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type of oil


Cheleva

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I just saw that quicksilver makes a 20-50 synthetic oil for the big twin. I have used their synthetic oil in my Mercury outboards for a long time and am very pleased with its performance in those engines. I have never had a failure and I seem to get lots of trouble free hard usage hours out of them. Is anyone on the board using this oil and if so how do they feel about it. Thanks

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I don't know what bike you are putting this in so here is a very general answer.

 

You are best off running whatever type AND weight of oil that the owners manual recommends. Going to a heavier weight oil is NOT better for the engine and can in fact be worse for the engine by running hotter and wasting power from the oil pump having to work a lot harder to push the heavier oil thru spaces that were not designed for that oil.

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I just saw that quicksilver makes a 20-50 synthetic oil for the big twin. I have used their synthetic oil in my Mercury outboards for a long time and am very pleased with its performance in those engines. I have never had a failure and I seem to get lots of trouble free hard usage hours out of them. Is anyone on the board using this oil and if so how do they feel about it. Thanks

 

https://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?138309-Quicksilver-Oil-10W-40-amp-20W-50-JASO-rated

 

https://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?139116-Monthly-JASO-Oil-List

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This week when I was in Walmart, I looked at Quicksilver oil. Walmart only had the marine oil which did not have the Jaso spec on the bottle. I will not use non-Jaso rated oil in my bikes. Rotella T4 and T6 have the Jaso spec on the bottles but not the T5.

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I bought my Quicksilver motorcycle 20-50wt synthetic oil from Walmart not to long ago. Just did my oil change last night. Ran well. But I promised on an earlier post that I will report in when I have a few miles on the scoot...with respect to shifting, valve noise, etc..

 

It is labeled for motorcycles and with highest Jaso rating (MA/MA2).

 

BTW, I've been running Yamalube 20-50 dino oil since I bought both scoots. They do seem to run very well. 89 VR and an 05 RSV. I feel safer running that heavy oil around Arizona. We do get warm here...

:biker:

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I have run it in my V-Twin Victory a couple times. It is full synthetic and I did a little research on it before I bought any. For me I run 5 or 10w40 oil most of the time. But I will run the 20w50 during my summer time change because here if I ride much the temps do get up there in central Fla.

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In my owners manual it does call for 20W-50 in very hot weather. That would be appropriate at that time, but for cooler temps it recommends a lighter oil, and for cold temps a much lighter oil. That is why I say to look in the owners manual and run the recommended weight of oil. Any oil that has the correct service ratings will be a good oil to use.

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I don't know what bike you are putting this in so here is a very general answer.

 

You are best off running whatever type AND weight of oil that the owners manual recommends. Going to a heavier weight oil is NOT better for the engine and can in fact be worse for the engine by running hotter and wasting power from the oil pump having to work a lot harder to push the heavier oil thru spaces that were not designed for that oil.

 

I definitely belong to this school of thought.

 

I mostly own older vehicles and when I have tried to run synthetics and different weights I've gotten mixed results. I use the synthetics in my 4.0 Lexus V8 and 2.0 TSFI, which is what they call for. Using the wrong oil wt or type in the Audi will cause it to throw a code. Somehow it cant be fooled, as with most German things it is very finicky and service intervals are critical! I could not play with wt/grade, the car protests if it doesn't get EXACTLY what mfr suggests. Even in the transmission, I tried three different oils to get the slickest shifting, but the OEM VAG oil was hands down the cleanest shift over all the aftermarket gear oils I tried.

 

 

With modern fuel injection and liquid cooling there just doesnt seem to be any reason to experiment with different wts/grades. I've pretty much give up on second guessing manufacturers on anything new enough to have composite headlamps. Save for air cooled and heavily modified mills I have nearly always gotten the best results using exactly what the MFR suggests. Like everyone I have my favorite brands but I think brand matters less now than ever as long as wt/grade/service intervals are adhered to.

:2cents:

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Here's my update on the Quicksilver 20-50 synthetic for motorcycles.

 

Took the RSV out for a long ride today. Ran through a tank of gas in it. It ran quietly and shifted just like the Yamalube dino oil of same weight. I couldn't tell any difference. So I'm good with the Quicksilver. It's much cheaper and available at WalMart. If it isn't in the store stock, they will order it with free delivery to store.

 

Now I'll buy some more and try it in the 89VR. Should be same result.....

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I don't know what bike you are putting this in so here is a very general answer.

 

You are best off running whatever type AND weight of oil that the owners manual recommends. Going to a heavier weight oil is NOT better for the engine and can in fact be worse for the engine by running hotter and wasting power from the oil pump having to work a lot harder to push the heavier oil thru spaces that were not designed for that oil.

 

Another thing to note is that the heavier oils will not flow properly thru bearing surfaces, especially on engines with lesser miles. Many of today's automobiles are suggesting 20w oil. In many engine rebuilds, even 10w oil is used for break ins. I agree with you, heavier weight oils are not always better.

 

If you have a high mileage engine that may have excessive clearances in the mains, journals or wrist pins, valve guides, etc, a heavier oil may be necessary, or if you are in extremely hot weather. I am not a big fan of 50w engine oils, especially in a water cooled engine. On the twins, in the summertime, maybe, but it would not be on a new bike for sure.

 

However, I do run 50w in the summertime in classic VW engines. But then again, all the bugs I've owned, and my current 73 convertible, all have fairly high miles for a bug. In the cooler weather, I drop back to 40w.

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Personally,, I still use good old cheap Dollar Store 20/50 when CTFW in the desert :225: and 15/40 when CTFW anytime I am in @Flyingfool's region :cold:. I know,, not normal and wayyyyyy old school but hey, I never minded dropping the oil out of em at 3k miles or when the shiftin gets sticky or the oil looks dark thru the site glass (which comes first) and my 1st Gen's always seemed to love the stuff!!!:checkeredflag:

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Personally,, I still use good old cheap Dollar Store 20/50 when CTFW in the desert :225: and 15/40 when CTFW anytime I am in @Flyingfool's region :cold:. I know,, not normal and wayyyyyy old school but hey, I never minded dropping the oil out of em at 3k miles or when the shiftin gets sticky or the oil looks dark thru the site glass (which comes first) and my 1st Gen's always seemed to love the stuff!!!:checkeredflag:

 

In Muskegon today, you may want to consider 10w oil. Or, just staying at home. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

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In Muskegon today, you may want to consider 10w oil. Or, just staying at home. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

I KNOW,, right.... -7 is a bit nippy for these tired old bones.. I used to not mind playing in the stuff but for this phase of life,, not a good plan.. What da heck,, I grabbed the 1911 and went shootin yesterday and even my trigger froze out after only burning thru 50 rounds!!

Speaking of riding,, I did have Tweeks out a couple days ago! Seriously brother!! I went downstairs, cycled her fuel pump with the kill switch until her bowls were good and full, pushed her out of the basement, crank her up (sounded and smell AWESOME), took her right off chock so I didnt blacken er plugs, let her sit and idle till she took throttle, revved her up on the mains a few times,, brought er up to temp, shut er down and pushed er back inside!! Indeed,, this has always worked great for keepin the carbs cleaned but I think I enjoyed it as much as that beat up, tired old worn out sticker covered pretty girl did!! Another flaw in my charachter I spose LOL jondrn12.JPG

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I KNOW,, right.... -7 is a bit nippy for these tired old bones.. I used to not mind playing in the stuff but for this phase of life,, not a good plan.. What da heck,, I grabbed the 1911 and went shootin yesterday and even my trigger froze out after only burning thru 50 rounds!!

Speaking of riding,, I did have Tweeks out a couple days ago! Seriously brother!! I went downstairs, cycled her fuel pump with the kill switch until her bowls were good and full, pushed her out of the basement, crank her up (sounded and smell AWESOME), took her right off chock so I didnt blacken er plugs, let her sit and idle till she took throttle, revved her up on the mains a few times,, brought er up to temp, shut er down and pushed er back inside!! Indeed,, this has always worked great for keepin the carbs cleaned but I think I enjoyed it as much as that beat up, tired old worn out sticker covered pretty girl did!! Another flaw in my charachter I spose LOL

 

That's how you winterize your bike. Just crank 'er up every few days to keep the juices flowin. Saturday, it was a nice 60 degrees here, then turned off cold yesterday as those northward winds blew. Yesterday high was in the 30s, may get to the 40s today. But all in all, I'm glad I am not in Michigan during this cold snap.

 

Spent a couple years in the Bering Sea, and have felt the cold. Not a fan. I am a July/August 95 degree kind of guy these days. BUT, I do get out and ride in 30 and 40 degree weather as long as the sun is shining.

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I believe HD recommends 20-50 wt for their engines. Just saying...

 

The 50wt for me is good for 8 months of the year we have our heat. The 20 wt flows nicely in warmer and cooler temps.

My oil leak on the 89 VR only surfaced when I switched to 20-40 Rotella. So it will get changed out shortly back to 20-50. I doubt the thinner oil had anything to do with it....there's just not that much difference between the two. It's noisier but still shifts smoothly.

But, I just like the way the motors sound and run.

 

BTW, The VR is warm blooded. She only needs about 60 seconds on choke. The RSV is cold blooded. She runs nicely on choke for 2 minutes or more then I can take the choke off and she runs well. I ALWAYS let the scoots warm up. Same with my cars and trucks. Always have. Get over 200K on them each before I retire them. Yukon XL is at 217K now and still doesn't burn oil. Not bad for an aluminum engine! That said, I don't worry about thick oil not getting into the bearings, etc...because I warm them up and that's what the 20 wt part of the oil is for... at least that's my take on life. Works for me.

 

PS. not trying to start an oil war , especially this time of year. To cold to be outside washing that stuff off !

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That's how you winterize your bike. Just crank 'er up every few days to keep the juices flowin. Saturday, it was a nice 60 degrees here, then turned off cold yesterday as those northward winds blew. Yesterday high was in the 30s, may get to the 40s today. But all in all, I'm glad I am not in Michigan during this cold snap.

 

Spent a couple years in the Bering Sea, and have felt the cold. Not a fan. I am a July/August 95 degree kind of guy these days. BUT, I do get out and ride in 30 and 40 degree weather as long as the sun is shining.

 

Sure enough,,, back in my younger days I LOVED snowmobiling too and used to summerized my sleds in the same way.. I actually LOVED walking out back during those warm summer days after spending a month CTFW on the bike, pulling the cover off the T-Cat while it was sitting up on blocks, snugging the track back up and then firing up that 165 hp, winter fun machine and sniffin the 2 stroke fumes :178:... WOWZY,, where did the time go :confused24:..

Now I think I matured into your line of thinking here Lar!!:beer:

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I believe HD recommends 20-50 wt for their engines. Just saying...

 

The 50wt for me is good for 8 months of the year we have our heat. The 20 wt flows nicely in warmer and cooler temps.

My oil leak on the 89 VR only surfaced when I switched to 20-40 Rotella. So it will get changed out shortly back to 20-50. I doubt the thinner oil had anything to do with it....there's just not that much difference between the two. It's noisier but still shifts smoothly.

But, I just like the way the motors sound and run.

 

BTW, The VR is warm blooded. She only needs about 60 seconds on choke. The RSV is cold blooded. She runs nicely on choke for 2 minutes or more then I can take the choke off and she runs well. I ALWAYS let the scoots warm up. Same with my cars and trucks. Always have. Get over 200K on them each before I retire them. Yukon XL is at 217K now and still doesn't burn oil. Not bad for an aluminum engine! That said, I don't worry about thick oil not getting into the bearings, etc...because I warm them up and that's what the 20 wt part of the oil is for... at least that's my take on life. Works for me.

 

PS. not trying to start an oil war , especially this time of year. To cold to be outside washing that stuff off !

 

Yea but I think HD still specs 50 is cause they are still running air cooled and they run a lot hotter than a water cooled. I know my Harley's would thin out a 50 to water like flow right quick. Even the few Twin Cams I had would do it.. Of course, they were bigger engines (which I think added to the heat) than the earlier 74 inch Shovels I owned/rode which has to add to engine tempts.. I just thought it odd and potentially an issue when I noticed the non-rollers on the Yams,,, but what do I know...

Yep, my 1st Gens have all been warm blooded too VAz and liked to be de-choked right away. Matter of fact, dont know if you have found this but with the small "D" plugs that dont take to kindly to being blackened AT ALL,, I found I can make a set of plug last a longgg time just by getting that choke off as soon as she takes throttle.. Odd that you notice the difference on the 2nd Gen.. Perhaps the run circuits are leaner for EPA stuff... Maybe why they are so much slower too :backinmyday::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::rasberry::rasberry::rasberry::rasberry::rasberry:.. :lightbulb:,, THERE,, that will teach cha to come on here :stirthepot: with your winter time ride stories while the rest of us are hibernatin,, ya lop eared desert riding varmint!:bighug:

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Yeah, according to an on-line police bike test I read some time ago, Harley says it's acceptable for the oil to get as hot as 400 degrees F! I agree with Puc that the high temps of the air cooled Harleys is the reason for the 50w. The water cooled bikes had a high oil temp spec of about 260 degrees F.

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Sure enough,,, back in my younger days I LOVED snowmobiling too and used to summerized my sleds in the same way.. I actually LOVED walking out back during those warm summer days after spending a month CTFW on the bike, pulling the cover off the T-Cat while it was sitting up on blocks, snugging the track back up and then firing up that 165 hp, winter fun machine and sniffin the 2 stroke fumes :178:... WOWZY,, where did the time go :confused24:..

Now I think I matured into your line of thinking here Lar!!:beer:

 

Ha. I'm only 39 (going on 24). Back in my younger days it was bass boats. Folks would winterize theirs. I just kept on fishing those tournaments. Lower unit (foot) won't freeze if it's underwater.

 

And yeah, I miss the smell of those 2 cycle engines as well. Going back even further in life, it was dirt bikes.

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