What oil do you guys recommend the stealership recommended Lucas 10w30 Lucas.

 

I just mulled over this forever at the stores.

I walked out with Mobile Super (5,000) 10W-40.

Looked all over for Mobile 1 10W-40, but could only find 10W-30.

It's about to get hot here in the south, so I just went with 'el regular.'

 

Biggest issue when choosing oil for bikes is to make sure that you DON'T use any that says 'Energy Conserving' under the API symbol. Bikes use a 'wet' clutch(as in the clutch is bathed in engine oil) and the regular motor oil that you would use in your car may cause the clutch to slip because of the friction modifiers that are added to make it 'energy conserving'.
Having said that-I just use regular dino oil(Shell Rotella 15w-40). This oil is usually in the section for diesel oils but it does carry the API designation for motorcycle use. I've been using this stuff in all of my bikes for tens of thousands of miles and aside from a freak rod bearing failure on the KLX it shows absolutely no signs of wear.

 

Mobil 1

 

I Also use the Rotella 15w-40
No matter what oil you use, it's a good idea to make sure that it is JASO certified.

 

^ same as Dan on oil.
Change every 1000 miles. Filter every other oil change. Keep it simple.

 

Amsoil full synthetic. Been running it in my bike since 1000 miles and in my truck the last 10 years.

 

rotella 15w-40

 

I just find the cheapest stuff, usually castrol, and change it every 2.5k miles

 

Rotella has the JASO MA motorcycle rating. I wouldn't hesitate to use it, knowing that.

"JASO MA
Japanese standard for special oil which can be used in 4-stroke motorcycle engine with one oil system for engine, gearbox and wet clutch system. Fluid is non-friction modified."

Sure you can use anything and it might work, maybe even bacon grease (smell good too), but why not play the odds in your favor with an oil tested to meet the actual standards.

In addition, after doing testing of oil in the 80s, unless you constantly short hop and seldom get the oil up to operating temps where it will evaporate moisture, you can run it easily 3000-5000 miles without any worry what so ever. This is from nearly 30 years back, Kendall's testing of car oil being used in a bike at 2500 miles. They found it was totally still in spec for quality service - aka not broken down significantly enough for any concern.

Sure, oil breaks down the most in the first roughly 1000 miles, but that isn't anywhere near where the oil is no longer serviceable. Maybe an off the wall comparison would be shoes. They break down significantly (aka broken in) in a short time, but they will work and protect for a long time there after. In other words, the oil may be broken down to an extent, but it still works.

Maybe the straight weight non-detergent oil of the 40s-50s would need frequent changes, but that's old tech. We also don't need to rebuild our engines near as often as they did in the 40s and 50s either. Our Mazda 626 went 275,000 miles with 5000 mile oil change intervals.

Take it for what it's worth.