what oil are you using
 

just woundering what oil you are putting in your honda.i have heard some are using sae 30 .i would have thought 10w30 would be the general weight oil for a 4 stroke motor in the riding season.

30 wt Diesel oil. Shell or Chevron.

hi spokes why 30weight .would the thinner do better for lubrication,than thicker.i used 15w40 in an older godwing as it used oil and this slowed down how much it used.

I'm glad you asked that question.

Goldwing=water cooled
CA95=air cooled

The CA95 does require a 20wt for cooler climate, but 20 wt is now hard to find.

Goldwing=hydraulic lifters
CA95=rocker arms riding on the cam lobe

The CA95 as in all old engines requires a zinc compound in the oil. This zinc compound serves as a anti-scuff additive.

No modern automotive oils (except Diesel oil) contain the zinc additive as the zinc additive clogged catalytic converters.

Back to the CA95. Multi Weight oils are "multi weight" because of "polymeric viscosity modifiers" to change viscosity with heat or cold. Old air cooled engines like the CA95 will destroy the polymer chemistry with extreme heat. Once the polymer additive is destroyed the quality of the oil is lost.

Here is some good reading, although the focus is old cars, the article can be helpful for those of us with old air cooled engines

http://www.drivenracingoil.com/dro/new-oil-old-car/

thanks for the quick reply on the use of heavier weight oil.the article on lack of zinc in our oils today is interesting and i will swich my oil again...thanks spokes

I put Shell Rotella in all my old bikes. I change it often, probably too often, like every 250 - 300 miles. Oil is inexpensive, so I don't mind frequent changes.

I use an oil from England , Morris Classic , it's made for older motorcycles such as our bikes . Our Hondas have the spin filter which is made to coral the larger pieces of contamination circulating in the oiling system . Modern oils have detergent agents added to breakdown these larger contaminations to a much smaller size which are then removed in a normal oil filter . This allows the oil to last longer , re: less contamination of the oil over extended miles . Morris also contains a zink additive.
As everyone else has stated at the least use a diesel rated oil such as Shell Rotella . Be aware the Rotella comes in different formulas . If you can't find a low / non detergent ,zink containing oil at your local parts store look for a Tractor Supply or a farm/ tractor store and you should find what you need .
Morris does have a distributor in Virgina that will ship by the case . I use 30 wt. as well as 40wt. and they will mix a case to siut your needs . The big thing to remember is modern chemisty doesn't mix well with the old technology of our bikes . AS BTL stated change oil often , I change all of mine yearly and several of them don't see 30/40 miles a year .

Wellllllp, I have been researching the web for more current info on rotella. Doesn't look good. Looks like specs changed in 2013 for rotella and the zinc is supposedly removed to extremely low levels unless labeled "not for highway use". I haven't looked up the Morris oils yet but Valvoline has a 30W VR-1 oil with higher levels of zinc and limited additives. It's $34 on Amazon for 6 quarts. What do you guys think of all this?

http://www.amazon.com/Valvoline-VV22.../dp/B00DJ4FOFA

Oh, and it supposedly doesn't foam like diesel oil.

I'll probably run rotella 30 for now until I hear from shell that this is the case. The flat tappet Classic car guys are still running rotella with no ill effects. Plus it's $14 at Walmart :)

I continue to use Shell Rotella straight 30wt diesel oil with this supplement found at any common auto parts store.
http://www.fourwheelforum.com/pictur...pictureid=1107

I convert the dose amount to determine per quart add. Although I also change oil about every 40 -50 miles just because the rides are few and short.

Honestly, if you change your oil regularly, you'd be hard pressed to notice any difference between brands.

Here's a quick summary from Motorcycle Classics magazine. I think we tend to worry more about oils than is warranted.

That's what I was thinking also. Thanks!

Spokes, what is "this supplement" you mention above? I am assuming a Zinc additive?

I'm using Rislone's Engine Oil Supplement with Zinc Treatment in my CA95 - comes in a yellow plastic 11 oz bottle.

I also run 30W in my CA95.

I also add a little of Lucas' Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer to my CA95's "mix", because of a noisy bottom-end.

It' s the same product you are currently using. I took the picture off of my album to make room and it disappeared from the thread.

Our official oil thread! When motorcycle guys ask me or start talking about it I laugh because their bikes are much more likely to be stolen or wrecked long before any effects of the wrong oil would be realized. I've always seen folks use regular cheap oil in old bikes and never have any problems. The Lucas Oil Stabilizer is some pretty good product I've used before and been happy with. My Rotax in the Aprilia always gets expensive oil because it's expensive to fix! The old bikes get whatever I have laying around as long as it's pretty thick viscosity. There is no way I could put enough miles on an older bike to test out any oil. :) If I enter in any poker runs or back country rides on one of my old bikes I'll surely come revisit the info here to prepare the bike with the best.

On one of my two stroke dirtbikes I was surprised how clean the last oil change came out... until all the sediment came out at the end! Oil is cheap compared to the engines they protect. Great info to know for the older bikes.