2009 Piaggio Fly 50 4T oil recommendations

[kmrcstintn]

I am considering a purchase of a low mileage used 2009 Piaggio Fly 50 4T scooter; it currently has @ 540 miles and the dealer is gonna do an engine oil/rear differential service for me (they will be using Mobil 1 0w-40 engine oil...Piaggio specs for 5w-40 engine oil & ??Lucas heavy duty 80w-90 gear oil???...Piaggio specs for 80w-90 gear oil); this engine comes with an oil screen, but I will add a magnetic drain plug to 'enhance' filtration; the clutch is a dry centrifugal type so JASO MA specs don't matter...

I already have plenty of 10w-40 motorcycle oil (both conventional Maxima brand & synthetic-blend Suzuki brand) in stock for my V Star 650 and not sure how stringently I have to adhere to the '5w-' oil spec...

what do you recommend for oil (conventional vs syn-blend vs syn; 5w-40 vs 10w-40 vs 15w-40) & oil change interval (considering the engine lacks a 'true filter')? thanks

 

[beanoil]

I have the 100cc version of that in a Scarabeo. 10w40 works fine, and on a whim I put in 5w50 Schaeffer's. I won't know what the uoa on that says until next summer, but I'm convinced that 5w or 10w is fine for those engines.

 

[spasm3]

There is no filter, so you will be changing out the oil due to dirt/insolubles not shearing or loss of tbn. Rotella 15-40 or rotella t-6 5w 40 will work. motorcycle oils will work but why spend more when you will be changing the oil at around 1000-1500 miles? Its what i used when i had a scooter.

 

[kmrcstintn]

I would use motorcycle oil I have already bought and wouldn't have to spend more money til after I use the 12 quarts I have are used up...

 

[jkhawaii]

I have a 2012 Fly 50. Running 10w40 AMSOIL Scooter oil, 75-90 GL4 transmission oil. When I did the first oil change there was a whole lot of junk in the oil and on the strainer. I also sent out a sample of the factory fill oil and it did not show good results, sheared to a 20w. going by the book, oil changes are recomended at 600, 3700, 7500. Manual recommends checking the valve adjustment at 600 to.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: jkhawaii
I have a 2012 Fly 50. Running 10w40 AMSOIL Scooter oil, 75-90 GL4 transmission oil. When I did the first oil change there was a whole lot of junk in the oil and on the strainer. I also sent out a sample of the factory fill oil and it did not show good results, sheared to a 20w. going by the book, oil changes are recomended at 600, 3700, 7500. Manual recommends checking the valve adjustment at 600 to.


Try an hdeo. I like rotella but devlac and delo are fine too. 15w-40 conventional doesn't shear as fast. I've found that no syn bike oil lasted as long in service before shifting got notchy due to shear as rotella conventional did in my bikes. Its cheap to try. I'm confident you'll be happy. And even if it does shear its cheap so it hurts the wallet way less than a syn.

 

[Phishin]

I can't stress this enough....the choice of oil isn't that important. But frequently changing it is. That is the most crucial part.

Whether you choose to run a 0w30 or a 15w50 oil....whether you run bulk dino oil or Redline....the effect that your oil choices will have on your engine are MINIMAL vs. how long you wait between oil changes.

Believe me. Especially in 50cc scooters. I own a few. I know. I work on a lot. I know what I'm talking about. And no Chinese junk either....Honda's, Yamaha's, Genuine's, etc.

These little 50cc's spin at high RPM's all the time. They shear oil like CRAZY. No oil filters either....so crud builds up FAST! and they have tiny oil capacities.

Changing the oil in the scooter is SUPER EASY and FAST. So, just change it yourself and do it often.

I recommend the following oils in no particular order:
Any HDEO in synthetic or dino (5w40 or 15w40....like Rotella or Delvac or Delo)
Mobil 1 0w40, 10w40, 5w50 or 15w50
GC

I usually mix oil up with what I got laying around (in the same brands)....I really like M1 Racing 0w50 mixed with M1 0w20 or 0w30 AFE. I mix M1 0w40 with their 15w50 a lot too.

The key is changing the oil often. I change the oil on my 2 50cc Hondas every 600 miles. I have around 33k miles racked up on those two machines, they are 2008 and 2009 models, and neither of them have EVER went over 800 miles, not even once. 600 miles is average. 33k miles in 5 years of scooter riding is nothing to sneeze at. Especially when I only ride 7 months a year. Never have I had an engine tick, adjust my valves, replace a crank, had bearings start to make noises....NOTHING.

If this scooter was new, I'd suggest you change the oil at 50 miles, at 150, at 2500, and then start your 600 mile OCI's.

 

[Phishin]

Being that 50cc motors have little power, you'll notice right away when you change the oil how much "slower" your scooter is until the oil "breaks in". It's pretty noticeable.

New oil can slow my Ruckus and Metro down enough, that if I'm due for an oil change before a big ride with friends (mostly on the Ruckus), I'll schedule my oil change to allow me to run a 100 miles on it or so before my cruise with my friends.

Or, if I don't have time to break oil in, I'll change it out with VR1 10w30 synthetic, and go on my ride (usually a 100 miles or so) and then dump it as soon as I get home....because in a hundred miles, that 10w30 will be 20 weight oil (or worse) running after 6-8 hours non-stop at 10k rpm's....and I run an oil cooler, which also gives me a bit more oil capacity....I'd be even more careful without the cooler and extended capacity.

 

[kmrcstintn]

I just did an oil change yesterday...mixed 1 quart of Shell Rotella T-6 5w-40 with 3 quarts of Valvoline conventional 10w-40 motorcycle oil (used @ 850cc of the mix for this change); gonna run this mix for @ 1500-2000 miles and see how it goes from there; I used the dealer's pre-delivery oil change (Mobil 1 0w-40) as a 'flush' for @ 400 miles before dumping it...already pretty dark (cleaning the engine well); the oil screen had some garbage in it, but nothing outrageous; wish I could find an applicable magnetic drain plug...unsuccessful in my searches; my owner's manual recommends an oil change interval of @ 3700 miles...a bit too much for my piece of mind; their 'recommended' oil specs cross several rating systems...5w-40, synthetic, API SL, ACEA A3, JASO MA (of course they 'prefer' AGIP brand being an Italian company)