Interesting article about oil.....let the arguments begin!

Another member on a different site turned me on to this article and caused me to change my views on whether or not motorcycle specific oil is necessary or even superior to several automotive oils. I have decided it is better to protect an engine with superior lubrication and heat protection than to believe that my clutch is going to explode if I use oil with friction modifier's. Clutches are cheap....engines, not so much. I have been using Quaker State Ultimate durability 5W30 oil for a while with no clutch slippage. Now that I have gone to a heavier spring I can take off hard with no slippage at all. My clutch is not new. It has 8k miles and I verified that it was all within specs. I am going to try a different oil next time. Not because I am unhappy with my choice but because the lighter diesel oil rated even higher on his test. I can get 10 quarts of it delivered for 80 bucks. That is perfect for three oil and filter changes. This is a very long article. The author is a mechanical engineer that tested 200 plus oils. All of the oils motorcycle oils with the exception of one brand scored very low. Honda's oil was mediocre at best and was towards the bottom of the list. Towards the bottom of the article he tests the lighter weight diesel oils, not the Rotella, Delo, Delvac heavier weight oils that are so popular in bikes. They tested better than a lot of motorcycle oils but not nearly as good as people want to believe they are. Still an ok choice though.
I wanted to choose an oil that held up well with extreme heats, which is why I went with #19 on his list. 20 bucks for a gallon at Walmart. The thinner weight diesel oils (5w30) are for the most part designed for Mercedes, and other high end diesel engines. This oil scored as high as Amsoil with minimal oil breakdown when super heated to 275 degrees. Much like #19. I found this to be an excellent choice for high RPM engines.
He also addresses Wet clutches at the very bottom of the article, and this is also a good read.

My next choice will be
Pentosin High Performance III 5w30. #8 on the list.
Here is the article
https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/

Enjoy
Joel

 

Yeah, I've read most of that stuff on his blog before. I'd probably buy into his views more if he weren't such
an ego animal. The only people that know anything are the ones who agree with him, and the ones who don't
are stupid idiots. I figure he must have an extra joint in his arm so he can pat himself on the back so well.

 

Very informative article. I did a bunch of research on oils last year when I bought a new truck and wanted to use a good quality oil to keep the engine cleaner hopefully. I was kinda shocked to find out that class III oil is allowed to be called full synthetic when it is really just crude oil with some additives.
I went down the rabbit hole and really started obsessing over which oil was the best, but at the end of the day I realized that as long as you keep it changed often it all gets the job done. I change my oils very frequently. Keeping the oil from getting dirty keeps your engine cleaner. (In theory anyway. lol)
As far as my bikes go, I've been using genuine Honda GN4 for about the last 20 years and I've never had any problems what so ever. I do change it every year when riding season starts. Sometimes the old oil might have 100 miles on it, sometimes it might have 1000. I usually don't go past 1,500 miles or one year for an oil change on my bikes, and my engines have always stayed really clean.
When I was a Honda technician, my CB750 nighthawk was my daily driver. I had a 30 minute ride from my house to work. I changed the oil every two weeks because I got it free from work and that engine was super clean! Lol

 

Well, that may be a bit excessive in the oil change department. I usually change mine every couple years if I
don't ride it enough to get my 4-5,000 miles. That happens way too often anymore. Bummer. The bike runs
well, and doesn't use any oil between oil changes...whenever they are.

Way back when I was riding air cooled engines I used to change them about every 3,000 miles.