lucas motor oil

[Boriqua]

I know I know .. a million oil threads .. rotella, rotella rotella

So I wanted to just let some of you know my experience with a product I have come to love. It aint cheap but ..

So my bike has about 4200 miles since its resurrection. I live in AZ and temps can reach 118F and regular temps during the summer are about 107-110F

When I first got her running I ran 10w40 Mobil one. It was ok but I found the bike was getting a bit hot in the summer so I tried Castrol synthetic 20w50 and for some reason my bike got noisier and it didnt seem to make the bike run any better. I ditched it and went back to Mobil one but the bike was still noisy and shifting sucked.

This summer I decided to try Lucas and in the last week of may went to 20w50 Synthetic MC oil.
https://www.amazon.com/Lucas-Oil-10702-PK6-Performance-Motorcycle/dp/B001OZL9XC

It was available local at 8.99 a qt. INSTANTLY all those little freaky noises that make you nuts .. disappeared. Shifting went from boggy as hell to sweet and seemed to get better as time went on. Suddenly each shift was a nice satisfying click with little effort where i had to apply some serious toe lift before. It keeps the bike so cool that if I parked it for an hour or so it wanted a little enricher to get going again and the engine was cool to the touch. Remember .... 110F.

Now I have also gone to a series RR which is supposed to keep things a bit cooler as well.

So the weather in AZ goes from blistering hot to nice almost overnight. So while it is 107 today next week it wont get above 90 and nights will drop into the 60's next week and .. Summers done.

So it gets better.
Today I changed the oil for the winter to 10w40 Lucas Synthetic.
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...il/10793/5281637?q=lucas+motorcycle+oil&pos=0

I only got 1500 miles on the bike over the summer months but the oil came out far more dirty than I imagined.

So the Lucas must have a ton of detergent because when I emptied the oil .. my sight glass which you could barely see through is clean as a whistle. I have to imagine the shifting kept getting better not because it was better lubricated but because it was cleaning out gunk.

I am sold. Sure its $80 a year .. but it really changed my whole experience with the bike. So not only do I think it will add many miles to my engine .. I enjoy riding it more. Considering how cheap it is to register and insure .. I am OK with $80 bucks worth of oil.

oh .. and I dont know if its the quality of the oil or the engine but .. I didnt burn a drop of oil hitting 6000 Rpm and climbing mountain passes all summer in temps most people dont ride in. And .. its about 2-3 bucks cheaper than I can usually find Mobil one.

 

[Brendan W]

Thanks for that.
Experience beats opinion hands down.
Oil is a complex issue and it's good to get first hand experience.
Now can you do anything about the local temps here

 

[Steve]

I don't know anything about Lucas oil except that it exists. Thanks for the report. :encouragement:

You said in your very first line:

I know I know .. a million oil threads .. rotella, rotella rotella

I am not going to try to convince you, but merely have a question, ... have you tried Rotella? :-k

As much as most of us like it, your high-heat situation <might> be one where Rotella is not quite as good, but it does not get that hot here, so I can't report on its performance in high heat. We were hoping to experience some high temps on our "Little Ride" this summer, but that didn't happen.

.

 

[1978GS750E]

I cannot speak for my Suzuki, but I use 20W50 Lucas Synthetic in my Harley Street Glide and love the stuff! (Lots of 400 mile+ days!) May switch the GS750 to it next time! Thanks!

 

[earlfor]

Mobil1 15W50 full synthetic, not made from petroleum (no friction modifiers) for 80,000 + miles on the Bandit. The bike still does not use any oil between oil changes at 5k miles, always shifts like butter, and I can put my hand on the cylinder head after running the bike all day.

 

[bwringer]

Thank you for supporting our football stadium...



No, seriously, Lucas makes some very good lubricants. I really like their fork oil too, but the usual shop where I buy it stopped carrying it. And it seems every time I need fork oil, I'm in a hurry because I forgot to buy any... probably should order up a batch.

 

[Boriqua]

I was out for a ride through the mountains on a day that was 118. I was headed out to the river for a dunk. The bike with the Lucas 20w50 barely noticed. It almost feels as if the engine internals are cushioned. I was pretty amazed. Sat in the river for about an hour and the engine was cool to the touch when I got back to the lot.

That and how quiet it made it .. I am sold. Hope I am as happy with the Lucas 10w40 I put in for "winter" you know .. when it might drop down to 40.

Brrrrrrrr

 

[Spyder]

I had noticed when our temps here in the mid-west would climb up near the 3 digit line, that my old GS (with Rotella) was noisier, and shifted rough. I'm thinking when I do get her back on the road I will give the Lucas a try, and see how it does. One of the primary reasons I went for a water cooled bike this season. The old girl will be back, but I have the plan to only take it out on the cooler days when I do... Thanks for the write up.

 

[Cipher]

You do all realize that an engine has an optimal operating temperature and that being able to touch a case may be comforting in human terms it means not much otherwise.

Fresh oil always calms noises the pressure from new oil is higher due to greater viscosity. In the old days truckers and the like changed oil on the basis of the oil pressure gauge lack access to oil threads.

 

[Boriqua]

You do all realize that an engine has an optimal operating temperature and that being able to touch a case may be comforting in human terms it means not much otherwise.

Fresh oil always calms noises the pressure from new oil is higher due to greater viscosity. In the old days truckers and the like changed oil on the basis of the oil pressure gauge lack access to oil threads.

Well aware of Running temps and equipped with an oil temp gauge .. I was running over it last year and not this year. I also mentioned that I went through a fresh change to Castro and mobil one and did not get the same results.

I dont sell Lucas oil and they dont sponsor my bike .. just sharing my personal experience .. YMMV.

 

[rustybronco]

I had excellent shift qualities when I used Amsoil 20w50. Expensive but damn good stuff it was.

 

[Boriqua]

I had excellent shift qualities when I used Amsoil 20w50. Expensive but damn good stuff it was.

I agree the amsoil is good stuff! I ran it in my triumph bonneville all over AZ in the summer months on all day rides and it had been ridden on many a long unpaved road full of dirt and washboard in 2nd gear cranking along, something I wouldnt attempt with the Suzuki. At one point I signed up to get dealer pricing. I really like the stuff.

but ... It has gotten even more expensive and I like the idea of being able to buy oil I can just go pick up at my local Auto place and not having to order it and wait.

I would put my seat of the pants feel of the Lucas to the amsoil in how it made the bike run sound and shift. I cant talk to the cleaning properties of the Amsoil because I bought that Triumph new but the Lucas flushed my Suzuki engine nicely.

 

[Boriqua]

Found this Video a few months ago and while not directly relevant .. I found it interesting. I didnt post it then because some guys get a little excited when talking about oil or other favorite products and I just want to continue having fun here.

I also have somewhat uniqueish circumstances because of our temperature so my thoughts have changed some from when I lived in NYC when a HOT day was 92f. Little did I know I would one day live in a place that gets to actual temp of 122f.

anyway .. interesting vid from a guy undoubtedly smarter than I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYkg0oDUXs8

 

[Nessism]

Walmart has Mobil 1 15/50 for $22 for 5 qts.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-1-15W-50-Advanced-Full-Synthetic-Motor-Oil-5-qts/20713647

I typically do between 10 to 30K miles a year on my bike so oil prices have a greater impact on my budget, don't really care how the bike feels about it.

Hard to beat the value here. And Mobile 1 has a lot of rebates you can cash in on too (although I'm not sure about at this moment).

 

[1980GS850]

never used the lucas oil but 2 years ago had bad oil leak devlop on my sprinter work van. i put min 50k a year on and was topping up frequently. shop wanted 1300 to fix the seal but he told me to try lucas oil stop leak first and dam if it didn't work, cut oil loss down about 90%. lucas makes good stuff.

 

[scratch]

I use Chevron Delo 15-40 in all the bikes up here in New England and have been really pleased with the results... most noticably in my old Goldwing, the difference from the previoun MC oil was amazing. The best thing is, it's so cheap that there is no reason not to change the oil twice as frequently... the bikes all seem to like it. Rotella seems to give me the same results but I have access to the Delo at dirt cheap prices...
That said...
While on a cross country trip, met a guy in Nebraska (when you are traveling with a ton of gear strapped to you bike the old timers will always strike up a conversation about their old bike) who had a 64 Triumph with near 200K on the clock & claimed to have never opened up the motor... My nieghbor is a vintage Triumph mechanic and from all I know about vintage triumphs... this guys claim was rediculous but, his secret he said was: Frequent oil changes with Lucas oil...

 

[GS1150Pilot]

Good thread. I appreciate the anecdotal information. I always felt that the 1150 ran warmer (245 degrees and up) with Rotella. I may give Lucas a shot in the Bandit.

 

[rustybronco]

And Mobile 1 has a lot of rebates you can cash in on too (although I'm not sure about at this moment).

https://mobiloil.com/en/promotion/mobil-promotions/synthetic-motor-oil-coupon

My refund should be in the post any time now.

 

[wymple]

I always have, and always will, run 15-40 diesel oil. Since I've not had any problems with diesel oil, I see no reason to go off experimenting.

 

[chuck hahn]

Im not savvy to todays synthetics and wet clutches. But back in "the day" we were schooled no synthetic or the clutch will slip. I can see the benefit of extending miles between changes for sure. I am open to listening to any and all experiences with full and synthetic blends. Can all you of greater knowledge post up what you use, how far between changes, and any adverse clutch performance so I can make an educated purchase and give it a try in one of my bikes???