Correct Synthetic Oil Use

[keith01111]

Guys
I know there has been allot said about synthetic oil in the past and everyone has changed out and had good luck. However, What is a correct Synthetic oil for the 2008 GL 1800 Goldwing, I did some shoppin around and still havn't convinced myself on what is the correct Syn oil to use. My Manual states 10W30 with a API of SJ. All the Syn oils I found were SN and not sure how important this might be as the manual says do not use an oil in the SH or higher range? What is the JASO T 903 Standard? really all comes down to what is a good Syn oil to use to replace dureing the next oil change? Thanks.

[landisr]

Welllll, I can't speak for the 1800 specifically due to the (confusing to me) specs you mentioned. However, I can say without doubt that Shell Rotella and Mobil One full syn has worked wonderfully in my 94A. I bought it new in '95, and it has had one or the other of these oils since it reached 20,000 miles, and it now has 157,000+ and it still purrs like a kitten, original clutch and all. I'm pretty sure that your bike should avoid the energy conserving oils, as they supposedly can mess up the wet clutch. So to be safe, just be sure that you choose an oil that has the second weight greater than 30, ie go with xxW40, 50 or 55. Just look at bottles on the shelves: oils that are, for instance, 10w30 will have the energy star logo on the front of the bottle. None of the 10w40 oils will have it. But I am rambling. I'm sure one or more 1800 owners will chime in here shortly. You might also peruse recent threads on this site, as I'm sure there is much more info.

Good luck, and enjoy that nice bike!

[Viking]

The JASO T903 MA/MA2 standards have to do with wet clutch and gear compatibility. If you do not have these shown on the oil then supposedly you should not use them in a GL1800 which has transmission and wet clutch lubed with the same oil as the engine. As far as the SJ standard goes, my understanding is that anything more recent is backward compatible, so an SK, SL, SM, SN, SO etc should be okay to use. As SH is a lesser standard than SJ, that would account for the advisement not to use. Amsoil, Mobile1, Redline, Rotella, Royal Purple, as long as they are specifically for motorcycle use, should all be fine. There is a substance, molybdenum, in some energy conserving oils that will build up on the clutch plates over time, so it is best not to take the chance and use automobile use specific oils. Even one or two of Honda's own HP4 oils containing molybdenum can do this, and so are only recommended for making power, as in crotch rocket racing, where you will be tearing down the engine after a few thousand miles, and either cleaning or replacing the clutch plates. Both 10W30 and 10W40 are perfectly suited to our 1.8 liter six cylinder liquid cooled engines. There has been a question raised about the use of 10W40 in cooler temperatures (below 60F) in that it could cause the sprag clutch on the starter to fail to engage the first time attempted, but if it engages on the second try, I wouldn't worry about it. It is possible that the weight the oil is at these cooler temps might be interfering with the way a sprag clutch operates. When up to temps however, the flow of the oil will clean the rollers in the sprag and coat them so no damage should be forthcoming. Synthetic oils also leave a coating on metal parts which prevents metal to metal contact, thereby lowering any incidence of wear. I personally use and recommend Amsoil, as I have been a dealer since 1975. I am saying this in the interest of honest disclosure, and not to attempt to influence anyone to use a product as endorsed by me. My experience has been that changing oil no matter the brand is preferable to not changing your oil at all -

My only pet peeve is the cheap ass oil filters that come apart in use, leaving residue behind which is then blamed on the oil when the engine fails. Oil filters and helmets have one thing in common. Cheap is cheap. Spend the money - buy a decent oil filter.

Oh, and one more thing... Diesel oil and aircraft oil are sometimes said to be great for use in motorcycles. Nothing could be further from the truth. Aircraft grade oils are fine in air cooled engines of all sorts... Diesel formulated oil is for use in diesel engines - NOWHERE ELSE. I am not saying it could destroy your engine, but it can and will reduce the life. Maybe only from 300K miles to 250K miles, but that means it is not properly protecting the engine.

[DaRamblerman]

For Viking. I found this very informative on diesel oil in motorcycles. https://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oil.html

[Viking]

As it is an extremely long and opinionated article, could you please paraphrase what you wished me to learn from it? Thanks.

The reason I ask this of you is - it is not so much what we do not know about something. It is more about what we know for sure that just ain't true.

[AZgl1800]

my 1800 is very happy with Rotella T6 in 5w40
the shifts are very smooth, several folks who have asked me, Flyone being one of those, have commented that his 1800 is shifting better than it ever has with any other oil.

as for the oil filter, I have been using the NAPA 1358, which is their 'Gold' brand and made by Wix, as most of NAPA filters are.

I like the 1358 filter because the canister is a bit longer, giving more filtration.
and it has the flats on the top of the canister so an oil filter wrench can be used.

[Viking]

Okay, I read the guy's article and he is not wrong. His information is taken directly from Amsoil University and SAE literature, as was my Oil 101 blurb on another thread. He did make some inferrences that I would not make, but my take on oil has always been - if you change it when it needs changing, any oil will do, and he pretty much said the same thing. Change your oil according to your use and what oil you are using. He has found that only Honda Shadows are bothered by clutch slippage from energy efficient oils, and perhaps that is true - I do not know - but I am not willing to experience it with my Goldwing that cost $30K new, and so I use JASO MA certified oils, but that's me. Personally, I would not use nor recommend diesel oils in a motorcycle, but others may do as they wish, probably with no adverse affects. I do not think I have made any actual product recommendations anywhere on this site, and if I have then I have been remiss. My intentions have been to provide information, nothing else.

[Corkster52]

For Viking. I found this very informative on diesel oil in motorcycles. https://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oil.html

Great info! Thanks for sharing it!

[DaRamblerman]

Viking. Some of the diesel oil are also JASO ma certified.

[DenverWinger]

Rotella T6 5w40 is one of them.

[AZgl1800]

Rotella T6 5w40 is one of them.

I have been more pleased with the T6 than any other oil I have used in Goldwings, and that included the old Dino 15w40 that I used in my 94SE

[AZgl1800]

any of today's oils are good.

I have two oil reports back from Blackstone Laboratories that were done on Valvoline and Mobil-1 on two sequential oil changes, each done one year from the last oil changes on a Pontiac Vibe.

The Valvoline oil ran 15,575 miles on it, and the report stated that it is "normal and I can run it another 16,000 miles and be safe".

The 2nd change was on the Mobil-1 which ran 18 months and about 13 or 14,000 miles, i forget now.
it tested just as good as the Valvoline, or maybe a touch better.

[triwing]

Shell Rotella is used in mine

[DenverWinger]

Not to 'hijack' this thread, but just for fun I was half-thinking about starting a poll: What Oil Do You Use (YIKES! ANOTHER OIL THREAD!!!)

On further thought it would be impossible to do a poll with individual brands, but we could do it by category. Some Category thoughts:

1) Standard DINO oil
2) Synthetic Blend Automotive formulation (Such as Valvoline MAX-LIFE 10w40)
3) Full Synthetic Automotive oil (Mobile-1 etc)
4) Standard DINO oil Diesel Formulation
5) Synthetic Blend Diesel Formulation
6) Full Synthetic Diesel oil
7) HONDA Brand oil
8) Cooking oil

Got any more thoughts for categories? Might be a lively thread....

[offcenter]

LOL!! Oh the oil debates!!
Waaay back in 1974 I bought a brand new BMW R90/6.
I changed the oil every 2 or 3 thousand miles.
I rode that bike for about 30 years before I parked it
with 172,000 miles on the odometer.
The ONLY oil that bike ever saw was from the local
Pathmark Supermarket. They had oil with their own
Pathmark name on it, probably reprocessed oil,
10/40, and cheap, like 99 cents a quart.
That bike ran flawlessly for 30 years and never burned
a drop of oil.
LOL!!!

I don't think it matters much WHAT oil you use, as long
as you change it regularly and keep it full.

[bustedwing]

I have a 1990 GW1500 with 120k on it . I use Moble 1 oil and every 3500 miles I take an oil sample . I change the oil filter every other sample as long as the oil comes back good.Of course changing the filter takes out the bad particles, and keeping an eye one the level helps the clutches. I use oil samples to be sure that I am not hurting the engine. I can not say that I endorse a certain brand, what I DO believe in is the oil sample system. It is not expensive, but instead of draining out good oil, I am getting as much out of the oil without harming my engine or clutch!

[AZgl1800]

I have a 1990 GW1500 with 120k on it . I use Moble 1 oil and every 3500 miles I take an oil sample . I change the oil filter every other sample as long as the oil comes back good.Of course changing the filter takes out the bad particles, and keeping an eye one the level helps the clutches. I use oil samples to be sure that I am not hurting the engine. I can not say that I endorse a certain brand, what I DO believe in is the oil sample system. It is not expensive, but instead of draining out good oil, I am getting as much out of the oil without harming my engine or clutch!

unless you own the lab, you are paying as much for the oil sample as what an oil change would cost.

I would just change the filter and top the oil off, that is what my son does with his Cummins diesel truck.
He also has one of the ByPass oil filters tapped into the oil galley line, he changes that once a year.

[Viking]

I have a 1990 GW1500 with 120k on it . I use Moble 1 oil and every 3500 miles I take an oil sample . I change the oil filter every other sample as long as the oil comes back good.Of course changing the filter takes out the bad particles, and keeping an eye one the level helps the clutches. I use oil samples to be sure that I am not hurting the engine. I can not say that I endorse a certain brand, what I DO believe in is the oil sample system. It is not expensive, but instead of draining out good oil, I am getting as much out of the oil without harming my engine or clutch!

Mobil 1 has two fully synthetic oil formulations. One is recommended to change at the OEM change requirements requested by the vehicle manufacturer, and the other, an extended drain formulation does not recommend more than 15,000 miles before changing it out. I do not use Mobil 1, so I cannot verify that their recommendations are accurate, however, as they produce the product, I would be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. This is for cars and trucks.

They also make a 10W40 4T Synthetic which was designed for Rotax rotary engines, but is suitable for liquid cooled motorcycle engine/transmission common sumps. I could not find any information on extending drain intervals with this oil. The way you are using it, with lab testing, is probably the best method, barring specific recommendations from Mobil 1 themselves.

[Scubamedicjoe]

well myself this is what i use my dad used it in his motorcycle and both my brothers and many of them had over 100,000 miles on there motorcycle , not saying factory oil wont do it but many many years ago my dad had sent to some lab and there was three oils that he likes one was Rotella and mobile one and other was AMSOIL
AMSOIL Synthetic Metric Motorcycle Oil , I currently run the 10-40 version hear in south being so hot in summer .

[cycledoc2016]

cant say for the gl1800 but my 89 gl1500 has 192,ooo and rotella synthetic has served me well no oil use and still has original clutch and yes I pull a trailer.

[dtcad]

I'm using Amsoil 10-30 metric bike oil and their eom103 filter in my 17 wing. 30k on this bike, previous 02 Wing had 132K when I traded. Amsoil metric bike 10-40 and eom103 filter in that one.

[AZgl1800]

the Single Most Important thing about oil, is to keep it clean.

your choice, change it out often, or change the filters and top it off taking an oil sample.

The Oil Sample Lab tests run in the area of $30 bux, I forget exactly now, I have paid for 2 of them so far.

Our Pontiac Vibe gets an oil change Annually with a new filter at that time.
There have been 2 lab tests done on that car, 2 years a part, both came back with good marks, one test is noted up above in this thread.

My 2002 gl1800 has never had an Oil Sample tested, I just change it out Annually "normally", except for Covid Year in which it was only started twice, I skipped changing the oil, as the bike just sat in one place, sipping on a Battery Tender Jr.

Took it out for a run 2 weeks ago, it started up just like it was yesterday when last run.
The clutch felt the same as always, topped the gas tank off and put it back to bed to wait for summer.
The gas was pre-treated with StaBill-360 which is perfect for over-winter protection. StaBil-360 is manufactured by SeaFoam Inc.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/sta-bil- ... --13989421

[cycledoc2016]

first I would like to say to each his own....but my preference has been rotella T6 15w40 in my 89 wing which now has 202,000 and still goin like new ,most with a trailer as us married folk need the extra room...just a fact of life...

[AZgl1800]

first I would like to say to each his own....but my preference has been rotella T6 15w40 in my 89 wing which now has 202,000 and still goin like new ,most with a trailer as us married folk need the extra room...just a fact of life...

I forgot to post that I'm using Rotella T6 5w40 in my GL1800,
shifts like a dream and only 114,000 miles on her, she is just barely broke in.

[DenverWinger]

Must be a big run on Motorcycles changing their oil this spring, I went to two Walmart stores Saturday looking for Rotella T6, both stores had empty shelves, nothing left but T4.

On the Shell website the Rotella T6 page probably has more reviews from Bikers than Truckers!