Anyone use Castrol 20w-50

[brian12]

Has anyone used Castrol syntec 20w-50 in their bike? I'm wondering if it will cause clutch slippage.

 

[blakegeo]

I use Castrol GTX 20-50 in a Kawasaki Vulcan 750--shared sump--no slippage. Don't know about syntec

 

[brian12]

 Originally Posted By: blakegeo

I use Castrol GTX 20-50 in a Kawasaki Vulcan 750--shared sump--no slippage. Don't know about syntec

I might have to give it a try then. My local walmart has it on clearance. How did you bike shift using it?

 

[blakegeo]

The shifting (is) was fine--no evidence of slippage. I have performed 2 oil changes on this bike w/ Castrol GTX 20-50. The bike is liquid cooled. I just changed the oil to GTX 15-40, a diesel oil, and drove it about 2 miles this morning--seems to shift normally, also. Some friends thought 20-50 was better suited for the hotter running air cooled bike, but Clymer's maintenance manual includes 20-50 as an acceptable oil, along w/10-40. I haven't heard of anyone having trouble with 15-40 or 20-50 conmventional oils in shared sump bikes. I wouldn't use any energy conserving oils-and no thinner than 10-40--and I wonder about some of those if they are automobile (not bike) oils

 

[budrow79]

I use it in my KLR650, works great.

 

[ViragoBry]

If it causes slippage, your clutch was on its way out anyway. The 13-year-old clutch in my Virago was unaffected by Syntec. It also worked well in my 94 Ninja.

 

[harley145000]

i have used gtx 20w50 in the past,in my 04 flh,without issues.

 

[Lurch]

It seems that I used to get clutch slippage with my 1983 Suzuki GS1100E with GTX 20-50. Do you think I could use GTX 20-50 in my 2007 United Motors V2S 250R after it was broken in with Bel-ray synthetic? It now has about 3800 miles.

 

[RonH]

I used Castrol GTX 10w40 winter, 20W50 summer in an old KZ650. Original clutch still working fine with 160,000 plus miles. However even though oil was changed religeously since new every 2000 miles, by 160,000 it was full of sludge. I'm not talking a thin layer, I'm talking I went to drain oil that last time and 8 oz of 90wt sludge oozed out, the rest of the 3.5qt was permenantly caked in the engine with the previous. Castrol does not like a worn engine. Maybe no oil would, but this was an exceptionally bad example.

 

[fuel tanker man]

 Originally Posted By: RonH

I used Castrol GTX 10w40 winter, 20W50 summer in an old KZ650. Original clutch still working fine with 160,000 plus miles. However even though oil was changed religiously since new every 2000 miles, by 160,000 it was full of sludge. I'm not talking a thin layer, I'm talking I went to drain oil that last time and 8 oz of 90wt sludge oozed out, the rest of the 3.5qt was permenantly caked in the engine with the previous. Castrol does not like a worn engine. Maybe no oil would, but this was an exceptionally bad example.

Help me understand this... are you saying that only 1/2 a quart would drain out, and the other 3.5 quarts would not come out of the engine? How many oil changes prior to this with Castrol? Or were you using some other brand of oil? And... how did you get the goo out of the engine?? :D Dan

 

[RonH]

 Originally Posted By: fuel tanker man

 Originally Posted By: RonH

I used Castrol GTX 10w40 winter, 20W50 summer in an old KZ650. Original clutch still working fine with 160,000 plus miles. However even though oil was changed religiously since new every 2000 miles, by 160,000 it was full of sludge. I'm not talking a thin layer, I'm talking I went to drain oil that last time and 8 oz of 90wt sludge oozed out, the rest of the 3.5qt was permenantly caked in the engine with the previous. Castrol does not like a worn engine. Maybe no oil would, but this was an exceptionally bad example.

Help me understand this... are you saying that only 1/2 a quart would drain out, and the other 3.5 quarts would not come out of the engine? How many oil changes prior to this with Castrol? Or were you using some other brand of oil? And... how did you get the goo out of the engine?? :D Dan

I used Castrol GTX the entire 160,000 miles. Everything was fine for a long time, then I started seeing sludge, which within 10,000 mile time turned from just a little to major amount. I drained that 8 oz of "oil" out of the engine and yes that 3qt stayed in the engine. That was the end of running that engine. I never attempted to remove the sludge or run the engine again.

 

[Zoridog]

My bike mechanics (3 different locations) all use GTX 20-50. They have been using it since the 1970s so I'm not sure that is a good recommendation. Many GTX formula changes have happened and I'm not convinced they are all good.

 

[djlinux64]

If you look in the owners manual your modern motor is most likely spec'd for xxW-40 weight oil due to bearing clearances and internal temperature buildup. Change your oil frequently. If for some reason your oil temperatures exceed 265F (Full throttle run on dyno? Stuck in traffic in Yuma, AZ when it is 115F outside? Track racing on a super hot day?) you should consider a 50 weight oil. Or if you ride a Shovelhead Harley. But then you should be using crude oil anyway.

 

[kballowe]

 Originally Posted By: djlinux64

If you look in the owners manual your modern motor is most likely spec'd for xxW-40 weight oil due to bearing clearances and internal temperature buildup. Change your oil frequently. If for some reason your oil temperatures exceed 265F (Full throttle run on dyno? Stuck in traffic in Yuma, AZ when it is 115F outside? Track racing on a super hot day?) you should consider a 50 weight oil. Or if you ride a Shovelhead Harley. But then you should be using crude oil anyway.

Huh?