Newby with Victory 1634cc air cooled?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Nov 24, 2012
Messages
1
Location
Alberta, Canada
Well, I'm not new to bikes,quads,etc. But new to this forum and the science of oil, per say. My Victory manual says to run Vic oil 20w40 with Oci's of 2500 miles, My issue is the price of Vic oil at $13.00 per quart and $15.50 for a filter, with relatively short Oci's.
I know at approx. 1800 mi. Neutral gets hard to find. As I live in Edmonton most of my initial starts are below 50 F and a lot of those at 40 F and less. I been taught cold starts are what wears the motor and always wondered why Vic only specs 20w40. I have been toying with the idea of trying the Shell T6 5w40 syn as it is almost $5.00 a quart cheaper and from what I know would be better for the majority of starts up here.
Does this make sense? I am somewhat hesitant about the Jaso rating and can I mix the Shell with the Vic oil?
Thanks In advance.
 
Those are considerably different oil specifications. How much oil does this bike hold? How quickly do you put 2,500 miles on this bike?

I would go by the manual on this. (it doesn't sound like you are a BITOG experimenter). I would also ask the dealer/mfr for an opinion. That company makes snowmobiles too, right, so they probably have some opinions on cold weather oil.

OTOH, I have been using that exact T6 in my 80's Carrera after using M1 forever. I like it, and have saved a few bucks, given that I huy 15 qts for an oil change.
 
Yes! T6!

It's highly regarded here and many people use it in motorcycles (and many other things).

Yes, you can mix it with your leftover oil.
 
The Victory is shared sump and the 5w-40 T6 is much more shear prone than the dino 15w40 Rotella. Why Victory specs an almost nonexistent multigrade oil (20w40) other than selling their own brand is beyond me. But you can try it and see how long your shift quality stays up. 20w40 was used in the bad old days when multigrades tended to fall out of grade easier. It was an alternative to 10w40 which tended to really break down.

Honestly, If you can run dino, then id run the 15w40 Rotella, or you could try a 10w40 motorcycle oil. In the warmer months many have luck with 15w50 Mobil 1 auto oil.
 
Not to hijack the forum...but why does shifting get harder with worn out oil?...I know the feeling...its always bugged me lol
 
Originally Posted By: jdawg89
Not to hijack the forum...but why does shifting get harder with worn out oil?...I know the feeling...its always bugged me lol


The oil has sheared out of grade and has lost its "cushion" is what I always figured.
 
I switched from Mobil 1 20-50 to rotella 15-40 on my Roadstar and to this point have had no issues with clutch or engine other than the typical Roadstar clatter from the valve train on occasion.
Ride it like ya stole it!
 
T-6
cool.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top