Service manual favors 10W-30 oil

[HikerToo_imp]

Finally received my service manual, one of the things I looked up was recommended oil viscosity, since there has been much debate and I know my User Manual ONLY mentions 10W-30, others have said the service manual also recommends 10W-40....
But the way I am reading the service manual, I see recommended oil in 3 places ONLY mentioning 10W-30, only 1 place has a chart where in normal font says you "may" use other viscosities in the chart, in BOLD it still recommends the 10W-30.
Not starting an oil debate, just what I see in the user and service manual.

[Aussie_imp]

Yep, sounds about right....It cracked 113 degrees F (45 degrees Celsius) last summer in Adelaide so I use 10W40. And in winter it never really gets below 32 F, or 0 degrees C. The bike works fine, no issues.

[SUPERCRUZ_imp]

The oil debate continues and I know there are plenty of folks that will disagree. I am running Repsol 10W30 Racing 4T full synthetic in my bike and it runs flawlessly. I have two Honda autos in my driveway, an 07 Pilot and a 10 Acura TL. Both cars call for 5w20 which is light oil for an auto. I have used Mobil 1 from purchase on both cars and always run the 5W20. Hondas in general seem to want lighter weight oil. Just an observation.

[davidsargee_imp]

This will by my last comment on the subject of engine oil, .

The service manager at my dealership, (a highly experienced Honda technician), recommended 10w40, because of the heat. Another forum member from Texas said that the service manager at his dealer had the same recommendation. It is a common practice in the South to run a little bit heavier oil as protection from the summer heat.

I am using 10w40 now, 2300+ miles with no issues, however, after hearing of the problems some are having, I am considering changing to 10w30 at the next change. The manual that comes with the bike recommends 10w30 as well.

Cheers

[Randy B]

15,000 miles using castrol 10W40 synthetic motor cycle oil.....0 issues.
That is all.

[CBXBob_imp]

The SHOP manual CHART specifies other viscosities may be used in temp range -10 C and above. 10W-30 10W-40.
All auto and now motorcycle mfg are starting to recommend lower viscosities for the extra cold start protection and the better fuel economy.

[redbirds_imp]

I have used Mobil 1 synth 5W-20 in my Honda cars for years in the extreme heat of south Georgia summers and they have run flawlessly for years with no oil use. This is the oil that Honda recommends for these cars and with Honda's engine expertise I'll go along. Same goes for the CB1100. I'll use a good quality 10W-30 synth oil for motorcycles and leave it at that.

[dBuster_imp]

I think the shop manual charts are a generic reference of oils to the different temperatures.

But as HikerToo made reference to and my dealership checking on what our bikes specifically call for in the 1100 service manual it is referring to 30 weight oil. Now like my dealer said, they used the generic service info in their computer when they did the first service and did not reference the 1100 service manual to see if anything may be different. The generic service info gave them the qty of oil and since they only have 40 weight in bulk that is what they went with.

Now like I said in my other thread, not all bikes are the same. each one will have it's own personality and or quirks about them. Some will perform just fine with 40 weight while others will be noisy buggers. If you have noise from your bike with 40 weight switch to the recommended 30 weight from the service manual.

Wheels down and enjoy the bike!

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[flynrider]

The big difference between oil viscosity requirements between cars and our bikes is cooling. In a liquid cooled engine the coolant does most of the work controlling combustion and cylinder head temperatures. In an air cooled engine the oil is responsible for carrying all that heat away from the cylinders. As a result, the oil in an air cooled engine sees a wider range of operating temperatures.

Back in the day when most bikes were air cooled, manuals typical recommended a heavier weight oil for hot temperatures, while liquid cooled engines can pretty much use the same viscosity year round. I suspect that's the purpose of the vague chart in the service manual showing 10w-40 at the higher temperature range. The manual for my CB750 goes as far as to recommend 20w-50 for temps over 100F.

[ride4now_imp]

As long as we're taking oil... as you may know I picked up a new Deluxe yesterday. This afternoon, after giving the bike it's first good coat of wax, I warmed it up, on the center stand for 5 minutes (per the manual), then let it cool for 3 minutes, then checked the sight glass...this is what I found...



Looks a little FULL doesn't it!

After draining out about 1/4 of a quart...maybe more...this is what I've now got...and it still may be too much.



I don't understand why the oil looks like it's on an incline...the bike was definitely level.
But this whole exercise was pretty annoying. At this point the bike had 28 miles on it.

Question, how does Honda ship these bikes? I have to believe they have oil in them so they can be started up off the line. But maybe not? Does the dealer do that? If so, they messed this one up. I'm glad I caught it. Too much oil is almost as bad as too little.


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