What brand of motor oil and gear oil are you using?

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 9:49 pm

Been reading threads on oil and gear oil and wanted to know if there is a consensus on what folks are using.

My shop sells Motul 300V 10W40 motor oil for $16/liter and Motorex Semi Synthetic gear oil for $8 for a 130 ml tube. I'm looking to save money.

I saw POCPhil's oil thread and the Rotella T synthetic 5W-40 is $6 at Wallyworld (for a liter). They don't carry any decent gear oil at Wallyworld like Amsoil.

I recently used Bel Ray Gearsaver Hypoid gear oil 80w-90 that I picked-up from a local MC shop but it seems really thin. Even the mechanic at the shop mentioned it when they had the rear end torn apart.

Chime in on favorites or good/bad stories plus any deals you know for oils and/or filters.

rajron · Post by **rajron** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 2:45 am

The best is the cheapest as long as the oil meets or exceeds the machine in question recommended standards; spend more, change more than the manufactures recommendations is just feeding the oil companies bank. Thought I might mention, Castrol Oil is a BP product.

Cheshire · Post by **Cheshire** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 3:05 am

rajron wrote:Thought I might mention, Castrol Oil is a BP product.

Good to know. Thanks for that.

Post by **ericalm** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 4:50 am

I use Motul. It's what my shop carries and what my mechanic recommends. Never had a problem with it.

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 1:49 pm

Amsoil 15W40 Heavy Duty Diesel/Marine Synthetic for the engine, and Quaker State 75W140 Full Synthetic for the final gear drive. The combination has lasted me through three riding seasons so far.

hardd1 · Post by **hardd1** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 2:06 pm

we have been using Top1 oil in our rental fleet with great results....it is now our 'house' brand for the service dept
linky:
http://www.toponeoil.com/

gearhead · Post by **gearhead** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 3:03 pm

i use the cheap SUPERTECH oil from walmart! it is cheap and works the same as any other oil. I change my oil every 500 miles.

jetboy · Post by **jetboy** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 3:58 pm

I've been using Amsoil's 10w-40 synthetic scooter oil and changing it every 1500 miles. I'm almost up to 9000 miles now. I think it it $7-8 or so. Also using Amsoil's severe gear oil. I'm lucky enough to have a colleague at work that is a distributor, so he brings it to me onesy-twosey as needed.

- jetboy

Dean F · Post by **Dean F** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 6:52 pm

bgwss · Post by **bgwss** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 7:16 pm

Dean F wrote:

I use the same gear oil and then 10w-40 Mobil 1 4t motor oil.

Leeroy Jenkins · Post by **Leeroy Jenkins** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 12:20 am

+1 on castrol syntec/mobil 1 gear, but mine is not as blurry.

Dibber · Post by **Dibber** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 12:29 am

I use Suzuki Synthetic Motorcycle Racing Oil, 10W40. Get a good deal at my local Suzuki Dealer and any Synthetic Gear Oil that meets the weight. I had heard that there is an added ingredient, but not sure which letters it is, is added to motorcycle oil that keeps the oil from loosing its viscosity from our faster and hotter running engines then what car oil has.

Leeroy Jenkins · Post by **Leeroy Jenkins** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:26 am

IIRC, the xtra letter is for wet clutch/crankcase mixing like that of conventional motos. Our scoots have separate crankcase and dry tranny. So car oil is just fine and dandy.

Lostmycage · Post by **Lostmycage** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 5:00 am

Oil Thread!

Focus more on the weight and type for your region if you plan on taking anything away from this thread.

[opinion] Despite better judgment... and I mean really... in an oil thread, I can't believe I'm going to comment... but using the "cheap stuff" doesn't make a difference in cost savings if you're changing your oil every 500 miles. Unless it's a race bike, that's entirely too much maintenance and waste to warrant using. [/opinion] If you don't agree with that... don't sweat it. That was an opinion which is entirely mine.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:47 pm

Hey LMC,
No problemo if you want to delete this thread. I was just looking to see what particular weights and brands folks were using to get a measure for making a change myself (in order to spend $5 or $6 for a quart instead of $16). I didn't find this info in a search.

Lostmycage · Post by **Lostmycage** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:05 pm

Tocsik wrote:Hey LMC,
No problemo if you want to delete this thread. I was just looking to see what particular weights and brands folks were using to get a measure for making a change myself (in order to spend $5 or $6 for a quart instead of $16). I didn't find this info in a search.

Nah, it's cool. You will get a lot of opinions on brands, some even given as if gospel. Just bear in mind that opinions are just that. (It's almost like opening up an ATGATT thread, lol).

If you're looking to save money, buy oil by the gallon as it'll usually come out cheaper than by the quart.

I've had good results with Mobile 1 "Turbo Diesel Truck" Synthetic 5w15 and Mobile1 Synthetic gear oil (I think it's the one for trucks) in 75w90 IIRC.

I've also had good results with Motul... but yikes that's expensive!

I remember not liking the Belray gear oil and had overall better results when I switched to the Mobile1 Sythetic.

I'm lazy, so I picked one brand (after research) so I'd have less to remember.

[email protected] · Post by **[email protected]** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:38 pm

royal purple

ever 2000 miles

toycoma98 · Post by **toycoma98** » Tue Jul 27, 2010 2:32 am

[email protected] wrote:royal purple ever 2000 miles

Royal Purple is a waste of money.

I use Castrol syntec blend 10w/40

jcbud · Post by **jcbud** » Tue Jul 27, 2010 3:25 am

I have used Rotella 15w-40, when new. Then went to Amsoil Scooter 10w-40......got great gas mileage. now have Royalpurple 10w-40....good gas mileage, is better than 15w-40 but not as good as Amsoil. I only change once per yr, and I go between 1200-2000 miles. However I won't use Amsoil anymore, to to to expensive (including shipping). I may try Castrol Syntec or go back to RP.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Tue Jul 27, 2010 4:35 am

toycoma98 wrote:
[email protected] wrote:royal purple ever 2000 miles
Royal Purple is a waste of money.

I use Castrol syntec blend 10w/40

Oh yeah? But is your Castrol purple? Huh? Is it?

(And since I was misunderstood on another thread...)

[email protected] · Post by **[email protected]** » Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:56 am

Syd wrote:
toycoma98 wrote:
[email protected] wrote:royal purple ever 2000 miles
Royal Purple is a waste of money.

I use Castrol syntec blend 10w/40
Oh yeah? But is your Castrol purple? Huh? Is it?

(And since I was misunderstood on another thread...)

id like it more if it tasted like grape sryup

Mr Miller · Post by **Mr Miller** » Tue Jul 27, 2010 3:38 pm

Royal Purple, it's just what my service people use for synthetic

of course I also use Amsoil in my Dodge Ram Cummins, so I am used to having to pay for it;) I would rather have longer service intervals.

toycoma98 · Post by **toycoma98** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 9:23 am

Syd wrote:
toycoma98 wrote:
[email protected] wrote:royal purple ever 2000 miles
Royal Purple is a waste of money.

I use Castrol syntec blend 10w/40
Oh yeah? But is your Castrol purple? Huh? Is it?

(And since I was misunderstood on another thread...)

So you're willing to pay more for engine oil for your scooter. Let me guess you put premium gas in it too?

To me its just a scooter, not a high performance engine. I drive a custom made turbo setup in my pickup truck and i dont even use synthetic for that.

No pun intended. Just my .02 cents.

synaps3 · Post by **synaps3** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 2:03 pm

SAE approved is SAE approved...

I'm breaking in both my Buddy and my fiancee's on Rotella-T conventional, with "SUPERTECH" (wal-mart brand) synthetic gear oil. Both are the weight recommended in the owner's manual.

I'll probably switch to Castrol synthetic once the scoots are broken in... I agree with LMC, with our maintenance intervals, whether or not your oil is SAE approved and whether or not you are using synthetic are the only factors that should be argued. Anything else is facetious.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 5:02 pm

Awesome. An(other) oil fight!

Can we talk about gas now, please? HuhHuh? Can we?

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 6:38 pm

Here's the definitive oil thread for those who really care:
topic1375.html#16184

Read that, then put whatever the hell you want to in it.

Preferably Motul.

All kidding aside, these debates and disagreements can rage on for years with no end, as we really can't provide objective results for oil in terms of longevity, performance, etc. IMHO, brand may be less important than dino vs. synthetic.

I know Motul may be more expensive than some, but it's not so expensive that I notice the price difference every 2K and it's been a good oil for me so I feel no need to change.

Unless someone can make an argument that someone else's preference in oil is somehow bad for the scooter, what difference does it make if they pay more as long as they're willing to do so and are happy with the results? There's no reason to start getting up in each others' business, so to speak.

Perkussion · Post by **Perkussion** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 8:51 pm

I'm sure all the brands mentioned above are high quality.

If you feel more secure paying extra $ then that's a positive thing.
If you feel just as secure paying less $ then that's also a positive thing.

Dino, syn or a blend - it's all good. They all protect the engine.

Honestly, I don't see how any SAE oil would have a chance to break down
if you change it every 1000 for conventional & 2000 miles for syn anyway.

illnoise · Post by **illnoise** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 9:09 pm

topic1375.html#16184

Phil's post of Motorcycle Product News' oil rant, it's a good read.

I used the Rotella T 5W40 Synthetic for my my Blur oil change writeup but the only 85-140 gear oil I could find in the neighborhood was the WalMart SuperTech.

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 9:31 pm

I use Motul in our scoots. The cost of 1 liter of oil is the least of my worries. The diesels in my boat use 24 liters per oil change. I still use good oil. Delo 400 in that case.

And I don't even buy lawn chairs at WallyWorld. Got to draw the line someplace.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 9:33 pm

Yeah, I wasn't interested in opinions on what is best, just a feel for what is being used.
I have seen enough replies to satisfy my curiosity so we can let this one die a peaceful death.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 11:48 pm

^^^Ha! This is an Oil War. Peaceful deaths don't happen in The Oil Wars!

kmrcstintn · Post by **kmrcstintn** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:27 pm

rear hub: Amsoil Severe Gear 75w-140 (leftover from a previous scooter purchase

engine oil: once I complete break-in...Castrol Syn-Blend GTX 10w-40 (silver bottle)

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:54 pm

kmrcstintn wrote:rear hub: Amsoil Severe Gear 75w-140 (leftover from a previous scooter purchase

engine oil: once I complete break-in...Castrol Syn-Blend GTX 10w-40 (silver bottle)

Necro-thread resurrection?!

This was from 2010.

Lostmycage · Post by **Lostmycage** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 9:14 pm

This lock sponsored by SNOD: Special Necropost Ops Division. No affiliation to SPAZ, but we're all working towards the same goals.