What motorcycle oil to use for Honda?

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Do I typically go by the weight and then the JASO MA specification, or can I look for non-energy conserving oils? The problem is that moly and FM should not be present due to the wet clutch plates.

I'm trying to find an affordable fully synthetic xW-30 or xW-40 for the CBR250R's 250cc 4-stroke DOHC thumper. The Honda HP4S is a 10W-30 and is over $10/qt, as is Mobil 1 Racing 4T, Shell Ultra, Motul, etc...
 
Synthetic oil that is marketed as motorcycle specific just seems to cost that much. The Rotella T6 in 5W-40 would probably be the least expensive synthetic with JASO MA.
 
Originally Posted By: WANG
Synthetic oil that is marketed as motorcycle specific just seems to cost that much. The Rotella T6 in 5W-40 would probably be the least expensive synthetic with JASO MA.


That's what I use in my Honda Silverwing 600.
 
The wife's bike (Shadow) went from HP4S when new, to HP4, to Rotella 15w-40, and now the Rotella T6 5w-40 for 2+ years. No problems with any of the oils, but the T6 seems smoothest for the clutch and shifting. So its T6 since the switch. Top end is more quiet too, but it might be just me.
Using long P1 filter too.
 
I don't know that you need a fully synthetic oil for that application, but if that's your preference then it's going to be nearly impossible to find one for less than $10 a quart.

I don't know the makeup of the Honda oil but the Mobil 1 Racing 4T and the Amsoil are PAO based oils - I believe that most of the rest are mostly Group III.

Still, the Rotella conventional (and many other) 15W-40 HDEO's do very well in your application.
 
The oil search will start back up with Honda's new recommendation of 30wt oils. I'd just go grab a 10w30 Rotella gallon from WalMart and be done with it. That should cover, what, 2 oil changes on the quarter liter.

BTW, do you happen to have a link of the owner's manual for the CBR250R? I was pretty serious about that bike until I came across this one. Although it is made in Italy (and not Japan) and not available here, I still would like to have it.

http://www.fasterandfaster.net/2010/11/2011-honda-cbr600f-first-official-pics.html
 
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