I’m also on a Jaguar forum. Guess what the most frequent question newcomers ask?

Yup, what kind of oil should I use?

 

I'm also on another forum as well called twistitties, The only oil we talk about there is baby oil.. Lol..

 

I have used conventional "mineral" oil the entire life of my bike. I have tried synthetic in the beginning but did find it to lead to a noisier engine which is no big deal other than an annoyance to some. I chose to use mineral in that regard to make it quitter and it has definitely done that. I am **** with maintenance as a professional aircraft mechanic so I change my oil at 3K regardless of what brand or type oil is in it so breakdown is not a worry. I have used Bel Ray "V-Twin" mineral for the most part as it seems to be good stuff and can be found cheap. I have since been using Valvoline VR1 as it has yielded great used oil analysis that can be found all over the internet, it's not very expensive and is EXCELLENT oil as it is a high ZDDP oil and can be found almost anywhere. Running a "motorcycle oil" in the engine is not really necessary as the ones labeled so are for wet clutches as well. Since our sumps are separate you don't need the wet clutch additives. End of the day run what you want and what works for you and change it often. There is no secret, keep it clean and keep it fresh and it doesnt matter what you run.....

 

Made me do it.

 

IMHO.....

Engine fluids have come a long way since the 60's & 70's when I first started working on cars/motorcycles. The cars/motorcycle engines themselves have also come a long way.

Today, the engine fluids from all the major oil suppliers will work in the engines they are designed for (re: marketed for), and probably many other engines outside their target "application". I can't remember the last time I have read or heard of an engine failure from the actual brand of oil that was used.


There is also a lot of marketing and hype over todays oils, as suppliers fight for market share.

There are two things to watch out for:

Labelling-
Often, there will be products from an oil brand that have different labels, but are the same product. For example, I heard a rumor and then contacted Bel-Ray about two of their different oil products: "Gear Saver Transmission Oil, 80wt", and their "V-Twin Primary Chaincase Lubricant". At the time, the Primary Lubricant was being sold at $2 to $3 per quart more than the 80wt trans oil. They confirmed in an email that both products are the same oil. They have different labels to appeal to two different end users....

Oil weights-
More recently, there has been a push from vehicle manufacturers to get the entire fleets in compliance with EPA requirements. They get fleet points for MPG, carbon footprint, etc., etc. The oil specs often will be designed for maximum efficiency (MPG) and longer change intervals. These specs aren't any better for the engine, but are better for getting EPA compliance points for a fleet of vehicles..

You can never go wrong with following the manufacturers "specifications". You should certainly follow the recommended weights and API specs during warranty. People just need to know that often, a manufacturers "recommendations" (different from specifications) are most often made for marketing reasons, not for better engine performance or longevity.

It's no wonder there are many oil threads. The information, marketing overload can be daunting for those with little vehicle maintenance or modification experience.

Having said all that, with the quality of today's oils, use what makes you feel best and fits your budget. As some have mentioned, good maintenance habits/intervals are more important than the brand of oil used.

FWIW.... For an air cooled engine, and living/driving around the SouthWest USA with 100°+ days, I choose a good synthetic oil for my engines. The synthetics handle higher temps before breakdown. I have no doubt a good mineral (dino) oil used in a good maintenance schedule would do as well...


Oh, and since this is an oil thread;

 

Another vote for VR-1 when I had a Dyna I put Amsoil in it after years of Vr-1 and Castroil. The top end was very noisy to say the least . Another thing it ran a lot hotter I know it's supposed to be the other way around Synthetic runs cooler but my Dyna didn't . I have a 2022 Heritage now and just switched to VR-1 in it .

 

Only thing I can add to this post, Synthetic will tolerate High Temperatures better. My favorite web sight for Oil related posts
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/

 

No...

Nobody has had any luck running basic 20w50 conventional oil, their engines fail before they get out of the driveway.

 

Rotella T4 has "around 1200 PPM zinc." It hasn't really changed much, during the last few formula changes. According to the people who make it....

 

Harley's have been running on conventional oil since 1903.