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Which Oil for Cold Temperatures??

  • Thread starter Thread starter almarconi
  • Start date Start date
A

almarconi

Guest
I've been running rotella 15w40 in the GS for the last couple months. I've noticed that in the morning when the temps are in the low-mid 30's that the bike wants to creep forward in first gear when the clutch lever is pulled in. This goes away after the first couple of minutes as the bike warms up. During warm weather this does not happen.

I would like to try and keep riding the bike into December. Should I switch to a lighter weight oil like a 10w40 now that the cold temps are here?
 
almarconi said:
I've been running rotella 15w40 in the GS for the last couple months. I've noticed that in the morning when the temps are in the low-mid 30's that the bike wants to creep forward in first gear when the clutch lever is pulled in. This goes away after the first couple of minutes as the bike warms up. During warm weather this does not happen.

I would like to try and keep riding the bike into December. Should I switch to a lighter weight oil like a 10w40 now that the cold temps are here?
Click to expand...

I use factory recommended 10w-40 oil year round with no issues including temps in the 20's.
 
5W 30 is the best winter oil viscosity you'll find. (under 40 F)

if you are not running motorcycle specific oil you have metal to metal contact in the transmission any way. shear factor. ya know.
 
I thought the 5w-30 oil was only available in the "energy conserving" form which I was told would cause clutch slippage.
 
The viscosity number with the “W” stands for the Winter test – basically, cold weather flowability. Lower is better for cold weather usage – 5W is a good way to go if you are running your bike with the temperature near the freezing point. The second number in the viscosity rating stands for the normal running viscosity when the oil is warm.

Suzuki calls for 10W-40. If the weather is warm, 15W-40 is reasonable and if the weather is cold, 5W-40 might be advised. Using 5W-30 or 10W-30 is not recommended unless you are taking short trips in cold weather; once the engine warms up, the 30 weight oil is not thick enough to properly protect your engine.

Motorcycle specific oil is fine as is diesel engine oil (this is what I use since it’s far cheaper); these oils typically have more high pressure additives than auto oil and are more shear stable due to their base oil chemistry. I certainly wouldn’t call motorcycle specific oils superior though; if you go to the Bob is the Oil Guy forum and read though the various threads there, you will learn that many of the expensive motorcycle specific oils (like Repsol) are nothing special from a chemical standpoint while being very expensive.
 
there are some that are synthetic 5w-40. castrol GTX is one of them because i just bought some for my car, but it may have anti-wear additives that arent good for your clutch because it is not motorcycle specific. i have heard that you can get full synthetic Rotella T 5w-40 at walmart. its for diesel engines like Nessissm said.
 
I don’t think clutch slippage from using synthetic auto oil is a huge issue unless your clutch is marginal to begin with. Same goes with synthetic oil creating oil leaks; it won’t unless sludge is plugging leaks on your engine to begin with, in which case the synthetic oil may eliminate the sludge thus leading to leakage.
 
The next time I go to Walmart I'll get a jug of the 5w-40 Rotella and give it a try.
 
catbed said:
... i have heard that you can get full synthetic Rotella T 5w-40 at walmart. its for diesel engines like Nessissm said.
Click to expand...

almarconi said:
The next time I go to Walmart I'll get a jug of the 5w-40 Rotella and give it a try.
Click to expand...
I have looked in several different Walmarts and they all seem to be set up the same. The synthetic Rotella is in the BLUE jug and is in the aisle behind the 'normal' oils. You will find it in the same area as the transmission fluid and gear oils.

.
 
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