Cost effective 20W-50 oil for motorcycles?

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JetStar

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On a recent trip to Autozone I observed that M1 20W-50 V-Twin motorcycle oil was nearly $10.00 a quart. I'll assume Amsoil is about the same price. I have used either M1 or Amsoil synth. up to now. My bike holds 5 quarts. The price has crossed the line for me.
I'm looking for an alternative either synth or dino that is more reasonably priced and is readily available. The bike is a Road star Warrior 1700. Air cooled, Flat tappet cams, shared engine, trans, clutch oil. Based on the properties of the engine, you know what is important. Iv'e searched around on here as well as manufacturers websites and have not chosen an oil yet. I'd use a 15W-40 HDEO but it's a little on the thin side for summer.
Has anybody else been down this road before and provide some input?
 
How about just using the Yama-lube 20w-50? Or Valvoline Racing 20w-50 has lots of zsinc and Phos.
 
15w40 is too thin for summer in indiana?

HA HA HA HA HA ooooof i fell out of my chair.

hmmm, let's see. a big diesel w/turbo pulling 30tons in phoenix in august obviousally is cooler than that broiling heat in indiana!
 
Castrol gtx has a 20w50, exxon superflo 20W50, valvoline synpower 20W50.lots of 20W50's out there. can sometimes find them on sale or buy one get one free, which is how i got the val synpower 20W50.

I have run rotella 15w40 with no problems and will run it again, granted my bikes are liquid cooled, but it is pretty much agrees on here that the hdeo's are pretty stout, good add packs and usually the best bang for the buck
 
Yep, been down that road too (but with a Harley)...for your bike, with it sharing oil with the clutch and tranny, I'd recommend the Valvoline VR1 Racing 20w50 in the summer and maybe the Rotella 15w40 in the cooler months with oil change intervals of around 2,500 miles...if you run 10,000 or more miles a year, then the Amsoil 20w50 ain't really a bad deal but if your closer to 5,000 a year then the "dino" changes is a good (and more economical) way to go...plus you get the peace of mind of getting the contaminated oil out more often...
 
My RoadStar Warrior owner's manual on page 8-1 specifies a 20w-40. I use Rotella 15w-40.

If you'd rather use a 20w-50 then there are favorable UOA's on this board for Havoline 20w-50 as run in Harley-Davidson big twins. It appears to be slightly better than the Castrol 20w-50 for that application, although there is nothing wrong with the GTX.

That would be my recommendation (the Havoline).

If you like synthetic and for a decent price you could try the Mobil 1 Truck & SUV 15w-50 in the 5-quart jug at Wally World.

Depends on your riding habits and how often you change your oil.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: sunruh
15w40 is too thin for summer in indiana?

HA HA HA HA HA ooooof i fell out of my chair.

hmmm, let's see. a big diesel w/turbo pulling 30tons in phoenix in august obviousally is cooler than that broiling heat in indiana!



An air cooled turbo diesel???? With the motor oil also running through the tranny????
 
JetStar I would put M1 15W50 silver cap auto oil on my short list if I were you. $23 for a 5 Qt. jug at WalMart. About 1200 ppm zinc and phosphorus. Does Yamaha call for a 50 wt? I used to use Castrol GTX 20W50 in my old Yamaha air cooled inline four but that was back when they had about 1100 ppm zinc and phosphous. Starting this year GTX is not what it used to be in a 50 wt. There tends to be more choices in a 20W50 down south but in the midwest I think you will find fewer options on the shelf for that grade due to winter temps.
 
Originally Posted By: DB_Cooper
Brad Penn 20w50 motorcycle oil. Case of 12 about $40.00. If you find it local, no shipping. http://www.bradpennracing.com
check with them for a local distributor.


i have heard that the Brad Penn motorcycle oils are supossed to be pretty good. I have a uoa on here recently posted with the non motorcycle 20W50. Is a pretty stout and thick oil, nearly a 60 weight
 
Have had great success with Valvoline Maxlife 20w-50. It has cut oil use, mostly by stopping or greatly reducing the pushrod tube seal leak. Also during a recent valve adjustment the insides of the valve covers were pristine. It does have a shot of PAO in it. Would highly recommend.
 
Was in an O'Reilly's auto parts store yesterday and noticed some of that M1 V-Twin 20w-50 on the shelf. They had it for $7.99 a quart. Asked the guy to look it up. He said that it was their "normal" price. The local Wal-mart has it for $10+.... which is why I thought they (O'Reilly's) made a mistake in the pricing but here is a link - you'll have to page down until you find the Mobil 1 V-Twin stuff.

M1 VTwin at O-Reilly's
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: EagleFTE
JetStar I would put M1 15W50 silver cap auto oil on my short list if I were you. $23 for a 5 Qt. jug at WalMart. About 1200 ppm zinc and phosphorus.


I would try this but some say it shears down to a 40w quickly.
 
Originally Posted By: PT1
Originally Posted By: EagleFTE
JetStar I would put M1 15W50 silver cap auto oil on my short list if I were you. $23 for a 5 Qt. jug at WalMart. About 1200 ppm zinc and phosphorus.


I would try this but some say it shears down to a 40w quickly.


There is certainly some truth to that. Especially where one fluid is used for engine, tranny, and clutch. But I think any motor oil that uses VI improvers will shear in the tranny and clutch. Group IV and V oils are probably less prone to shear while going through the gears and plates. Notice that I'm assuming that M1 15W50 is not PAO. Probably a GIII with some PAO. I consider oils with GII and GIII bases to be shorter OCI oils in bikes with shared fluid responsibilities because the bike will grind up the VII worms. About 2500 miles for me if I'm running an air cooled bike with shared fluid applications. But since the OP was looking for cost savings I mentioned M1 siver cap. Pretty good bang for the buck.
 
All applications are different but my vote goes to Valvoline Racing 20w50. I've used it for years on my old bikes whenever I can find it (nobody stocks it regularly, it's kind of a seasonal thing around here).
 
Originally Posted By: kingrob
All applications are different but my vote goes to Valvoline Racing 20w50. I've used it for years on my old bikes whenever I can find it (nobody stocks it regularly, it's kind of a seasonal thing around here).


Yes Valvoline VR-1 is available at most Auto Zones around here and is one of the few decent auto 20W50s left. There used to be a "non street legal" and a street use version (printed right on the bottle). Not sure if that is the case anymore. The non street legal was higher ZDDP and lower detergent supposedly. About $4.00 per Qt I believe. I've heard of real good results and have also heard of cam failures from the air cooled Porche guys but they do a lot of track time so "grain of salt" on that. It is on my short list of on the road emergency oils along with the M1.
 
I've never seen the street use version. All I've ever used has been the non street legal version. If I could find it I'd probably mix the two, and get a good dose of moly and ZDDP as well as a little extra detergent.
 
Quote:
All I've ever used has been the non street legal version.
How can an oil not be street-legal?
54.gif
 
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