Switching Oil viscosity giving Quicksilver a try

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Hey BITOG riders. I recently picked up some quarts of Quicksilver 20w-50 Full synthetic on clearance from Wallys World for $5.00 a quart with the intent of running it in my bike. The bike in question is my trusty 2001 Honda XR650R, the water cooled thumper. Traditionally I have always run Rotella T5 (??) 15w-40 in the bike and it has really done fine thus far (may be the motto of this thread). I ride the bike in the deserts of southern California year round in the heat of the desert where 100+ degrees are not uncommon. It is not uncommon for the coolant overflow bottle to boil its contents during tight single track and long hill climbs as the bike does not have any radiator fans (Next project).

Honda Recommends: Oil change every 600 miles, 10W-40 or 20W-50 are specified however synthetic is not. I typically change it every 30 or so hours as the bike does not have an odometer.

I still have a good stash of the Rotella so more than likely I will hold off on trying the Quicksilver until summer hits however have any members on here given this oil a go in a big bike? My Honda has recently had the top end replaced by my mechanic so I couldn’t get a good look of the internals however from what he said, there don’t seem to be any issues with internal wear/ damage from the Rotella. I am ideally looking for just more protection and peace of mind running the thicker stuff in the old bike.

I appreciate any feedback and insight from members who have used the Quicksilver oils in the past.

Cheers, Dave!
 
Really good oil. Good on you
smile.gif


I run 25W-40 in stuff from time to time. Mostly boat engines. Works great in BBC's running V drives in flat bottoms
laugh.gif
 
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I'll be interested to hear if it works just as well. I've been looking to run a similar weight in my bikes.
 
Does your bike have a wet clutch? If so, you might want to be concerned about the possibility that some oils can have additives that make them too slippery for a wet clutch.
 
Thank's for the good discussion guys

Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
Really good oil. Good on you
smile.gif


I run 25W-40 in stuff from time to time. Mostly boat engines. Works great in BBC's running V drives in flat bottoms
laugh.gif



Oh very cool! Where do you purchase your 25W-40 from, I've never hear of an oil meeting that viscosity although I’m pretty new to the oil enthusiast community. I would be interested to hear about boat engine oil temperatures since it is my understanding their cooling system is fed by the ambient water (usually below 80 degrees F) I’d imagine they run a bit cooler?

I assume BBC’s running V Drives are a pretty powerful set up, at least it sounds impressive!

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
Does your bike have a wet clutch? If so, you might want to be concerned about the possibility that some oils can have additives that make them too slippery for a wet clutch.


I believe this is a rated Motorcycle oil, It is not an energy conserving oil just like the Rotella I have been using. Yes to answer your question though, the bike is indeed a wet clutch set up and I have always tried to be mindful of my oil chose in regards to the clutch set up. I had a Yamaha FZ1 years back and it would Sheer Rotella T6 in 800 Miles or so. May have something to do with the 110 horsepower and my happy wrist!
 
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Do you have the owners manual?

My 2002 CBR 600 F4i gives me a range. 10w40 being the preferred.

In my 3.5 quart sump I'm running 2qts of conventional Valvoline MC 20W50 and 1.5 quarts of Valvoline MC 10W40. My bike has been fine and has 27k miles on it
 
There seems to be some confusion in this thread.

AD244 didnt post what kind of Quicksilver 20/50 oil he purchased but we can assume its Quicksilver Motorcycle oil. (they also make an atv oil I believe plus many, many, many specialized marine lubricants.

Some background.

Quicksilver is the lubrication division of Mercury Marine.
In the decades of boating experience, their Marine Lubricants are top notch in my book.
They make many specialized marine lubricant products and I have found them to always be superior to "after market" products.
These products consist of corrosion inhibitors, cable lubricants, gear oils, engine oils, everything under the sun and rock solid products.

A few years back they came out with other synthetic power sports lubricants at very reasonable prices, if they carried over the same quality as their marine lubricants isnt proven but I certainly would not hesitate to use the power sports lubricants.

Their Main conventional MARINE ENGINE OIL is 25/40 with a claimed no viscosity improver. I would not use this in a motorcycle, though I guess it could do no harm. This oil carries no automobile oil rating, just marine.

Then there is the "new" power sport market of which is Quicksilver 20w50 motorcycle oil among another ATV branded oil. Of course if you are using the motorcycle oil there is absolutely no concern about it being compatible with your wet clutch.
 
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No idea on their MC lubes, but boat engines shear their marine "no VI" 25W-40 pretty easily.

Boats have the advantage of an unlimited supply of cool water, but the oil temps can get ridiculous due to the constant load and rpm. Some engines have very efficient, very large oil coolers. Some have oil coolers that are very small, and some have none at all.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
No idea on their MC lubes, but boat engines shear their marine "no VI" 25W-40 pretty easily.

Boats have the advantage of an unlimited supply of cool water, but the oil temps can get ridiculous due to the constant load and rpm. Some engines have very efficient, very large oil coolers. Some have oil coolers that are very small, and some have none at all.



You have posted this a number of times … so do you question it not having VM in the additives package?
25w40 would just seem like a mono oil. What is shearing?
 
Originally Posted By: 4WD
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
No idea on their MC lubes, but boat engines shear their marine "no VI" 25W-40 pretty easily.

Boats have the advantage of an unlimited supply of cool water, but the oil temps can get ridiculous due to the constant load and rpm. Some engines have very efficient, very large oil coolers. Some have oil coolers that are very small, and some have none at all.



You have posted this a number of times … so do you question it not having VM in the additives package?
25w40 would just seem like a mono oil. What is shearing?


Shearing is when a 40 weight oil "shears" down to a 30 weight oil ect.
However its meaningless to judge an oil on shearing only, more so in a forum without any proof, a UOA and the engine make and model.

Just hearsay but no factual helpful information as far as your particular vehicle, your vehicle engine design and type of use is responsible how much your oil shears but some will look towards an oil to help make up for engine design and some oils will be better to handle it, in theory ...

So I question any post that states any particular oil shears easy, even more so when an oil states it is designed to be more shear stable..
 
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Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Originally Posted By: 4WD
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
No idea on their MC lubes, but boat engines shear their marine "no VI" 25W-40 pretty easily.

Boats have the advantage of an unlimited supply of cool water, but the oil temps can get ridiculous due to the constant load and rpm. Some engines have very efficient, very large oil coolers. Some have oil coolers that are very small, and some have none at all.



You have posted this a number of times … so do you question it not having VM in the additives package?
25w40 would just seem like a mono oil. What is shearing?


Shearing is when a 40 weight oil "shears" down to a 30 weight oil ect.
However its meaningless to judge an oil on shearing only, more so in a forum without any proof, a UOA and the engine make and model.

Just hearsay but no factual helpful information as far as your particular vehicle, your vehicle engine design and type of use is responsible how much your oil shears but some will look towards an oil to help make up for engine design and some oils will be better to handle it, in theory ...

So I question any post that states any particular oil shears easy, even more so when an oil states it is designed to be more shear stable..


Not asking the definition … read where I’m saying there is no VM. So those molecules are not there to rupture and then never assist the return to spec viscosity range. I’m asking what has sheared in 25w40 that some here accept to be VM free (mono) ... (shear stable) … in other words the 25w is just coincidental in what’s really a warm weather lubricant …
If oil thins due to excessive temperatures and other … and then returning to spec at STP… has it really sheared?
 
Originally Posted By: alarmguy
There seems to be some confusion in this thread.

AD244 didnt post what kind of Quicksilver 20/50 oil he purchased but we can assume its Quicksilver Motorcycle oil. (they also make an atv oil I believe plus many, many, many specialized marine lubricants.

Some background.

Quicksilver is the lubrication division of Mercury Marine.
In the decades of boating experience, their Marine Lubricants are top notch in my book.
They make many specialized marine lubricant products and I have found them to always be superior to "after market" products.
These products consist of corrosion inhibitors, cable lubricants, gear oils, engine oils, everything under the sun and rock solid products.

A few years back they came out with other synthetic power sports lubricants at very reasonable prices, if they carried over the same quality as their marine lubricants isnt proven but I certainly would not hesitate to use the power sports lubricants.

Their Main conventional MARINE ENGINE OIL is 25/40 with a claimed no viscosity improver. I would not use this in a motorcycle, though I guess it could do no harm. This oil carries no automobile oil rating, just marine.

Then there is the "new" power sport market of which is Quicksilver 20w50 motorcycle oil among another ATV branded oil. Of course if you are using the motorcycle oil there is absolutely no concern about it being compatible with your wet clutch.


Wow! Hi Alarm Guy. Thank you very much for you extremely informative post above. Lots of great information there!

Indeed I have purchased the 20W-50 motorcycle oil which is indeed wet clucth compatable. I'm sorry for not clarifying this as I was simply unaware that Mercury Marine made so many different flavors of oil including powersports oil.

[img:left]https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/d8bb4f5...mp;odnBg=FFFFFF[/img]

I am glad to hear that this oil is very well regarded and I will be interested to see if it makes the engine run smoother for the kind of riding that I enjoy doing. Its a clackity 4 Valve thumper so maybe it will quiet it up a little bit? Even if it doesn't it will provide a little more piece of mind.

Thank you again!
 
Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
Ok. For clutch protection, try this.



The Mobil 1 Racing oil seems to be the standard high performance easily available oil option without going to redline or amsoil. I don’t know enough about the formulation or add pack of these high budget oils however I am looking for something that doesn’t necessarily cost $10.00 + USD per quart. I don’t argue that it is surely better than the more “budget” minded options out there however I am not excited about a $25+ oil change every 600 miles!

After reading some of the discussion responses above, It sounds like the Quicksilver line is a pretty good option for my specific use.
 
Originally Posted By: alarmguy
.

Shearing is when a 40 weight oil "shears" down to a 30 weight oil ect.
However its meaningless to judge an oil on shearing only, more so in a forum without any proof, a UOA and the engine make and model.

Just hearsay but no factual helpful information as far as your particular vehicle, your vehicle engine design and type of use is responsible how much your oil shears but some will look towards an oil to help make up for engine design and some oils will be better to handle it, in theory ...

So I question any post that states any particular oil shears easy, even more so when an oil states it is designed to be more shear stable..


Shear to 20wt:
http://forum.chaparralboats.com/index.php?/topic/17412-mercruiser-25w40-used-oil-analysis/

Quote:
.
Here is the quick summary of results:
All wear metals are approximately the same regardless of the oil in use, within test variances.
All final TBN values are strong, ranging from 4 to about 5.5, so plenty of additive left after a season.
All oils sheered to some extent, but the Mercruiser branded oil sheered from a 40 to a 20, and all others sheered from a 40 to a 30.


This is VERY typical on the small blocks which typically have little or no oil cooler.

Whats shearing is the oil itself. VI is not necessary for this to happen.

Marketing is a lot different than what goes on in the field.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
Whats shearing is the oil itself. VI is not necessary for this to happen.

Marketing is a lot different than what goes on in the field.

Are you saying the relatively short hydrocarbon molecules are being broken apart? I've never heard that before.
 
Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
Really good oil. Good on you
smile.gif


I run 25W-40 in stuff from time to time. Mostly boat engines. Works great in BBC's running V drives in flat bottoms
laugh.gif



Saw it in Canadian tire today.
 
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