How To Choose Motorcycle Oil

How To Choose Motorcycle Oil

Oil is the lifeblood of your motorcycle's engine. Regular oil changes are easy and crucial to your engine's health, but how do you choose the right stuff for your ride? Joe's here to explain the basics of motorcycle oil, so you can skip the guesswork and change oil with confidence.

[toriburns]

KLR owners sweat profusely at "The best oil is the one the manufacturer recommends."

[jasongraham]

Wow, they really threw you to the wolves with this assignment, Joe.

[JohnDoe-xris]

This only needs to be a 5 second video....0:21 to 0:26. That's all that's needed. And make sure you change it often!

[Finite-Tuning]

Short answer, anything from Royal Purple, Redline or Amsoil with the words engine oil on the label. I picked up almost 5 HP on a motorcycle dyno by doing nothing but changing my engine oil from OEM to Royal Purple 10-40. Numbers don't lie, but manufactures do! Cheers 🍻

[Lex-Rex]

How to choose motor oil. See what the manufacture recommends. Make sure you get the proper weight. Go to the store and buy it.

[JohannesDalen]

I really hope to see this guy more frequently in upcoming highside-lowside episodes!

[huntsville]

I've been using Rotella T6 which is a different grade than my owners manual recommends (5w40 vs 10w40) AND it's a car oil, and my bike still runs fine after over 50, 000 miles.

[marsipio]

I love that revzilla is making these videos!! They have great videos, great quality, and excellent information. Perfect for those of us who are new to motorcycles and learning how to work on them.

[TravisTerrell]

Really not sure why anybody would purchase anything other than synthetic oil these days, unless in an older vehicle with high oil capacity and budget is a SERIOUS concern.

[darecofreedomfarm]

I like the BSA shirt. I’ve got three spitfire 650’s that I hope to get running again someday.

[db]

For Harley owners you don't have to change your oil most Harleys do that on their own by leaking it all over the ground

[alp]

I have owned Japanese bikes for 30 years. I always used only regular oil between 10-30 to 40. Simple oil Never ever even one engine issue and cooling fans barley even came on even in hot days. As long as you change the oil by the book and use what they recommend, you are so good to go. Go by the book. Read your manual few times before even riding.

[kdsowen]

Another-consideration is that thick-oil flows-slower and is slower to remove-heat from metal-surfaces . Heat kills engines along-with 'Starts' (when the most-wear occurs, so Don't rev it) . Thicker-oil arguably breaks-down-faster also, as it heats-more due to its slow-flow-rate . Circle-track racing in The States, shows V8-engines run on high-quality 5-30, last for more 'Seasons' before requiring re-building, than those run-on heavier-weight-oils . Mineral-oil is pretty-much dead, a little-over 1000miles in a motor-cycle, synthetic lasts much-longer due to its heat-resistant-properties . Many motorcycle-racers will change the oil after every Meeting . At the end of Summer, I drain my bike, fill with mineral-oil and drain/replace after one-ride, the-following-Season, otherwise my first oil-change is contaminated with whatever acidic-residue and other-contaminants, laying on/in any cavity or surface (it's cheap and gives me peace-of-mind) . I've owned 52 m/cycles over many-thousands of miles and only one failed-mechanically .So anyone should be able to assess their bikes oil-needs, if they understand the conditions involved . Dave NZ

[brittweir]

The first thing you said is referred to the owners manual in my particular case the owners manual was printed over 50 years ago. Oil has changed a little bit to say the least. which is why it brought me to not understand why synthetic motor oil wouldn’t be advantageous, since it is so functional in so many other machines .

[thesupercharged_official]

I guess question one and it's answer wraps up all the existing videos about choosing engine oil for your vehicle 😁😁

[LeonardoCostaUSA]

A good point to address is what oil to use in a vintage 4 stroke motorcycles, from 70's for example. And also 4 cylinders or 2 cylinders or 2 stroke, etc..

[stanmatic]

Revzilla 'shop by vehicle' says there are ZERO oils for my bike. That mean I'm good to run it without oil? (Man, am I'm gonna save me some pennies.)

[larrydillon]

It's all about the certifications the oil meets. It says so right in my manual (Z900RS): "Recommended Engine Oil: Kawasaki ... or other 4-stroke oils with API SG, SH,
SJ, SL or SM with JASO MA, MA1 or MA2 rating."

[ineedmorecarrots]

i read that some semi synthetics are not blended equal, some may only put a tiny amounts and called it semi synthetic and since labels dont disclose any blend information about it

[TheCdubbleyoo]

Rotella is not "car oil". Make sure you check for the JASO MA mark, as not EVERY type of Rotella has it. The easy way: see step one of video. Don't use "car oil" (has friction modifiers) in your bike that uses a single supply for engine and transmission lubrication.