I run 20w-50 in my 06 R*.
Amsoil & Mobil 1 v-twin both syn oils in 20-50 grade are some of the best oils for your R* that can be run in fairly cool temps esp in this case of these syn oil's having better flow at lower temps then conventioanl oil of same visc does . For example,Castrol say's their syn blend 20w-50 is ok to run down to 20 deg F,not that i would run 20-50 in 20 deg f in my bike,maybe 40 deg f, but thats as low a temp i'd go with 20-50 for me.
Our lrg 1700 air cooled v-twins run considerably hotter then most bikes,esp in traffic and thats where the additional zinc & phos/zddp in the bike oil vs std pass car oil really helps out R* out.
And thats not to mention the visc improvers most all pass car oils have in them today inc higher visc oils like 15-40/15-50/& even some 20-50 toowhich i verified with mulyt oil mfg's.
Latest pass car/deisel oils i verifed with mfg as having visc improvers in them not good for our wet clutches in R* was mobil 1 15w-50 hi perf syn oil & chevrons delo 15w-40 . But on the good end they both had an adequate 1300ppm zddp lvl required to better protect the lrg air cooled 1700 v-twin R* motor from excessive heat & the FT cam/lifters too. So other then the fric mods in the chevron delo 15-40 conventional oil & mobil hi perf 15-50 syn oil they are both actually decent affordable oils to protect our R* motors but not the clutch.
FYI,shells rotella 15w-40 conven oil also has fric mods and a slightly lower zddp lvl for less protection from heat and also less wear prtection for flat tappet cams/lfiters on our R*'s then chevron's delo & mobil 1 oils mentioned directly above so
id run one of those oils vs the rotella if you want to run pass car/truck oils vs bike specific oil .
And remember all bike mfgs inc
yami state to not run friction modofiers/improvers in bikes with wet clutches for a good reason,that's because visc imp can in some cases(not all)lead to clutch slippage/premature failure,period.
Now before all you guys running pass car/truck oil jump in saying i ran it for x amount miles/yrs no problem i am not saying it means anyone/everyone running pass car/truck oil with visc imp will have clutch slipping anytime soon,in a yr. Or maybe never slip in some cases with stripped bike,no windscreen,never riding 2 up,no perf mods to increase power,not riding in hilly areas, not loading the motor/clutch as much as other cases but i would have to say most R* bikes & riders dont meet that lighter load on clutch criteria which is why we see more plemty of clutch slipping issues along with i would bet running oils with fric mods adding to that clutch slipping in some case,not all.
What it does mean when when i say running pass car/truck oil with fric mod's possibly beeing an issue is for example. If you ride 2 up a lot(esp overwight people),have bikes bags loaded ,ride in a lot of mountains/hilly areas,use a wind screen esp in higher position for even more drag,hold clutch handle in at all stop lights keeping clutch spring compressed for mins at each stoplight which collectively over time/miles prematurely weakens clutch spring vs popping bike into neutral at eash light as to not over compress clutch spring premateurly weaking it,get clutch enguaged quickly comming off a stop with least amount of engine
rpm & slipping while enguaging clutch to reduce clutch plate wear, and also maybe even riding agressively using more throttle them most people and or have mult mods to increase power & trq some like aftermarket pipes/air cleaner kit/jeted the
carb/
dyna 300
ign/ported intake can all collectively put your bikes motor/clutch in the situation of being more loaded with a lot of aditional wieght,some additonal drag,little more pwr & trq too.
Now thats the situation where the friction mods in a pass car oil could maybe get the clutch slipping before it normally would if not running an oil with friction mods in it like most if not all bike mfg's world wide rec not using in wet clutch systems likein our R*'sfor a good reason. So no need to jump is saying its not so,it is the case and thats why most if not all bike mfg's in the world clearly state in black & white not to run oil with friction modifiers in bikes with wet clutches.
So for me i feel its simply to error on the safe safe side of the whole issues & run an oil (am running mobil 1 v-twin 20-50) better suited/specifically mfg'd for bikes with the proper zddp lvl to better protect the motor (esp from excessive heat being a lrg air cooled v-twin and also better protect the FT cams/lifters) and also with no friction mods to hopefully get more miles out of the clutch before it begins to slip even though the R* is kown for heaving a somewhat weak design clutch spring setup .
What will be a good test for my R*'s clutch running bike oil with no fric mod's is i rid 2 up all the time here in northeast in a lot of mountains with bikes bags (6 total 4 lrg/2smaller))fully loaded most of the time,have a set of road burner pips & jetted carb,dyna 300 ign,i somtimes ride agressivly but not all the time.
So it will be interesing to see if i too get clutch slippage when my bike hits the 20-25-30-40k+ mile mark's that are some of the mileages i read here in RSC that that stock R* clutches start slipping & wonder if that will be the case with my 06 1700 silverado i bought 10/09 running oil with no fric mod'sin it. One thing is i dont know if my bike ever had pass car oil in it with friction mods prior to me buying it but who knows on that one./LOL!!!!!!!
Again,that's just my $.02 & Yamahas rec for no fric mod's in oil due to wet clutch & am just trying to help passing info along. (i know -PHEW!!!!/too long/LOL!!!!)
Scott
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