oil for VSTAR - synthetic 20w-40 is hard to find

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Yamaha recommends (and has for a long time) 20w-40 oil. in my owners manual they list 20w-40 as preferred. 10w-30 for temps under 60F. I can only easily find 20w-50, 15w-40, and 10w-40. this is for a VSTAR air cooled
 
Or a 20w50... all are fine.

Many guys run the Rotella T6 synthetic in the 5w40 , or the Triple T conventional in a 15w40 , with good results.

Just stay away from "car..." oils... and use diesel oils or motorcycle oils...and you'll be fine.
 
My friend has been using Mobile 1 15-50 in his V Star for years. Over 30k on it.
 
If I had to guess I'd say either Idemitsu or JX Nippon Oil (ENEOS) was the factory fill 20W40 if in fact 20W40 was used.

Do a search for 20W40 on the below linked JALOS JASO oils list and those are about the only two 20W40's that come up, find tech data sheets on those two and then try to find an oil you can get in our North American market that comes close to the same specs.

http://www.jalos.or.jp/onfile/pdf/4T_EV_LIST.pdf
 
I had an 1100 a few years ago. Bought it with 20000kms and put 20000kms on it over a season. I used rotella 15w-40. Forget synthetic Rotella due to shear.
I'm still using rotella in my 106 harley. 3000 mile intervals and the bike will last longer than you're interested In riding it.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
I had an 1100 a few years ago. Bought it with 20000kms and put 20000kms on it over a season. I used rotella 15w-40. Forget synthetic Rotella due to shear.
I'm still using rotella in my 106 harley. 3000 mile intervals and the bike will last longer than you're interested In riding it.
 
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
I run Rotella 15W40 on my 1100 V-star. I don't think you can buy a better oil for the engine.


I agree wholeheartedly and still use it
Best bike oil available that isn't bike oil.
And it's very cost effective.
 
Yamalube 20w-40 was the Yamaha standby for years. I think somebody once advised that it was a Citgo product. Not sure how accurate that was... Anyway, no reason not to use a heavy-duty engine oil such as any name-brand 15w-40 or 5w-40. Some people claim that the synthetic version shears out of grade too fast in a shared-sump, wet-clutch setup such you & I have. My bike prefers either Rotella T Synthetic "T6" 5w-40 or the semi-synthetic "T5" 10w-30. I think it runs better on the T5 actually! Anyway, I ran the conventional 15w-40 version & the shifting was a bit degraded. No big deal - just changed it out a bit sooner. It was still cheap!

Also, as mentioned, Mobil 1 15w-50 (used to call that one 'Red Cap' once upon a time) is a heckuva bike oil as well. I hear good things about Valvoline's line of conventional bike oils. I used Castrol 0w-30 ("German Castrol" around this forum) & it was terrific.

Try 'em out. Let the clutch action tell you when it's time for a change. You will be way ahead, economically speaking, than if you went w/ a bike-specific product in your application.

John.
 
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Originally Posted By: tomcat27
Yamaha recommends (and has for a long time) 20w-40 oil. in my owners manual they list 20w-40 as preferred. 10w-30 for temps under 60F. I can only easily find 20w-50, 15w-40, and 10w-40. this is for a VSTAR air cooled


Technically speaking the first number (the "20" in 20w40) is only a
relative number which basically indicates how easily it will allow an
engine to "turn over" at low temperatures. It is NOT a viscosity
reference. In other words, a 20w40 is NOT a 20 weight oil in cold
temperatures and a 40 weight oil in warm temperatures... rather a 20W40
actual viscosity is more like 76 cTs at 104F (40C) and 13.8 cTs at 212F
(100C) that means the oil was heated to 100 degrees C and it flowed
within a certain kinematic viscosity which is then classified with in
a certain SAE grade like the "40" in 20w40).

API ranks the first number and the letter W from the oldest to the
newest on its ability to lube your engine during critical start up

20w

15w

10w

5w

0w

If you wish to employ the latest oil then you want an one with an API
rank of 0w... example 0w30 0w40
 
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I use 20w50 or 15w40 during the cooler months..

I used 5w40 and got a UOA...Sheared down quite a bit in less than 3000 miles.
 
Originally Posted By: jgm038


I used 5w40 and got a UOA...Sheared down quite a bit in less than 3000 miles.


Sheared down to what???
 
Oil spec on this bike has actually changed according to my manual for my 2009 650. It says to use 20w50 and then 10w40 in cooler weather. 15w50 or 15w40 are of course fine too. I usually only use 20w50-15w50 for summer time. My winter oil right now is 2 qts of 10w40 and one qt 20w50. This is the Valvoline synthetic MC oil. Maybe I'm crazy but I swear my bike runs better on the thicker oil. Seems smoother and quieter, also seems to wind out farther. Probably in my head.
 
For years I was using *THIS* Castrol synth blend 20w-40. It could be had on Amazon for under $30 for 6 qts in a box. It's been out of stock forever and I'm afraid discontinued. Now I've switched to *THIS* Mag1 10W-40 synth blend which Amazon sells for $25 for 6 qts.

612U5uCGUPL._SL1000_.jpg
 
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