Oil Weight Question

[BusyLittleShop]

Is there a specific clear statement in the OM that says warranty will be denied if any other viscosity is used?

Mercy Zee... I know dealers threaten to deny warranty claims based on oil choice
but I think they know that in a court of law identifying which oil brand was used
would be difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt because during oil change
up to 6.8% is left behind to contaminate the new oil... the more oil changes the
more that mixes...

 

[ZeeOSix]

Mercy Zee... I know dealers threaten to deny warranty claims based on oil choice
but I think they know that in a court of law identifying which oil brand was used
would be difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt because during oil change
up to 6.8% is left behind to contaminate the new oil... the more oil changes the
more that mixes...

I was asking about a statement in the OM that says if the recommended viscosity isn't used it will void the warranty ... not if they could prove a non-recommended oil viscosity was used or not. Actually, a UOA will tell you what viscosity grade the oil is. It would have to be sheared down pretty good to drop a whole KV100 grade. And having up to 6.8% of a different viscosity from the previous oil change isn't enough to change the current oil a whole KV100 grade.

 

[car54]

I’ve run 10W-60 full synthetic in my CRF250L without any issues.


Right now I’m running Motul 300V 10W-40, and I’ve been very happy with it. That said, I’ve switched all of my bikes over to Maxima motorcycle oils and the 250L will get Extra 10w-40 at its next change.


Motul 300V is over $140 for a 4-liter jug now. Maxima Extra is around $64, and ProPlus (one step below Extra, but still full synthetic) is about $43. Those are ChapMoto.com prices with free shipping over $49. It’s become my go-to place for oil.


I’ve always liked Maxima, but when 300V was around $65 a jug, I went Motul. At more than double that price? No way. I stocked up on Maxima before they possibly jack up prices like everyone else has.


Honestly, I can’t tell any difference in performance.


I run Maxima ProPlus in my cruisers (Vulcan 900 and SCR950) and Maxima Extra in my CRF250L, DR200SE, and air-cooled Vino 125 scooter. My thinking is that the higher-performance bikes deserve the small extra cost for Extra, while the low-stressed cruisers do just fine on ProPlus.


Everything gets synthetic because, why not? It helps minimize sludge and deposits while providing a little extra protection. Maxima ProPlus full synthetic is also priced almost the same as Honda GN4 conventional, so it’s an easy decision.


I’ve been riding for 40 years and have never had a lubrication-related failure. I started out running Mobil 1 15W-50, and that was excellent oil too.


I wouldn’t hesitate to run the 10W-50. Just switch back to 10W-40 or 30 at your next oil change if that’s your preferred viscosity. I’ve never experienced a failure or any negative effects from going up in viscosity.

 

[02SE]

Right now I’m running Motul 300V 10W-40, and I’ve been very happy with it. That said, I’ve switched all of my bikes over to Maxima motorcycle oils and the 250L will get Extra 10w-40 at its next change.


Motul 300V is over $140 for a 4-liter jug now. Maxima Extra is around $64, and ProPlus (one step below Extra, but still full synthetic) is about $43. Those are ChapMoto.com prices with free shipping over $49. It’s become my go-to place for oil.

It can be bought for less: https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/parts/motul-300v-4t-factory-line-full-synthetic-motor-oil-p

 

[car54]

$93 is still too rich for my blood when Maxima extra is $64. I just ordered four gallons of extra 10w-40, 4 gallons of proplus 10w-40 and 2 gallons of proplus 20w-50. Thats at least a 5 year supply for me if I don’t change any friends oil. It’s $93 on the maxima website so I’m sure the price at chapparel is gonna climb sooner or later.

 

[kschachn]

According to Blackstone's 35 years worth of racing and street motorcycle oil analysis shows no significant differences in WEAR between the grades... so either grade whether Auto or MC will meet and exceed your mileage expectations...


View attachment 346991

Warning, additive package may not be current.

Not that those are the additives anyway.

 

[Nessism1]

$93 is still too rich for my blood when Maxima extra is $64. I just ordered four gallons of extra 10w-40, 4 gallons of proplus 10w-40 and 2 gallons of proplus 20w-50. Thats at least a 5 year supply for me if I don’t change any friends oil. It’s $93 on the maxima website so I’m sure the price at chapparel is gonna climb sooner or later.

$64 would give me heartburn.

Honda singles are known for reliability, and just about anything will do. I'd run that dealer oil, but switch to 10W-40 for the next. Get the cheapest synthetic motorcycle oil you can find and just ride. Max interval of 2k miles. No way in heck I'd do 8k. It does go to show how unimportant oil changes can be, though. Honda conventional oil at 8k? Honda apparently feels this is okay, so why dump major money on botique oil?

 

[Pete in PA]

I really don't know what I'd do if I bought a new Honda.
So used to these charts for Hondas.

 

[CleanSump]

I was asking about a statement in the OM that says if the recommended viscosity isn't used it will void the warranty ... not if they could prove a non-recommended oil viscosity was used or not. Actually, a UOA will tell you what viscosity grade the oil is. It would have to be sheared down pretty good to drop a whole KV100 grade. And having up to 6.8% of a different viscosity from the previous oil change isn't enough to change the current oil a whole KV100 grade.

The only documented cases of an OE testing oil and fuel for warranty claims I have seen on the 'net was Mercedes when some early DEF equipped engines were gelling oil and dying. I think that was Mercedes doing engineering studies rather than seeking to deny warranty. Afterwards they updated OMs to say no more than 5% biodiesel and updated to the MB 229.52 spec. Later they allowed 20% bio, but recommended no more than 5%. I can imagine if you brought in a sludged engine that showed by book oil changes mile and/or timewise they might test oil before giving you a $25k engine.

 

[Bonz]

According to Blackstone's 35 years worth of racing and street motorcycle oil analysis shows no significant differences in WEAR between the grades... so either grade whether Auto or MC will meet and exceed your mileage expectations...


View attachment 346991

Redline sample is NOT current...

Redline dropped Moly to ~150 ppm at least 4 years ago.

 

[TrialKid]

Redline sample is NOT current...

Redline dropped Moly to ~150 ppm at least 4 years ago.

Maybe is Auto version, never find 5/30 motorcycle one

 

[kschachn]

Maybe is Auto version, never find 5/30 motorcycle one

Or it’s an old piece of scrap that gets dragged out from time to time.

Plus I’d never make an oil choice based on one bare element out of a spectrographic analysis. That’s a fool’s errand.