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Time to Change Oil? (Brands)

VIEJO

VIEJO

Member
First of all- I'm brand loyal, always have been. Except for a short fling with Castrol in the early '70s I've used nothing but Valvoline in my motorcycles for many years now and don't really want to change.... but. For the last several months I've been having trouble locating Valvoline 20-50 Racing oil in Central/West Texas; I've found it, but only after striking out at several previously reliable suppliers (NAPA, Walmart, Auto Zone, etc.). And, in recent conversations with other old Texas riders and hot rodders I'm starting to pick up rumblings that some of the high performance guys are not as satisfied with Valvoline as they once were. I'm currently custodian to a '78 Bonneville, an '81 R100/7, and an '03 KR1200RS. They are all currently running 20-50 Valvoline Racing oil and all have sufficient mileage to transition to synthetic oil if that turns out to the best option. I've been so satisfied with Valvoline over the years that I haven't really paid much attention to what else is on the market so I'd appreciate hearing what's on the street regarding the current state of the art. They vast majority of my riding is hot weather open road in the Texas Hill Country and high desert.

Mil Gracias,

Viejo
 
To be honest, I haven't used the Valvoline products, but I have been exceedingly happy with Mobil1 Full Syn 4T for years and it is easy to find.
 
There was an oil analysis of nearly 20 different oils published in the March 2013 Owners News. You can look at some of the key specs of these oils and see if there's one that works for you and is readily available in your area.
 
20774 said:
There was an oil analysis of nearly 20 different oils published in the March 2013 Owners News. You can look at some of the key specs of these oils and see if there's one that works for you and is readily available in your area.
Click to expand...

Published 3 years ago and how long after the testing? Probably 10 oils that are good for his moto.
 
greenwald said:
Go with AMSOIL Synthetic and never look back. :thumb

Put your 'happy face' on again. :dance
Click to expand...

I've been using Amsoil for a few years now. I switched mostly because with the Preferred Customer pricing I can buy it for way less than regular motorcycle rated oils. The account has an annual fee, but the savings are more than the fee with multiple bikes so its worth it. I am also using their products in my Mustang.
 
What the heck, it's snowing. :lol

I've been using Motul full synth for years. No issues except the dropped the 20w50 and replaced it with 15w50.
 
I've been using VR1 Racing in my Airhead. I was told by Valvoline that this oil's additive package was spec'd for 3,000 change interval in automotive application, it is a racing oil after all. That's fine on the Airhead as I typically only put 2-3,000 miles a year on it. He said their synthetic VR1 would go much longer so I plan on switching to it for the Airhead and Harley after I use up all the Mobil 1 V-Twin. http://www.amazon.com/Valvoline-679082-CS6-20W-50-Synthetic-Racing/dp/B006NT8504
 
Most of the oils mentioned are very good to great. For your older bikes you should consider oils with higher ZDDP content. This helps reduce wear on flat-tappet engines such as airheads, etc. For that reason I use Spectro Golden 4, but Mobil V-Twin, Amsoil etc., are all very good.

I've used most of them and never had a known oil issue. I do believe that Spectro used to be the supplier of BMW oil for airheads in the 70's. Anyway, read the BMW-ON article, but it may well be more info than you want or need. If that's the case than the ones I've mentioned here and that others have mentioned already will all work fine for you. I currently use Spectro Golden 4 in my Airheads and Nortons, Amsoil in my new BMW and Motul in my Ducati, but would be fine with the Amsoil or Mobil in it. I've been using Mobil-1 and Amsoil since the 70's with very good results.

It is far more important that you use good oil than that you use great oil and it is even more important that you do oil changes regularly (3k-4k for your older bikes and 5k-? for newer ones) and also that you change to new oil at the end of your riding season. No need to change out at the beginning of the season but definitely try to change at the end so the acids suspended in the oil aren't getting to know your bearing surfaces too well over the hiatus. ;-)
 
OIL? I don't prefer Peanut Oil, but that's usually what I end up in.
 

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AlanColes said:
Most of the oils mentioned are very good to great. For your older bikes you should consider oils with higher ZDDP content. This helps reduce wear on flat-tappet engines such as airheads, etc. For that reason I use Spectro Golden 4, but Mobil V-Twin, Amsoil etc., are all very good.

I've used most of them and never had a known oil issue. I do believe that Spectro used to be the supplier of BMW oil for airheads in the 70's. Anyway, read the BMW-ON article, but it may well be more info than you want or need. If that's the case than the ones I've mentioned here and that others have mentioned already will all work fine for you. I currently use Spectro Golden 4 in my Airheads and Nortons, Amsoil in my new BMW and Motul in my Ducati, but would be fine with the Amsoil or Mobil in it. I've been using Mobil-1 and Amsoil since the 70's with very good results.

It is far more important that you use good oil than that you use great oil and it is even more important that you do oil changes regularly (3k-4k for your older bikes and 5k-? for newer ones) and also that you change to new oil at the end of your riding season. No need to change out at the beginning of the season but definitely try to change at the end so the acids suspended in the oil aren't getting to know your bearing surfaces too well over the hiatus. ;-)
Click to expand...

Yes, Spectro was the supplier of BMW oil until 2015. At the Salem OR. rally I spoke with the rep for Spectro , we had a very good talk. I do not know who makes it now.:wave
 
20774 said:
There was an oil analysis of nearly 20 different oils published in the March 2013 Owners News. You can look at some of the key specs of these oils and see if there's one that works for you and is readily available in your area.
Click to expand...

Thanks- sounds like a great resource.

Dave
 
EUGENE said:
Yes, Spectro was the supplier of BMW oil until 2015. At the Salem OR. rally I spoke with the rep for Spectro , we had a very good talk. I do not know who makes it now.:wave
Click to expand...



KIMG1067.jpg

The HP bottle is from Italy--4T from USA--Advantec from Germany.

labeled on back of bottles as such, but no brand logo or name as in the past

BP/Shell was the new supplier for some of the products as was brought up in one of the oil threads of 2015. Castrol,( USA vs. EU as will be discussed soon I bet), has also been a supplier and their logo on a lot of BMW Service tech sheets as recommended fluids/products...but not always the word required.

I use whatever folks prefer...some don't care as long as it is new oil. I use what meets specs and my convenience to acquire easily. sometimes it's got a BMW logo on it.
 
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