Which motor oil do you suggest?

[n30r3l0ad3d]

I love oil threads. While there are many good oils out there, I won't TELL you what oil is better. I won't link to you all these stats, ratings, and viscosity levels etc.. Instead, what I WILL tell you is when I do go to change my oil, I will run a K&N oil filter with Mobile 1 Racing 4T in a 10w40.

 

[StratTuner]

K&N Oil filter + Rotella T6

I like the K&N oil filters... I'm planning on using those from now on. Good product.

 

[2wheelcager]

For the last time on here: 10w40 IS approved by Honda. It is in the service manual and almost every dealer in the country uses bulk 10w40 in all their bikes. Honda made a switch to recommending 10w30 for economy purposes a few years ago. If you use 10w30 that's great, but don't go to a full 8k for an oil change or your oil will have the viscosity of water in the end. Rotella T6 is the highest quality-affordable-easily attainable oil to get. Try finding JASO approved 10w30 anywhere other than a bike shop that will charge an arm and a leg for lesser quality than T6.

 

[RyC]

Honda put in a Fully Synthetic 10w50 4T Racing oil at my 1000 km service.

 

[Beemerphile]

Honda put in a Fully Synthetic 10w50 4T Racing oil at my 1000 km service.

Shame on them. That oil weight is not recommended for the NC. Only 10W-30 and 10W-40. I would make them drain and refill it.

 

[Beemerphile]

For the last time on here: 10w40 IS approved by Honda. It is in the service manual and almost every dealer in the country uses bulk 10w40 in all their bikes. Honda made a switch to recommending 10w30 for economy purposes a few years ago. If you use 10w30 that's great, but don't go to a full 8k for an oil change or your oil will have the viscosity of water in the end. Rotella T6 is blah, blah, blah.

For the last time on here: The Honda recommended oil weight will go the Honda recommended oil change interval without becoming water.

I now return you to your Rotella T6 commercial already in progress.

 

[davidc83]

For the last time on here: 10w40 IS approved by Honda. It is in the service manual and almost every dealer in the country uses bulk 10w40 in all their bikes. Honda made a switch to recommending 10w30 for economy purposes a few years ago. If you use 10w30 that's great, but don't go to a full 8k for an oil change or your oil will have the viscosity of water in the end. Rotella T6 is the highest quality-affordable-easily attainable oil to get. Try finding JASO approved 10w30 anywhere other than a bike shop that will charge an arm and a leg for lesser quality than T6.

What page in the service manual? My Honda service manual only lists 10w30, no mention of 10w40.
By the way, I am not a fan of synthetic (old dino man) and I used Valvoline Gold 10w30. I use Rotella T 15w40 in all my other vehicles (tractors, truck, car, jeep) and motorcycles.

 

[Beemerphile]

What page in the service manual? My Honda service manual only lists 10w30, no mention of 10w40.
By the way, I am not a fan of synthetic (old dino man) and I used Valvoline Gold 10w30. I use Rotella T 15w40 in all my other vehicles (tractors, truck, car, jeep) and motorcycles.

You must be thinking of the Owners Manual. For that you are correct. 10W-40 is given as an alternate in the factory NC700 Service Manual.

 

[670cc]

I am with you. Honda is not perfect and they've made mistakes but they are not going to suggest change intervals that jeopardize the reputation they have for long lived engines. In the V4 motors they have enough faith in the 8000 mile interval to warranty the bike for 3 years and unlimited miles. It's nothing for these bikes to roll up 200 or 300,000 miles and there are some over 400,000 miles now. They share oil with the engine and transmission. Everyone is an expert on the Internet including Honda's engineers. And not all synthetics shear down like mineral oil based motor oils.

I want to add that the Honda GL1800 also calls for 8000 miles oil change intervals. I think we all know there are a good many high mileage Goldwings on the road, and if some, if not most, are following Honda's maintenance schedule, that's pretty good proof that the engines are not being destroyed by supposedly sheared down oil.

Greg

 

[RyC]

Shame on them. That oil weight is not recommended for the NC. Only 10W-30 and 10W-40. I would make them drain and refill it.

Living in South Africa temperatures in winter can vary from low below 0 (degrees C) to low 30 (degrees C). Summer temperatures are much higher. Currently I ca start my day at -2 degrees C and within 3 hours be in a place where it is 32 degrees C.

Would this have tempted them to use this oil?

Seeing as I have saved the invoice if I do have problems I can point the finger at them...I have bought exactly the same oil and will use this to top up (if ever necessary).

On a previous bike I used a 10w40 Semi Synthetic with little side affects (they also recommended 10w30). Difference is I changed the oil myself and more frequently. With the NC I tend to make it the dealers problem, at least until the warranty is over.

 

[StratTuner]

For the last time on here: The Honda recommended oil weight will go the Honda recommended oil change interval without becoming water.

I now return you to your Rotella T6 commercial already in progress.

didn't mean to make that a Rotella commercial. I like the Mobile 1 46 Racig MC Oil as well.

 

[Beemerphile]

Living in South Africa temperatures in winter can vary from low below 0 (degrees C) to low 30 (degrees C). Summer temperatures are much higher. Currently I ca start my day at -2 degrees C and within 3 hours be in a place where it is 32 degrees C.

Would this have tempted them to use this oil?

The factory service manual shows both 10W-30 and 10W-40 as good from -10C to past 45C. 10W-50 is not shown. I see no reason to believe that a local dealer has better knowledge than the designer/manufacturer. It is not likely that it will outright fail inside the warranty period from the use of 10W-50 weight oil. However, start-up oiling will not be as good (especially at lower temperatures) which could lead to shorter engine life becoming apparent only after the warranty has expired. Further, fuel economy and power will be less because of higher pumping losses. I just see no reason to do it - warranty or otherwise. My dealer over-tightened the drive chain (a warranty replacement) which would have caused damage within the warranty period. I could have just let it damage the countershaft bearing and make him repair it, but why would I ?

 

[Johnny D]

In case anybody needs to know, the Manual calls for 3.6 US Quarts of oil. But my first oil change, I drained out almost exactly a gallon. So I put in exactly a gallon. Much simpler that way.

 

[StratTuner]

In case anybody needs to know, the Manual calls for 3.6 US Quarts of oil. But my first oil change, I drained out almost exactly a gallon. So I put in exactly a gallon. Much simpler that way.

I put in a gallon as well just because ... it accepted it. Some on the boards cautioned against this.
I noted no ill effects from this.
It seems like .3 of a US gallon isn't that much oil... (that's how much you over-fill if you put in 1 US gallon).

I am no mechanic and speak with NO authority at all... just annecdotal experience.

 

[NCer]

It's funny! On every motorcycle forum, the oil thread is the longest

 

[showkey]

In case anybody needs to know, the Manual calls for 3.6 US Quarts of oil. But my first oil change, I drained out almost exactly a gallon. So I put in exactly a gallon. Much simpler that way.

I put in a gallon as well just because ... it accepted it. Some on the boards cautioned against this.
I noted no ill effects from this.
It seems like .3 of a US gallon isn't that much oil... (that's how much you over-fill if you put in 1 US gallon).

I am no mechanic and speak with NO authority at all... just annecdotal experience.

This gets us back to this thread where the overfill the topic of the day:


http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-technical/3178-overfilled-oil-help.html

Maybe the right amount of oil and check it with the dip stick is the best choice........

The next thing you guys ( overfillers) will ask is "why is there oil in my air filter box"?

For the record. .4 qt is 12.8 oz overfilled or 11% overfilled. Maybe not a big deal but ........

 

[StratTuner]

This gets us back to this thread where the overfill the topic of the day:


http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-technical/3178-overfilled-oil-help.html

Maybe the right amount of oil and check it with the dip stick is the best choice........

The next thing you guys ( overfillers) will ask is "why is there oil in my air filter box"?

For the record. .4 qt is 12.8 oz overfilled or 11% overfilled. Maybe not a big deal but ........

I've never even seen the air filter. Is there a way to inspect it?

 

[Beemerphile]

The number of people who are smarter than the product designers grows daily. There is a working range around just about any number in a specification. The recommended value is almost always determined by a process of testing supported by the deep product knowledge that comes from having built it. They did not just slap a bunch of numbers onto a piece of paper. To walk up and take a wild guess that beats them is unlikely - be ye mechanic, engineer, or pastry chef.

There is a working range around the oil fill specification. If you go too high you could splash the crankshaft in oil or push oil out the seals or flow oil through the crankcase ventilation system. Too low and you could starve the engine for lubrication. But who is to say whether that point is reached at 8, 12, 16, 0r 24 ounces from the specified fill? No-one on this board yet knows. Some "think" 12 ounces is fine.

My question is why would you intentionally over-fill? Just because the machine does not immediately blow up does not mean that you may not be causing a longer term undesirable outcome. These machines are durable enough to withstand abuse for a long time just as a human can smoke cigarettes for 30 or 40 years. Why would you assume that the product engineer did not put thought into his job and do it correctly? The Honda team is composed of extremely talented engineers and designers who work in an environment that requires excellence. It devalues their hard work to ignore their guidance, and it does so at best with no harm to your machine. There is nearly no possibility that you will come to a better conclusion.

Whether a fill point, a torque spec, or a lubricant specification, it is most likely that what they recommend is best for your engine. They are not perfect and the opportunity is there for them to make mistakes. Over time, these will be found and documented. Until then, well, do what you want.

 

[Craigmri]

Not trying to be annoying or condescending but I assume you mean .3 of a quart? Still, why put in more than the recommended amount?

I put in a gallon as well just because ... it accepted it. Some on the boards cautioned against this.
I noted no ill effects from this.
It seems like .3 of a US gallon isn't that much oil... (that's how much you over-fill if you put in 1 US gallon).

I am no mechanic and speak with NO authority at all... just annecdotal experience.

 

[Chris]

Usually when deciding the oil level they make some theoretical calculations based on the design of the engine, then they run the engines on a test rig for the equivalent of tens of thousands of miles. Then they strip them down and measure them. They're pretty good at getting it right that way.

I remember one case a bit over ten years ago when a vehicle manufacturer decided, by looking at the designs, that they could save about a litre of oil per engine with no impact on the engine's longevity. They skipped the bench tests and just changed the dip stick to read full with less oil in the sump.

After selling about 10,000 of these very large and expensive vehicles they started getting complaints of engine failure, first from Germany then from elsewhere. In practice, driving at high speed the oil pick up just wasn't able to maintain the flow of oil and the engines burnt out.

Overfilling the oil might well do nothing, it might just cause higher fuel consumption or you might just cross the threshold and trigger some serious damage. Unless you've got some sound reasons for ignoring the manufacturer's advice I'd tend to stick to it - or you might do some expensive, out of warranty damage.