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What brand and type of oil do you use in your Wing and why?
This is the brand and type of oil I have been using in my Wing for many years: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp_internet/castrol/castrol_canada/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/p,q/pds_GrandPrixMotorcycle_4Stroke.pdf">http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp_in ... Stroke.pdf</a><!-- m -->

I trust the brand, it has been proven in professional racing and it has been proven in the many motorcycles I have owned over the years. When I have tried other brands of oils I have heard ticking noises when the engine was hot that I did not hear with the Castrol. I realize that this is not very scientific but this combined with what I saw on teardowns has me convinced that I am using a very good oil and I'll keep on using it until someone can offer me proof of a better oil for the same value.

(BTW, last oil change I used Castrol GTX car oil in my Wing because my regular supplier was out of the motorcycle oil. When Castrol caught wind of this they royally chewed me out for using automotive oil in my bike so I only kept that oil in my bike for 500 miles and it was gone to be upgraded to the old faithful 20W50 Grand Prix motorcycle oil. I won't make that mistake again.)

Tell us about your oil and why you use it.
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

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#1 08-25-2007, 02:50 PM,
Here we go with the oil debate I thought we were leaving that at Steve Saunders site Smile

This statement is fine for air cooled bikes which have the stresses which can breakdown oils in the engine.

"Castrol Grand Prix Motorcycle 4-Stroke is specifically formulated to provide outstanding performance under severe high torque, high stress conditions. Under these conditions, motorcycle engines operate at extremely high temperatures causing thermal breakdown of motor oils."

The GoldWing engine is typically a car engine and deserves the oil that would be run in a car engine.

I have used Quaker State oils of varying viscosities depending on the time of the year. With over 200,000 k on the engine I am quite satisfied that this oil is suitable.
The only stupid questions are the one's that are not asked.

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#2 08-25-2007, 04:11 PM,
The former owner of my bike was running Havoline 20w-50w Motorcycle oil. After I ran out of the oil he gave me I couldn't find the same oil so I switched to Castrol Syntec 20w-50w, the same oil I run in my pick-up's. The reason I went to that is, like Vic, I've used Castrol products for years and had good results, It's more convenient to have the same oil in all my vehicles, And since I switched to Syntec in my Tacoma I went from 24mpg to 26mpg!!

However since reading the e-mails Vic has gotten from Castrol concerning the friction modifiers in the Syntec I'm gonna switch to the Castrol R4 Superbike. It's a full synthetic oil and I do like the full synthetic alot better than the dino oil.

More expensive?? Maybe. I've seen a marked improvement in my '99 Tacoma when I went to Syntec @ 110,000 miles so the full synthetic oil does help older vehicles and my bikes 22 years old.

On the other hand I've heard that a full synthetic is the best thing to run in a new vehicle. Don't know if that's true, but my wife has a '02 Tundra that has had nothing but Castrol Syntec used in it. She's got over 100,000 miles on it and, except for problems with the O2 sensors, She's not had a minutes problem with the truck and at 65mph to 85mph the truck gets a rock solid 19.1mpg on the Interstate.

My bike's only got 23,000 miles on it so, while she's 22 years old, she's not even hardly broken in so the full synthetic can only help with the longevity of the engine.

IMHO,,, Of course!!!! 8)
1985 Limited Edition
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#3 08-25-2007, 06:26 PM,
tricky Wrote:Here we go with the oil debate I thought we were leaving that at Steve Saunders site Smile

This statement is fine for air cooled bikes which have the stresses which can breakdown oils in the engine.

"Castrol Grand Prix Motorcycle 4-Stroke is specifically formulated to provide outstanding performance under severe high torque, high stress conditions. Under these conditions, motorcycle engines operate at extremely high temperatures causing thermal breakdown of motor oils."

The GoldWing engine is typically a car engine and deserves the oil that would be run in a car engine.

I have used Quaker State oils of varying viscosities depending on the time of the year. With over 200,000 k on the engine I am quite satisfied that this oil is suitable.
*************************************************************
The reasons quoted to me by the experts for not using car oil is that it gets broken down much faster than motorcycle oil so if you don't extend your oil changes you probably can get away with using the lesser oils. I would imagine that a lot of this has to do with the fact that the transmission oil is shared with the engine.
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

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#4 08-25-2007, 07:12 PM,
The original and only true 'Mini', plus all its derivitives, eg Morris, Austin and MG 1100 and 1300, have a gearbox that forms the sump for the engine.
The recommended oil, when first introduced in 1959 was a range of standard, multigrade 20W50 oils from various manufacturers
Many of these cars are still running.

Late 80's Hondas and Acuras used motor oil in the manual gearbox, aab 900 (until 1993)

Chrysler ES (1988-1991)
Chrysler GTS, Shelby 2.5 T, 2.2 L4 (1988-1991)
Chrysler Daytona, Shelby 2.5 L4 Turbo (H-Cars)(1990-1993)
Chrysler Le Baron, GTC, 2.2, 2.5, Turbo, 3.0 V6
Chrysler GS Turbo 2 2.2 Turbo L4

Honda, all old Civic's (->1991)

Isuzu: old Troopers and Gemini's

Older Landrovers

Mg Maestro, Montego

Peugeot 305, 505, (older ones)

I wouldnt be surprised that Oil manufacturers have jumped on a bandwagon in an attempt to palm off their high cost oils onto a gullible public.

The Goldwing is not an air cooled machine.
The only stupid questions are the one's that are not asked.

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#5 08-25-2007, 07:36 PM,
Let's take your argument directly to Castrol and we'll see what they have to say. Your response is a a little too wordy for their limited response forms so could you please shave it down to a more manageable size and I'll forward it to them for an official response.
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

Reply
#6 08-25-2007, 07:56 PM,
This research is somewhat dated (1994) but oils really havnt changed much since then.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.xs11.com/stories/mcnoil94.htm">http://www.xs11.com/stories/mcnoil94.htm</a><!-- m -->

Walk into any motorcycle dealership parts department and you are virtually guaranteed to see prominent displays of oils produced specifically for use in motorcycle engines. Since dealers are not about to waste valuable floor or counter space on a product unless it produces a decent profit, it is obvious that motorcycle-specific oils have become one of the premier parts department cash cows of the 1990s.

snip

"Despite more than six months of research, reading all the claims and counter-claims printed by dozens of industry experts and lubrication experts, MCN cannot and does not purport to know all there is to know about the differences between automotive and motorcycle oils. However, what we do know is that we can find no substantive evidence that using a high-quality, name-brand automotive oil in an average street motorcycle is in any way harmful or less effective in providing proper lubrication and protection than using the more expensive, motorcycle-specific oils."

The key being to separate the consumer from his cash.

In my humble opinion it's better spent in the gas tank or at the ice cream store.

However what ever oil turns your crank stick with it, you might sleep better Smile
The only stupid questions are the one's that are not asked.

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#7 08-26-2007, 05:09 AM,
admin Wrote:Let's take your argument directly to Castrol and we'll see what they have to say. Your response is a a little too wordy for their limited response forms so could you please shave it down to a more manageable size and I'll forward it to them for an official response.


Of course Castrol would say anything to have you switch to their brand.

I would prefer a more independent source... see above post.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ducatimonster.org/faq/faq_oil.html">http://www.ducatimonster.org/faq/faq_oil.html</a><!-- m -->

OK, OK... The Oil Question
There have got to be as many opinions on oil choice as there are motorcyclists. The Owners Manual says to use SHELL Advance Ultra 4, SAE 20w-50, but it also says "Engine oil and oil filters must be changed by a Ducati dealer or authorized workshop at regular intervals,as specified in the routine maintenance schedule" so take that for what you will. Some will swear on Uncle Zeke's grave that $11/qt Agip synthetic is the only thing that should go in your fine Italian machine and others will berate you as a fool for using anything more pricey than .89 cent/qt Valvoline dino oil from AutoZone. I've seen claims that "Most motorcycle oils are SG/SH and JASO MA rated where most auto oils are now SJ/SH rated and not JASO rated at all" implying that newer Automotive oils are not designed with motorcycles at all. The truth is that most of what I've read (like the MCN article link below) on the subject says that under most conditions and by most criteria, there's not a lot of difference between quality automotive oils and motorcycle specific oils. I personally think that changing your oil regularly is more important than what oil you use.
The only stupid questions are the one's that are not asked.

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#8 08-26-2007, 05:10 AM,
When reading the handbook for the 85 GL1200 series it states "Use only high detergent, premium quality motor oil certified to meet US automobile manufacturers requirements for Service Classifications SE or SF.

Reading the following website "Motor oil guide"

It seems those classifications are now obsolete and the current classifications SL, SJ are now current.

On the label of my Quaker State jug it states "exceeds the requirement of API standard SL and previous API Standards.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/API.html">http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/API.html</a><!-- m -->

This is a generalized statement and is not meant for any one person but what ever oil turns your crank, if it makes you happy spending extra $ for something you may not need go for it.
The only stupid questions are the one's that are not asked.

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#9 08-26-2007, 05:59 AM,
The oil that I am using is only $4.19/L so I don't think that is excessive for the protection that I'm receiving. I suppose that I could use recycled oil if I wanted to be real cheap.

The reason for this thread is not to put down anyone's choice of oil but to hopefully learn from their selection and why they use it. There are advantages and drawbacks to every product. I am well versed in Quaker State's benefits and deficiencies because I used the product for 15 years in a scientific fleet format. It was oil that gave adequate coverage for the dollar according to the oil analysis testing. Since oil was purchased frequently in 45 gallon drums cost was a considerable factor but for my Gold Wing where purchases are made in 4 litre containers cost isn't such a big factor and spending $4.19/L for a quality motor oil that will comfortably see me through to each 3000 mile oil change is no big deal.

Picture if you will a Castrol oil molecule and a Quaker State oil molecule rolling around inside the crankcase of a Gold Wing engine after a hard day, now go study what each of those molecules are made of then come back and tell me which molecule is going to be less tired at the end of a busy day in the crankcase. There's lots of data for you to study on the internet. Now go tell me which molecule is going to get less beat up.
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

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#10 08-26-2007, 06:30 AM,
I can still only point you to the sites above also the Honda handbook.

I guess Castrol must know more than Honda, they only build the bikes. Every manufacturer of course will give glowing reports on how well their products perform against their competitors. It's left to the consumer to make their choices. I have to go with the manufacturer of the bike in this case.

As far as engine noise is concerned, exhaust noise coupled with radio and Cb noise along with being half deaf I couldn't tell whether it's ticking or not, I definitely know traveling along the 401 along side those 18 wheelers I don't hear any ticking Smile
The only stupid questions are the one's that are not asked.

Reply
#11 08-26-2007, 09:08 AM,
It's hard to say if Honda knows more about oil for racing bikes than does Castrol Tricky I'm sure they work pretty closely hand in hand when it comes to lubrication and I'll bet that Castrol has to do their homework A+ just to get in the door with Honda but it's a great question.

Anyway, the whole point of this thread is for guys to introduce all the different kinds of oils they use and why they use it. It's not a typical oil thread where my oil is better than yours kind of thing. I would just like to see what is being run in all the different Wings out there and why.
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

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#12 08-26-2007, 10:05 AM,
Hope I dont get flamed for this but I use Walmart 20W50 in my Goldwing. The Walmart jug says it meets or exceeds API service SM, same as the castrol jug. I pay around $7 for a 5 qt container and I use 4 quarts at each change. I have used the Walmart oil for the last 20K miles, before that I used Castrol 20W50. Both oils clunk in first gear and both provide smooth shifting until it gets about 3000K miles. I can tell by the way it shifts if I am due an oil change. I also have a spin on adapter and use the walmart filter (black) that runs me $2.42, so for $10 I can service my bike. I average 12 to 15K miles a year so I do 4 or 5 changes. I run the Walmart oil and filters in my other vehicles as well. I firmly believe that modern oils are all very similiar and changing oil reguarly is the key to long engine life. An old wrench friend told me when I bought my truck new in 1997 and the manual said change every 5K miles, that oil is cheaper than metal. I follow the 3K mile rule with all my vehicles.
I used to be in the landscaping business and I used synthetic oil in my mowers. The difference in my mind is the mowers are air cooled and exposed to severe duty. Those engines run 6 or 7 hours per day 6 days a week and it gets hot here in the south during the dog days of summer. I never measured the temps or any other scientific study. It just seemed too work for me.
Pappy
1998 GL1500 SE
Shelby, NC
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#13 08-26-2007, 04:19 PM,
Sounds like a smart plan to me Pappy. Big Grin
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

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#14 08-26-2007, 04:29 PM,
Are we the only 3 that use oil in our wings? :twisted:
Pappy
1998 GL1500 SE
Shelby, NC
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#15 08-28-2007, 02:05 AM,


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