Yamaha R1 Forum: YZF-R1 Forums banner

what weight oil should i use?

76K views 125 replies 49 participants last post by  Amsoil Dealer Group  
#1 ·
looking to get some full synthetic for my next oil change. just wondering which weight is best for warm weather climates(south florida). my choices are 10w40 or 5w40. i'm thinking 5w40 might be too light, but thought i'd ask the experts.
 
#3 ·
i have almost 1100 now, i was going to do it around 1500 or so. to early?
 
#6 ·
does anyone use 20w50 oil? I ran it in one of my older bikes and seemed to shift smoother and run alittle better when it was hot as hell out side.
 
#8 ·
It about to start gettin hot and humid here in nc and when I get stuck in my back and forth to work triffic the bike stay above 200oF
 
#10 ·
sounds good. I didn't even realize you were in NC also.
 
#12 ·
I was thumbing through my owners manuel earlier for the heck of it and it said you can use 20w40. Ever tried it at all
 
#17 ·
IF anyone has noticed, Yamalube has stopped offering 10w30 & 20w40.

Now, they offer 10w40 & 20w50.


I have a 2007 R1, purchased new in December 2006. It now has >18,000 miles.

I've noticed that it has a smoother and more stable idle with 20w50, and shifts better. However, it seems to me that it revs a little quicker and is slightly more responsive with the 10w40.

Nevertheless, it gets miserably hot here in Memphis in the summer, and, I confess, I ride the bike very hard.

So, I use 20w50 starting around this time of year.
 
#22 ·
It really doesn't matter what brand or dino or synthetic based oil you use as long as it was designed for your application. The reason for the OEM's recommending different viscosities based on ambient temperatures is due to the desired viscosity band the engineers feel offers the most viscosity protection throughout the temperature range of the oil while it is warming up to it's normal operating temperature. Viscosity is one of the most important things an oil has to perform correctly. Synthetic oils versus most dino oils have quite a bit different thickness or viscosity starting out at ambient temperature on it's way to full operating temperature. Once there, both types of oil are real close in viscosity. As the oil temperature rises past 210 degrees the dino oil will fall out of it's proper viscosity band much faster than a good synthetic. The reverse is true when it is cold out the dino oil will be much thicker and harder to flow freely through the bearing cavities than the synthetic at cool start up temperatures and during the first few miles.

So the moral of the story is if you are operating your bike at the temperature extremes you might want to use an oil that has a wider temperature range of protection. If you are operating in moderate temps then use the cheaper dino oil.
george
ADG
 
#29 · (Edited)
does anyone use 20w50 oil? I ran it in one of my older bikes and seemed to shift smoother and run alittle better when it was hot as hell out side.


I run 20w50 on my 2004 R1. Mostly because I live in Houston where it's 90-100 degrees with 90-100% humidity most of the time and do alot of 6-8 hour rides. The bike responded VERY well to this change it feels like it runs stronger and smoother at the same time. I wouldn't recommed it to anyone living up north though in cooler climates.
 
#38 ·
Does Amsoil use Ester based Base stocks or Polyolefin based ?

I've had better luck with high reving engines and built engines with Polyolefin based oils, they seem to deal with the acid build up better and don't leave as much of the black residue you see inside the engines when you break them apart.

What do you think of Dumonde Tech products ?
 
#52 ·
I must admit that I got stuck on the Yamalube band wagon myself, I am not saying that it is a bad oil by any means, I used and loved it, my bike always responded well to it, but they got rid of the symi-syenthetic, and I switched to the fully synthetic, and it was the 15w-50. After reading this thread though I will be buying my first case of AMSOIL 10w-40! THanks for the info all