratings.

Any good "straight weight" SAE30 should be fine; since high-zoot cars all use multi-weight these days I don't even think you'll have to be as wary of "fuel saving" additives (friction modifiers) as we do when choosing say, a 20W50. You may even be able to find straight 30 motorcycle oil but I'm not too sure about that.