Which oil are we using???

[fullclip]

I believe all 4 of my past triumphs came with full syn right from the factory ? I could be wrong but never had any issue from them and triumph motors in my book are solid! I used Mobil in one of them a four T of sorts and it is a good oil.

[bobdog]

On my 600 mile service I opted for dino oil, as the bike isn't broken in until 1000, according to Yamaha. I have noticed the bike runs a little cooler than the first 300 miles. At the next change (4000 m/US) I will switch over to Motul or Mobil 1 10-40 synthetic. I expect it may run a little cooler/shift better with the synthetic. 
 
BTW, got 48.3 mpg on a run from DC to Richmond on HWY 1 today. I-95 was a bumper to bumper madhouse, so I bailed to US 1.  A little slower, with some construction, but way less nerve-wracking. 

[1moreroad]

The guy that maintains the Yamaha demo fleet says that he uses semi synth at 600 miles then full synth after that. He changes oil every 4000 miles.
 
I used Castrol at 600. I use Castrol because my dad uses Castrol. Castrol was cheaper at Cycle Gear, too.
 
Thank goodness we have an oil thread on this forum.

[keithu]

15w50 isn't mentioned in the manual...

Oops, you're right. It does recommend 20w50 for higher temps, not 15w50. 

[steveb]

The only concern I would have with the Rotella is that it's a "Diesel" Oil.  The FJ-09 owners manual states that you should not use a Diesel oil.  I've seen nothing to indicate a lubrication issue (I've read nothing but positive reports regarding this aspect).  The "problem" appears to be the possible affect on the catalytic converter.  I gather diesel oils contain some ingredients (phosphorus for one) at a higher level than recommended for catalytic converters.  Reportedly they can "poison" your catalytic converter and significantly shorten its life.
 
I'll probably stick with my Mobil 1, but I'm curious as to whether anyone has more specific information on this regarding the Rotella (or other specific diesel oils) and catalytic converter life. 
 
Naturally you can avoid this issue by changing out the exhaust system and getting rid of the catalytic system.  However in some states (California for one) this might be legally problematic.  I gather there are "approved" systems available for specific bikes, but I haven't done the research yet to check out what options might be available (legally in California) for the FJ-09. 
 

[Cruizin]

Oil type is far less important than people think it is. I actually believe (personal opinion only) that factories put oil recommendations up in order to sell more or their own oil and also to have an extra way to reject warranty claims. Again. just personal opinion.
 
Engines are all different, but all Four strokes have pistons and Valves and gears. they aren't all that different and people like me have been using Rotella for years and years. threads on the subject on bike forums all over the internet.
 
Again, back in the day we didn't have motorcycle oil. What did we do? we ran 30 SAE car oil in our bikes. I had bikes go over 100,000 miles and engines had worse tolernces back then and break in was even more important back then but somehow we got mega miles out of our bikes using car oil.
 
In fact, Motorcycle oil didn;t really get all that important until internet message boards stated getting popular back in the 90's.
 
Think about that for a second....
 
I'm a forum owner with a conscience and feel compelled to inform everyone that frequency of oil and filter change and checking valve clearances and changing air filters correctly have far more to do with preventing excessive engine wear than type of oil.
 
If you really want the best oil against cylinder scarring, then a good ester based oil is proven to be very good. And very expensive. But don't be surprised if the guy running Rotella oil get just as many miles out of his bike as the guy spending twice as much on his oil.
 
 
 

[brmidd]

Yamalube 10w-40 non synthetic as recommended by my dealer. 

[mjsracing]

My 2 cents, ANY oil that is JASO MA certified for wet clutch, with proper viscosity, is fine. Period.

[b12ty]

My 2 cents, ANY oil that is JASO MA certified for wet clutch, with proper viscosity, is fine. Period.

 
JASO MA2, good enough for me!
 
Ty
 

 

[ULEWZ]

The only concern I would have with the Rotella is that it's a "Diesel" Oil.  The FJ-09 owners manual states that you should not use a Diesel oil.  I've seen nothing to indicate a lubrication issue (I've read nothing but positive reports regarding this aspect).  The "problem" appears to be the possible affect on the catalytic converter.  I gather diesel oils contain some ingredients (phosphorus for one) at a higher level than recommended for catalytic converters.  Reportedly they can "poison" your catalytic converter and significantly shorten its life. 
I'll probably stick with my Mobil 1, but I'm curious as to whether anyone has more specific information on this regarding the Rotella (or other specific diesel oils) and catalytic converter life. 
 
Naturally you can avoid this issue by changing out the exhaust system and getting rid of the catalytic system.  However in some states (California for one) this might be legally problematic.  I gather there are "approved" systems available for specific bikes, but I haven't done the research yet to check out what options might be available (legally in California) for the FJ-09. 

Rotella T is great oil and I know many motorcycle riders that have used it for years, but in my bikes, it makes the shifting harder (Don't know why, but it does), so I stick with Mobil 1. 

[gce]

I have a 2001 Road Star (Air Cooled) with 120k miles, running strong and I've only used, after break in Mobil 1. I well be using Mobil 1 on my FJ.

[dbezerkeley]

I'm going to use non-synthetic 10-40 oil for the first few oil changes in my new FJ, mainly because I want to change it frequently (a couple of <1500mi intervals after the first service) to flush out any metal particles from it completely breaking in, and don't want the expense of synthetic for this phase.
 

[wong93719]

I just bought Castro 20w-50 for my 1000km oil change to be done next week. My next oil change I may switch to synthetic. This Castro is labeled for motorcycle. I am still learning on bike maintenance. For my VW car, I always use Mobil 1 0w-40 synthetic.

[thespaceman]

You should have heard the crap the Harley mechanics told me when I asked about using synthetic oil in my '77 Shovelhead.  "It's TOO slippery; the bearings will slip!"  "Your clutch will dissolve!" "Don't bring it here when that engine grenades!"  And my favorite: "Harley Davidson says using synthetic oil voids all warranties."
 
So I put in Mobil 1 anyway.  The only objective measurement was that oil temp dropped a good 20+ degrees, but my seat of the pants dyno said it ran better.  And a couple years later Harley started selling their own synthetic oil.
 
I just changed the break-in oil for Castrol full syn at 550 miles.  The factory oil looked like water; if 500+ miles of that crap didn't break the engine in nothing will.

[andmoon]

IMHO there is no break in oil.