I just changed my oil at 8600 miles according to the owners manual recommendation. I used Lucas 10w-40 part synthetic motorcycle oil. I live in south TX and our temps have been over 100 degrees and my bike seems to be running hotter than I am used to. Do I need to go with a thicker oil like a 20w-50? Also, should I switch to an Amsoil product rather than using a Lucas product?

I just changed my oil at 8600 miles according to the owners manual recommendation. I used Lucas 10w-40 part synthetic motorcycle oil. I live in south TX and our temps have been over 100 degrees and my bike seems to be running hotter than I am used to. Do I need to go with a thicker oil like a 20w-50? Also, should I switch to an Amsoil product rather than using a Lucas product?

Oh NO, another oil thread:eek: If you have read much and followed this forum, you know to bring up this subject causes heartburn, pepic ulcers, high blood pressure, the heartbreak of psoriasis, hang nails, incontinence, as well as other maladies that are not very pleasant:eek::eek:

You may get an answer, you may get more than you want to hear.:rolleyes: (use what you want ,and don't worry about) Ride Safe:cool:

Sadjr,

Without geting into my favorite oil I might just say I think Yamaha recomends 20 W 50 oil for our bikes in warm weather.

8,600 miles seems like a ling time hope that is your second oil change? I think what ever brand you choose the bike will last a long time as long as it is motorcycle oil.

If you want opinions on oil look around some of the threads here. You will see lots of them.

Dave

8,600 miles seems like a ling time hope that is your second oil change?

hopefully his third, assuming a 600 and 4000 mile change already occurred.

i have a 950 and live in Austin so i'm in the same boat as you. i have Amsoil 20w50 since my last change about 4700 miles ago (i need another change as well), and my bike doesn't seem to run any hotter than usual. from what i've read, the heavier oil is better in hotter climates and i'm happy so far with what i've got in my engine.

Thanks for the input! And sorry about starting another oil thread. It was my third oil change. I have had the 600 mile service, the 4000 mile service (all done at the dealer and I got tired of paying their prices) and I just finished the 8000 mile service in my garage last night. I did end up switching to amsoil 20w-50. I haven't done any riding on the new oil yet but I'm sure it will be fine. Bevo- that's a very nice looking 950 you got there!


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Thanks for the input! And sorry about starting another oil thread. It was my third oil change. I have had the 600 mile service, the 4000 mile service (all done at the dealer and I got tired of paying their prices) and I just finished the 8000 mile service in my garage last night. I did end up switching to amsoil 20w-50. I haven't done any riding on the new oil yet but I'm sure it will be fine. Bevo- that's a very nice looking 950 you got there!


Don't apologize for starting the thread. If everyone used the "Search" function all the time, nothing new would come about.

As for Lucas.... You need to look at our White Paper and you may understand why you may be having issues.
http://bestoil4you.com/files/MC_Oil_Study.pdf

If you look in your manual, the oil recommendations are for a petroleum based oil.

If using a Premium Synthetic, such as AMSOIL or M-1 Racing 4T, all that is required is a 10W-40.

If you are the type of person that will warm the bike thoroughly before starting to ride, you can run a 20W-50.

Use of a higher viscosity than necessary can cause excessive wear at cold start, loss of HP and loss of fuel mileage.

Oil, is the Lifeblood of your engine. The oil filter, is the Kidney that keeps it clean.

The Best isn't cheap
Cheap isn't The Best

Bob

Don't apologize for starting the thread. If everyone used the "Search" function all the time, nothing new would come about.

As for Lucas.... You need to look at our White Paper and you may understand why you may be having issues.
http://bestoil4you.com/files/MC_Oil_Study.pdf

If you look in your manual, the oil recommendations are for a petroleum based oil.

If using a Premium Synthetic, such as AMSOIL or M-1 Racing 4T, all that is required is a 10W-40.

If you are the type of person that will warm the bike thoroughly before starting to ride, you can run a 20W-50.

Use of a higher viscosity than necessary can cause excessive wear at cold start, loss of HP and loss of fuel mileage.

Oil, is the Lifeblood of your engine. The oil filter, is the Kidney that keeps it clean.

The Best isn't cheap
Cheap isn't The Best

Bob

I do always let the bike run for a little while before riding. And I do plan on switching back to 10w-40 once the temperature starts to go down. It's been over 100 degrees every day for quite some time down here in the Houston area. I commute on my bike almost every day so sitting in some traffic in this extreme heat is something I cannot avoid. Do you still recommend 10w-40 for temperatures like that? I understand that the Lucas wasn't a premium synthetic and that's because of that is partly why my bike was getting so hot. But, now that I'm running the amsoil 20w-50 the bike seems to be running better and cooler and it no longer sounds rough when sitting at those long lights at 5:45pm when it's 105 degrees out. Also my fuel mileage is right on the money at 48 mpg. And I haven't noticed a loss of power, actually I think I gained a little power (may be my imagination haha). But I am no expert on oil. Those are just my observations.


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I just changed my oil at 8600 miles according to the owners manual recommendation. I used Lucas 10w-40 part synthetic motorcycle oil. I live in south TX and our temps have been over 100 degrees and my bike seems to be running hotter than I am used to. Do I need to go with a thicker oil like a 20w-50? Also, should I switch to an Amsoil product rather than using a Lucas product?

I think the key here is to read the owners manual first, see what Yami recommends and place that information first on your list.
If you have an air cooled engine, for sure, I could / would consider 20/50 in the type of driving you speak of.

Also, should I switch to an Amsoil product rather than using a Lucas product?

Dont get to hung up on oil brands, concentrate of the type of oil you want first, then decide what brand.
Honestly brand isnt important as the type.
People select brands based on the most effective marketing and advertising budgets of companies and not on scientific facts. Your best bet would be to select type and then brand only on what is available in your area and best prices and dont stick to any one brand.
After all, if one brand does something better then the other brand and the other brand does something better then the other brand, you will get the benefits of both by switching around. One thing for sure, when it comes to science hardly anyone selects them, they only select on marketing.

I do always let the bike run for a little while before riding. And I do plan on switching back to 10w-40 once the temperature starts to go down. It's been over 100 degrees every day for quite some time down here in the Houston area. I commute on my bike almost every day so sitting in some traffic in this extreme heat is something I cannot avoid. Do you still recommend 10w-40 for temperatures like that? I understand that the Lucas wasn't a premium synthetic and that's because of that is partly why my bike was getting so hot. But, now that I'm running the amsoil 20w-50 the bike seems to be running better and cooler and it no longer sounds rough when sitting at those long lights at 5:45pm when it's 105 degrees out. Also my fuel mileage is right on the money at 48 mpg. And I haven't noticed a loss of power, actually I think I gained a little power (may be my imagination haha). But I am no expert on oil. Those are just my observations.


All I am going to say about Lucas is that I wouldn't put it in my dieing Lawnmower

It gets very hard to tell the difference unless same viscosity is used etc... and even then it can be difficult with a Butt Dyno.

We had a guy that owned a performance shop try to set us up for failure. He Dyno'd a bike with Rotella in it, a 40 wgt oil and then put one of our 50wgt oils in for a Dyno run. This should have been an automatic loss due to viscosity but, we gained 2.3 HP showing the superior lubricating ability of AMSOIL.

Just let your engine warm and you will be fine. No revving.

Just so you know, we see temps of 100 plus, suppose to be 99 today again, and I am running AMSOIL MCF 10W-40 in my V-Star and my Wing.. The Harley gets MCV 20W-50


The Best isn't cheap
Cheap isn't The Best

Bob

Dont get to hung up on oil brands, concentrate of the type of oil you want first, then decide what brand.
Honestly brand isnt important as the type.
People select brands based on the most effective marketing and advertising budgets of companies and not on scientific facts. Your best bet would be to select type and then brand only on what is available in your area and best prices and dont stick to any one brand.
After all, if one brand does something better then the other brand and the other brand does something better then the other brand, you will get the benefits of both by switching around. One thing for sure, when it comes to science hardly anyone selects them, they only select on marketing.

We will definitely disagree on that.

That is the same as saying oil is oil which is the farthest from the truth. The M/C White Paper below will show that.

http://bestoil4you.com/files/MC_Oil_Study.pdf

Although AMSOIL did not score the best in all the categories, it did outperform the competition overall.

Pick one of the Top 3 Finishers and you will be assured of having a great oil.

Oil, is the Lifeblood of your engine. The oil filter, is the Kidney that keep it clean.

The Best isn't cheap
Cheap isn't The Best

Bob

I think the key here is to read the owners manual first, see what Yami recommends and place that information first on your list.
If you have an air cooled engine, for sure, I could / would consider 20/50 in the type of driving you speak of.

I have consulted the owners manual. Yami does recommend 20-50 in hotter climates. And mine is air cooled. Thanks for the input.


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All I am going to say about Lucas is that I wouldn't put it in my dieing Lawnmower

It gets very hard to tell the difference unless same viscosity is used etc... and even then it can be difficult with a Butt Dyno.

We had a guy that owned a performance shop try to set us up for failure. He Dyno'd a bike with Rotella in it, a 40 wgt oil and then put one of our 50wgt oils in for a Dyno run. This should have been an automatic loss due to viscosity but, we gained 2.3 HP showing the superior lubricating ability of AMSOIL.

Just let your engine warm and you will be fine. No revving.

Just so you know, we see temps of 100 plus, suppose to be 99 today again, and I am running AMSOIL MCF 10W-40 in my V-Star and my Wing.. The Harley gets MCV 20W-50


The Best isn't cheap
Cheap isn't The Best

Bob

Yes, I agree. I know the lucas oil that I ran for 300 miles was the problem. Won't ever use it again.

I think I'll stick with the mcv 20-50 till it cools off, or until I get my car fixed and I don't have to commute in rush hour traffic so much.

Thanks Bob, I'll be buying some more amsoil in a few thousand miles or so.


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Yes, I agree. I know the lucas oil that I ran for 300 miles was the problem. Won't ever use it again.

I think I'll stick with the mcv 20-50 till it cools off, or until I get my car fixed and I don't have to commute in rush hour traffic so much.

Thanks Bob, I'll be buying some more amsoil in a few thousand miles or so.

You will be fine with the MCV... It is an excellent product.

The Best isn't cheap
Cheap isn't The Best

Bob