Oil suggestions for a '77 Honda MC

[red92ls]

I just bought a '77 CB400F motorcycle with 6,500 miles. It is suggested by the owners manual to use 10W-40 and to be changed every 1,500 miles and filter changed every 3,000 miles.
Here are some questions
1) Since modern oil is so much better, do I still have to change it every 1,500 miles?
2) I doubt this bike has ever had full synthetic oil in it, is it safe to use full synthetic in old engines like this?
3) If it is safe, should I use conventional or fully synthetic?
4) Does anyone make a good oil filter for my old Honda? Or should I just use the Honda oil filters?

Any help is appreciated, thx

 

[JonS]

Cool, i have a '78 Honda Hawk 400 with 6000 miles. lt calls for the same as you said. I use Torco 10w-40 petroleum and change the oil at 1000 miles and the filter and oil the next 1000 miles. I talked to a rep at a refinery, an he said not to let the oil go longer than 800-1100 miles. It really gets chewed up at 5000+ rpm's. Years ago you could use auto oil, but not since SJ and SL, it will not work well with the cltuch plates.

 

[msparks]

quote:

---

Originally posted by red92ls:

1) Since modern oil is so much better, do I still have to change it every 1,500 miles?
2) I doubt this bike has ever had full synthetic oil in it, is it safe to use full synthetic in old engines like this?
3) If it is safe, should I use conventional or fully synthetic?
4) Does anyone make a good oil filter for my old Honda? Or should I just use the Honda oil filters?

Any help is appreciated, thx

---

As far as the 1500 mile interval, with modern oils you should have no problems running 3-5 thousand.

I have a buddy that collects vintage Goldwings(before they had any body work, or luggage) He has 2 a 77 and a 78 I believe. Using Amsoil in both with great results, He actually had to lower his idle after putting in Amsoil. Also before the bike would jump out of gear while going down the road, it has not done it since using Amsoil.

I would say it's perfectly safing using a synthetic in your bike.

 

[Propflux01]

On these bikes, Castrol Dino 4 stroke Motorcycle oil works well. Pennzoil 10w-40 does also. The thing to watch for in "Modern" oils is the 'energy conserving' starburst symbol on the front of the bottle. Those oils you must stay away from. they have friction modifiers that can cause clutch slippage. Thankfully, most 10w-40 and heavier oils do not have these modifiers in them, and are safe to use. For these Honda motors, a Synthetic such as Mobile One 15w-50 "Red-Cap" oil works well.

[ August 05, 2003, 11:29 AM: Message edited by: Tim H. ]

 

[JonS]

I heard that a modern (SJ, SL) auto oil will not work because it low levels of something... possibly zinc and Phosporus???? Even though it is not "energy conserving"

 

[MRC01]

quote:

---

Originally posted by red92ls:
I just bought a '77 CB400F motorcycle with 6,500 miles. It is suggested by the owners manual to use 10W-40 and to be changed every 1,500 miles and filter changed every 3,000 miles.
Here are some questions
1) Since modern oil is so much better, do I still have to change it every 1,500 miles?
2) I doubt this bike has ever had full synthetic oil in it, is it safe to use full synthetic in old engines like this?
3) If it is safe, should I use conventional or fully synthetic?
4) Does anyone make a good oil filter for my old Honda? Or should I just use the Honda oil filters?

Any help is appreciated, thx

---

I put 100k miles on my old '78 Honda CB-550-K. I used regular old "car" dino 10w40 oil and changed every 2000 miles as per the factory recommendation, using the OEM oil filters.

When the bike died, it was because the primary drive chain broke (a known weakness of that engine). There was no significant engine wear, as all 4 cylinders still had full compression and factory spec leakdown.

Whether modern dino with its lower ZDDP levels still works well... I've read on this board that 10w40 and 20w50 don't have the strict low ZDDP limits that the lighter oils have. So even a modern 10w40 or 20w50 may still have old fashioned (higher) ZDDP levels.

In short, my experience is that regular old dino oil works just fine even in these bikes, despite the fact that they are air cooled, run hot, and don't have oil coolers. Perhaps their short & frequent oil change intervals explains why. You're changing it out before it really gets a chance to shear down.

[ August 05, 2003, 05:28 PM: Message edited by: MRC01 ]