New Castrol oil for the classics! "Castrol GTX Classic" 20W-50

I'm super excited to try this in my air-cooled Honda motorcycle. It's a blast to shift it at high rpms. The higher anti-wear additives in this oil are definitely needed in my application.
Sadly, it will not work on my 1998 Ninja 250 due shifting problem. The one that works on mine is 10W-40 synthetic oil formulated for motorcycle
 
I haven't seen the Castrol high zinc "Classic" yet in my local Walmart's but, with my stash of Valvoline VR1-Racing Racing 20/50 (for my older Corvette) becoming extinct I hope to find this Castrol high zinc offering soon! (the price of VR1-Racing 20/50 is off the charts expensive!)
 
FYI for anyone who hasn't checked recently, walmart.com is now allowing you to order Castrol GTX Classic 20W-50 for home delivery. When they first began stocking the product, ship to home wasn't available for whatever reason, nor was even ship to store available (you could order online for in-store/curbside pick-up, but only if it was already on the local store's shelf, and you couldn't order any higher quantity than what was currently on the local store's shelf, so in some places, that meant only 4 qts or less was available to order)

While I guess they were prioritizing getting the first shipments on the shelves vs. website sales, for a niche product, I'd figure it would have made more sense to allow home delivery from the get-go, rather than prioritizing putting a niche product on shelves where it may sit for some time and passing up potential web sales (as I would've ordered for home delivery had it been available at launch)


Also, it looks like this is available from amazon.com itself (not a re-seller) as part of "The Castrol Store" on amazon, though I think amazon could make it easier to determine the actual seller a lot of times. But for this it's pretty clear, it says Sold by Amazon.com and Ships from Amazon.com. Available as a 6qt pack. Basically the same price as wal-mart (amazon is a penny less per qt), a 6 qt pack for $28.08
 
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And before Defy it was "Quaker State HM w/ Slick 50"
Just recently QS HM has gone from a blend to a full synthetic in ILSAC grades only. No more 10W-40 with higher levels of ZDDP.
There is now a QS All Mileage line, syn blends which includes a 10W-40. I have no idea how similar the formulation is to the recently disco'd HM Defy. I'll send a note to the tech folks at SOPUS, and see if they'll tell me.
 
Just recently QS HM has gone from a blend to a full synthetic in ILSAC grades only. No more 10W-40 with higher levels of ZDDP.
There is now a QS All Mileage line, syn blends which includes a 10W-40. I have no idea how similar the formulation is to the recently disco'd HM Defy. I'll send a note to the tech folks at SOPUS, and see if they'll tell me.

It went from this "Higher Mileage" to "Enhanced Durability" to "Defy" to "Defy High Mileage" to "High Mileage"
The beauty of marketing right here.
Next up is Quaker State Higher-Mileage-Enhanced-High-Mileage-Defy-Higher-Mileage Motor oil
 

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It went from this "Higher Mileage" to "Enhanced Durability" to "Defy" to "Defy High Mileage" to "High Mileage"
The beauty of marketing right here.
Next up is Quaker State Higher-Mileage-Enhanced-High-Mileage-Defy-Higher-Mileage Motor oil
I remember walking into a P-QS warehouse circa 2000, and seeing a half dozen or so cases of Slick 50 on a shelf, covered in dust. I also remember a few cases of QS HM with Slick 50 looking just as dusty. Not a big selling product out of the local distribution centers to the mom and pops. I don't think I ever sold more than a few cases of HM, and even then it was probably PZL. I'm not sure how QS HM sold in the big boxes, but enough to not give up on it. Just change the formula and name. Again and again.
 
I remember walking into a P-QS warehouse circa 2000, and seeing a half dozen or so cases of Slick 50 on a shelf, covered in dust. I also remember a few cases of QS HM with Slick 50 looking just as dusty. Not a big selling product out of the local distribution centers to the mom and pops. I don't think I ever sold more than a few cases of HM, and even then it was probably PZL. I'm not sure how QS HM sold in the big boxes, but enough to not give up on it. Just change the formula and name. Again and again.
IIRC the QSHM premixed with Slick 50 was not API approved. Not many HM oils at the time were if I remember. HM oils were "made for engines with 100-150k miles!" or something (way out of warranty)

Now apparently "high mileage" is 60,000mi and the oils are API certified.


Once they were a world of cool HDEO levels of zinc and boron and "proprietary seal swellers" and such. Now they're a really good way for oil companies to get just a wee bit out of ya lad. Marketing. HM oil is somewhere between a brands base (conventional/synblend) and their synthetic oil, some brands have HM synthetic.
Thats another price point, another spot on the shelf.
Its also a great way for oil companies to upsell you. 60k miles on some engines is just breaking itself in.
Engine technology is getting to the point where some vehicles are so light on oil that 10K ocis are common, filters are left on multiple times per some OEM recs, but at 60k miles apparently you need to spend a few more dollars because yeah, thats what it says on the bottle.

But yeah, per the OP, this classic looks good, probably has as much zinc as what was once our non API HM oils that was once common in these applications. Id think Delo or Rotella would be better and cheaper in some applications but if priced reasonably I could see it being a hit.
 
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this is tempting to run in my '14 v star 250 (same basic engine & tranny since it was introduced as the virago 250 almost 25-30 years ago); drawback is the loss of tactile feel with the shifter...I would have to thin it out with a 10w-30 power sports, motorcycle, or lawnmower oil that lacks friction modifiers; I find it simpler to use 10w-40 & throw in some 15w-40 diesel oil to increase film strength & increase antiwear additives
 
this is tempting to run in my '14 v star 250 (same basic engine & tranny since it was introduced as the virago 250 almost 25-30 years ago); drawback is the loss of tactile feel with the shifter...I would have to thin it out with a 10w-30 power sports, motorcycle, or lawnmower oil that lacks friction modifiers; I find it simpler to use 10w-40 & throw in some 15w-40 diesel oil to increase film strength & increase antiwear additives
Castrol warns against using this particular oil in any wet clutch application such as your Yamaha. I found that out on this BITOG thread. On another note, I am wondering if Mobil 1 15w-50 would be better suited for classic car engines over this Castrol GTX Classic 20w-50. Is Mobil 1 15w-50 still as great as it was regarded a couple of decades ago?
 
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