High cost top shelf motorcycle oils (mixing)

[TexasTea]

Hi guys, I have two v-twin bikes, one is a harley and the other is a 90 degree suzuki (water cooled)

The HD, of course, calls for 20w50, but since the Suzuki is water cooled its manual proscribes 5 or 10w30 (need to double check).

At any rate, the radiator fan is a little warped on the suzuki causing it to work sometimes and not others (doesnt come on that often anyway except in traffic)

That being said, i've began using rotella 15w40 in each of the bikes because i like the way it works.

I have used amsoil in the suzuki in the past and didnt like the way it wouldnt hold a steady temp on the gauge, it would always be in flux about 10-15 degrees. heat up then go down heat back up then go down.

When i got to the last quart of amsoil i realized i had enough to do a Half Amsoil half rotella oil change and really liked the results of mixing the two together.

Does anyone else do this? Mix top shelf with another good, yet cheaper oil?

Am I treating the vehicles right by doing this? Just curious about opinions

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: TexasTea
Does anyone else do this? Mix top shelf with another good, yet cheaper oil?

Nope. Not a fan of mixing different additive technologies in general.

 

[BigCahuna]

Why do you think the oil causes the temperature fluctuations, and not a thermostat going bad? Or possibly the water pump?. The only time I would mix oil is if I needed a qt of oil and only had two partial qts. I'm sure it will work, but spending big $$$ for oil doesn't work for me. I would use the Rotella, and buy something fun with the money I saved, like dinner or drinks. Sending big $$ on something you know your going to throw away never made sense to me.,,

 

[beanoil]

20w50 in your HD. Havoline and Valvoline VR-1 have both shown good results. Your Suzuki takes a 10w40. Water cooled or not, a 20w50 will not hurt. One of my best UOA was on 25w50 Pennzoil in my SV-650, and I ran several runs of 20w50 Havoline in it. Rotella will be fine also, but has a tendency to last about 3000 miles before the shifting went notchy. I didn't mention any mixing your AmSoil. If you want to use it get 2 more and run it. You obviously bought it for whatever redeeming quality you saw in it, why dilute or compromise that?

 

[HerrStig]

I use T6 in 5W40 in my BMW airhead, but it's a farm implement disguised as a motorbike.

 

[fxrider]

Valvoline VR1 is hard to beat. the 20w50 dino is great.

 

[toneydoc]

Rotella does not work any better than any HD oil, or any other 20w50 oil. They all work the same to lubricate the moving internal parts. The Rotella costs less than motorcycle oil. Maybe that is why it works better to you.

I mix oils in my HD bikes from time to time. Usually to use up something or because I do not have 4 quarts of something else and do not want to go to the store. But I do not do it all the time.

Valvoline makes some fine motorcycle oil as does Amsoil, Mobil 1 and many others. Mix away if you want but they all work fine.

 

[abycat]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: TexasTea
Does anyone else do this? Mix top shelf with another good, yet cheaper oil?

Nope. Not a fan of mixing different additive technologies in general.


I agree. I don't like mixing either.

 

[BusyLittleShop]

Originally Posted By: TexasTea

I have used amsoil in the suzuki in the past and didnt like the way it wouldnt hold a steady temp on the gauge, it would always be in flux about 10-15 degrees. heat up then go down heat back up then go down



Continuous engine temps above 220ºF or 104ºC is also a problem and the proper
order of items to trouble shoot are:

1)Faulty radiator cap... system should hold 1.1 pressure ratio...
2)Insufficient coolant...
3)Passages blocked in the radiator, hose or water jacket...
4)Air in the system...
5)Thermostat stuck closed...
6)Faulty temp meter or thermo sensor...
7)Faulty fan...
8)Faulty fan switch...



If you see Continuous temps below 180ºF or climbing higher than 220ºF
then trouble shooting is in order:

Engine temps below 180ºF or 82ºC is an problem... it means that the
moisture produced during combustion is not getting hot enough to
evaporate out the pipe as steam... instead that moisture will migrate
to the oil and produce a milky white contamination...

Note normal by products of combustion is water... . Every gallon of gas
creates roughly 8 pounds of water vapor... we all have witnessed water
escaping out of tail pipes on cold mornings...

the sequence of events to trouble shoot are:

1)Faulty temp meter...
2)Thermostat stuck open...
3)Faulty fan switch... (stuck on)

 

[BusyLittleShop]

Originally Posted By: TexasTea


When i got to the last quart of amsoil i realized i had enough to do a Half Amsoil half rotella oil change and really liked the results of mixing the two together.


Mixing the any 100% synthetic oil of the same viscosity should produce the same free
flowing molecules with inherit decrease in friction... no problem... whereas mixing
synthetic with mineral oil produces molecules of varying sizes with inherit increase in
friction... problem...

Technically speaking a fully synthetic oil sports molecules that are refined to the same
uniform size and shape which decreases friction whereas Mineral based oils particles are
not of uniform size or shape which increases friction...

 

[29662]

Mixing won't hurt anything. But why "water down" a high end oil like Amsoil?

RTS every 3k miles, and no worries.

 

[Spazdog]

I've been thinking about doing that.

My scoot only takes .8 qt of oil so I end up with .2 left.

It hasn't shown any signs of leaking or using oil yet so I keep the leftover. 4 changes and I have a "free" oil change

The only problem is that I have used two different brands.

I was thinking of mixing them.

 

[Tundragod]

I've been mixing Castrol 10W40 and Castrol 20W50 or Castrol 20W50 and
Valvoline 10W40. or Castrol 20W50 and Yamaha 10W40 or Kawasaki 10W40 and Castrol 20W50 or any of those 10w40 and 20w50 for the last 19 years on my 1996 Virago. I also had used 10w40 and 20w50 by themselves. I like the 1Qt 20w50 and 2Qts 10w40 mixture in my bike. It starts good in the MN cold morning and works well in the hot summer afternoon.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: toneydoc
Rotella does not work any better than any HD oil, or any other 20w50 oil. They all work the same to lubricate the moving internal parts. The Rotella costs less than motorcycle oil. Maybe that is why it works better to you.

I mix oils in my HD bikes from time to time. Usually to use up something or because I do not have 4 quarts of something else and do not want to go to the store. But I do not do it all the time.

Valvoline makes some fine motorcycle oil as does Amsoil, Mobil 1 and many others. Mix away if you want but they all work fine.
I didn't say T6 worked "better", just that I use it, and MY owners manual says NOTHING about using "special" motorcycle oil so I'm sure I'm providing what's required. If I lived in the Southwest I'd be looking for a 50 as the book suggests for those temps.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: BusyLittleShop
Originally Posted By: TexasTea


When i got to the last quart of amsoil i realized i had enough to do a Half Amsoil half rotella oil change and really liked the results of mixing the two together.


Mixing the any 100% synthetic oil of the same viscosity should produce the same free
flowing molecules with inherit decrease in friction... no problem... whereas mixing
synthetic with mineral oil produces molecules of varying sizes with inherit increase in
friction... problem...

Technically speaking a fully synthetic oil sports molecules that are refined to the same
uniform size and shape which decreases friction whereas Mineral based oils particles are
not of uniform size or shape which increases friction...

There's that absurd picture again.

Do tell. On what planet is machined metal so smooth that that picture actual represents actual surfaces.
Because on this planet though it might look smooth if you magnify the surfaces image enough you'll see hills and valleys.
So that picture might be nice marketing it's in no way representative of any actual surface in an internal combustion engine.
Marketing fluff that the uninformed or ignorant use to push their point when the reality doesn't fit their preconceived notion.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: TexasTea
Hi guys, I have two v-twin bikes, one is a harley and the other is a 90 degree suzuki (water cooled)

The HD, of course, calls for 20w50, but since the Suzuki is water cooled its manual proscribes 5 or 10w30 (need to double check).

At any rate, the radiator fan is a little warped on the suzuki causing it to work sometimes and not others (doesnt come on that often anyway except in traffic)

That being said, i've began using rotella 15w40 in each of the bikes because i like the way it works.

I have used amsoil in the suzuki in the past and didnt like the way it wouldnt hold a steady temp on the gauge, it would always be in flux about 10-15 degrees. heat up then go down heat back up then go down.

When i got to the last quart of amsoil i realized i had enough to do a Half Amsoil half rotella oil change and really liked the results of mixing the two together.

Does anyone else do this? Mix top shelf with another good, yet cheaper oil?

Am I treating the vehicles right by doing this? Just curious about opinions


I mix oil all the time in my vehicles but in my bikes I akways have enough of a specific brand therefore I don't do it.
I have been using conventional Rotella for a couple seasons now. My bike is far from stock and I have a jagg 10 row oil cooler.
My bike had a dipstick thermometer til it got stolen and no matter whether I used synthetic or conventional,sae 60 or 15w-40 my oil temps on the highway were 220ish.
I've got a pair of fans bought from a member on hd forums. It's switched and puts a fan along side of each jug,attached to the horn mount. In traffic with the fans on oil temps never crested 240f,before the fans I routinely saw 280f with synthetic.
I font exceed 3000 mile intervals therefore I see no point paying more for a synthetic.
The guy who made the fans screen name is fabric8tor. There were inexpensive and worth every penny.

 

[OnTheFence]

If each oil being mixed is good enough on it's own. Mixing isn't going to ruin the batch. At least you got rid of the last bottle of Amsoil on hand. Don't buy anymore, it's a waste of money