CAUTION WHEN CHOOSING OIL

Let's see if we can get this to 6 pages long!! ;)
Seriously, years ago I tried different types of oil, and I finally decided to just go with Honda (dino) oil, and the peace of mind is priceless! Besides, how many people have oil-related engine failures? I'd say no one, no matter what brand you use.
 
Count me in with the 'just use what they recommend" crowd. As stated, I'm sure Honda has spent hundreds of millions of dollars researching oil over the years. Unlike some products, there is no value in building in obsolescence due to mechanical failure. Motorcycles are shiny toys. We want shiny toys, we want new and different shiny toys so planned obsolescence is stylistic, not mechanical. They want their stuff to last a long time so when we see that next new model they come out with, we won't hesitate to buy their shiny new toy. The cost to do a thorough analysis of engine oil would offset any savings x 1000 since I would think to do a valid analysis, you'd need two bikes running brand X and brand Y. Place them on a dyno, run 5000 miles, disassemble the engines, measure wear, reassemble, rise repeat. That having been said, if someone wants to do a thorough analysis, I'll certainly read it.
 
I am also on the recommended crowd.

My old Yamaha, I tried some of those other brands/types that have been mentioned and with the wet clutch, I either had slippage or the leaks a started... so going back to recommended did the trick, things are all peachy now.

helping to push this to 7 pages and beyond
 
Here is the Owner Manual for Australia. see page 87 for a temperature and oil weight chart from Honda.

10w40 is what Honda recommends for these parts right up to 120 degrees F. So plenty of good motorcycle specific oils and brands to use in my bike.

I live in Sydney so it's warm in Spring and Autumn, Hot beach weather in Summer and doesn't get much colder than 60 degrees Farhenheit in winter where I am on the coast.

Our local Motorcycle Accessory Supermarket has never even heard of 10w30.

I have only used Castrol since 1972 in everything from the original CB's through to Harleys and now this beautiful machine. Never had an engine rebuild yet.

Full synthetic seems way too expensive at double the price of semi synthetic. Unless you race or thrash it, dont bother.
 
enzo_imp said:
This bike has a oil thermostat I believe.
Click to expand...
Doesn't seem to be shown in the parts listing.
 
Even with my beloved Redline 10w40 the knock that CIP57 started this thread with happened to me. Saturday morning 48 degrees, bike starts up and sounds fine, it idles while I helmet up. I head down my bumpy dirt road to a stop sign, takes about a minute like always and I hear a real knock and only at idle, almost had my 2nd coronary. Rode 1/4 mile to next stop, still knocking at idle. Next stop was over a mile further and oil must have thinned out from warming up a little and the knocking was gone. Warmed bike up and switched to 10w30 Redline.
Sunday morning was 50 degrees, did same routine with 10w30 knock didn't happen.
CIP57 also made a great piont at watching the sight glass for some flow results.
The 10w40 all warmed up would go to full in about 16-18 seconds, the 10w30 12 seconds.
The bars do buzz more with the 30 but it's better than a cold knock.
When Honda says hotter climates for 10w40 they must not mean Nantucket.

This is an INFO POST and has nothing to do with what oil you should use.
 
Approx. 80% of all engine wear happens in the first minute after starting an engine, thus it's good to have the proper viscosity for the startup temp so there is proper lubrication in the engine during that first minute.
And...with Fall season coming, many of us who start out the morning in sub 60 degree temps should have or be switching to the 10w30.. :-)
And of course, Full Synthetic keeps its proper viscosity at its lower and upper temp limits better than non-Synthetic........ :-)
 
Thread starter
Ack-CB11_imp said:
Even with my beloved Redline 10w40 the knock that CIP57 started this thread with happened to me. Saturday morning 48 degrees, bike starts up and sounds fine, it idles while I helmet up. I head down my bumpy dirt road to a stop sign, takes about a minute like always and I hear a real knock and only at idle, almost had my 2nd coronary. Rode 1/4 mile to next stop, still knocking at idle. Next stop was over a mile further and oil must have thinned out from warming up a little and the knocking was gone. Warmed bike up and switched to 10w30 Redline.
Sunday morning was 50 degrees, did same routine with 10w30 knock didn't happen.
CIP57 also made a great piont at watching the sight glass for some flow results.
The 10w40 all warmed up would go to full in about 16-18 seconds, the 10w30 12 seconds.
The bars do buzz more with the 30 but it's better than a cold knock.
When Honda says hotter climates for 10w40 they must not mean Nantucket.

This is an INFO POST and has nothing to do with what oil you should use.
Click to expand...
Glad you heard it so quickly, don't want anything happening to that Gem :thumbsup:
 
I have read that you should avoid using oils that are blended for higher gas mileage. I used to be an oil fanatic, using the very best oils and changing at very short intervals. As I got older, I started using good API rated motor oils like Pennzoil or Rotella and have never had a problem with many different bikes. I typically change about every 3000 miles. I have read suggestions to use oils blended for motorcycles, as they have additives for the transmission gears but I have never had a transmission or clutch problem when using car oil. For very high revving bikes, I do use oils blended for high performance engines. On another point, I have read that viscosity modifiers are rarely effective for more than about 20 points over time, so 10W30 probably is effective but 10W50 or 15W60 is probably a waste of money.
 
thessler3_imp said:
I have read that you should avoid using oils that are blended for higher gas mileage. I used to be an oil fanatic, using the very best oils and changing at very short intervals. As I got older, I started using good API rated motor oils like Pennzoil or Rotella and have never had a problem with many different bikes. I typically change about every 3000 miles. I have read suggestions to use oils blended for motorcycles, as they have additives for the transmission gears but I have never had a transmission or clutch problem when using car oil. For very high revving bikes, I do use oils blended for high performance engines. On another point, I have read that viscosity modifiers are rarely effective for more than about 20 points over time, so 10W30 probably is effective but 10W50 or 15W60 is probably a waste of money.
Click to expand...
The suggestions for motorcycle oils is primarily to avoid friction modifiers that are becoming more prevalent in automotive oils. Bikes with wet clutches have the friction plates immersed in engine oil and you can get some slippage with certain friction modifiers. It used to be safe to just avoid automotive oils with the "energy conserving" stamp in the API circle, but later API specs (such as SM) allow for friction modifiers without the "energy conserving" label.

There is a Japanese specification that is specifically for motorcycles with wet clutches. JASO-MA is the spec and most motorcycle oils (and some automotive oils) are compliant.

I used to use automotive oils until the API SM spec (which does not make allowances for wet clutches). Since then I've used whatever complies with JASO-MA.
 
Can someone with a CB Owner's or Service Manual handy please quote me the exact wording of Honda's recommendations for oil in this bike. Thank you.
 
Service manual page 3-14

Recommended Engine Oil
ProHonda GN4 4-stroke oil (U.S.A. and Canada) or equivalent motor oil
API service classification: SG or Higher
JASO T 903 standard: MA
Viscosity: 10W30

There is a chart (and a note)that shows that 10W40 can be used if the average temps are 60 or 70F or higher. I say 60 or 70 as it does not show an exact place where the viscosity changes, which means arguments may now ensue :)
 
Thanks popgun. I'll be trying to stay as close to the recommended oil as possible. I'm guessing that the ProHonda stuff specified here is outrageously expensive... correct?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Pro Honda GN4 10w-30 is about $6 per qt.
If I'm not mistaken, the Honda part code for the oil is 08C35-a131m01, so if you google

08C35-a131m01

you can find it under $5 per qt.

Hope it helps,

Rolls
 
Well that seems surprisingly reasonable. So, why all the debate about which oil to use? Seems pretty cut and dried to me. While many of you seem quite knowledgable on this topic, I seriously doubt that any of us are better informed than the engineers who designed the bike in the first place. Just my $.02


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I promised myself never to post again in an oil thread but here I am again. :s I just wanted to pass along that Shell Rotella is now JASO rated. I use it in my 750 and it seems fine. My understanding is that nothing has changed on the oil but they just added the rating since it was mostly marketed to the diesel engine guys. Its long been a well kept secret to motorcycle users because its readily available and pretty cheap to boot. Just passing along the info that is all.
 
wildezt_imp said:
Honda HP4S 10W30.full syn.. great stuff..!.. tried amsoil 10w30 for a week...dint like it..shifting got tight after a few minutes ride.and it smells bad after a ride...drained it all out, replaced filter and put HP4S 10W30 full syn in less than 7 days after the amsoil change...shifts like butter, the bike loves that Honda blood..
Click to expand...
I'm using amsoil 10/30 and mine shifts like butter and I don't smell the oil, how is it your smelling your oil after a ride?
 
In the 90's I would put marvel mysteryoil in my Harleys' gas. But after a,while I didn't know what good it did so I stopped using it.
 
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