not the oil ?

[rac]

hi all

new to guzzi's what oil do you all use in the engine please. v11sport.

15/50

10/40

20/50

seems to be a big subject .

mineral or synt?.

thanks rac.

[ponti_33609]

Hi -

 

From what I have read it depends on your year. I have a 2000 and the manual calls for a 20w50. I believe that newer V11's call for a different weight but am sure folks will let you know that.

 

Lot's of discussion on dino and synthetic. I used AMSOIL synthetic because to me, the extra $$ once a year or so is not a big deal for me.

 

I have also read that most DO NOT use synthetic in the gear box or rear drive and some of those that switched seem to have experienced leaky after they changed.

 

Best of Luck,

Bob

[waspp]

Rac,

 

I have been using Mobil 1 15w 40 (gold cap) synthetic but the manual suggests a lighter oil I beleive 5w40. I think i'm going to switch to BMW oil which is a motorcycle specific oil with a weight (10w50) which will be more inline with factory recommendations. Its available close by and my son works there so I get the family discount which helps satisfy my cheap qualities.

 

Hal

[Dan M]

hi all

new to guzzi's what oil do you all use in the engine please. v11sport.

15/50

10/40

20/50

seems to be a big subject .

mineral or synt?.

thanks rac.

 

Welcome Rac.

Ah, the oil thread. You'll leave more confused than when you started. The V11 is a pretty solid lump and will run nearly forever so long as the oil is full and somewhat clean. Any decent quality oil is fine. I personally run Golden Spectro synthetic blend 20w50. It is a motorcycle specific oil, but that is more important in bikes with wet clutches and lubricate the trans with motor oil. Not so important with the Guzzi. Like I said, full & clean is the most important thing. If you are in warm or hot weather go for the heavier viscosity.

As for the trans, that's a completely different story. Many here including myself have improved transmission operation with Redline Heavy synthetic gear lube.

Just my humble opinion.

[tmcafe]

Welcome Rac.

Ah, the oil thread. You'll leave more confused than when you started. The V11 is a pretty solid lump and will run nearly forever so long as the oil is full and somewhat clean. Any decent quality oil is fine. I personally run Golden Spectro synthetic blend 20w50. It is a motorcycle specific oil, but that is more important in bikes with wet clutches and lubricate the trans with motor oil. Not so important with the Guzzi. Like I said, full & clean is the most important thing. If you are in warm or hot weather go for the heavier viscosity.

As for the trans, that's a completely different story. Many here including myself have improved transmission operation with Redline Heavy synthetic gear lube.

Just my humble opinion.

No expertise here, just did a lot of homework as a newbie. There's plenty of info on this site as well as others (you may even check "bob is the oil guy" forum). As far as the factory recommendation, I understand it is most likely a convenient reprint from the manual for the Californias with PI engine (hydraulic valves), which do require 5W40. Greg at MI suspects they did just a copy an paste job since they didn't even change headers. Ryland also suspects heavier oil may build pressure faster (see previous posts). For now since it's nearly winter, I decided to use a cheap Valvo for motorcycles 10W40. Later I may switch to Rotella 15W40 which has a very good track record, and it's cheap easy to find--got mine at Wally's, and/or 20W50 synthetic.

[Skeeve]

Rotella T Synth diesel oil. When I could find it at the Mart of Walls, it was about $20/gallon; was just there last weekend & the local Wally's was sold out. I'll start checking more diligently as I get closer to my next oil change.

 

On older air-cooled bikes, the plain jane Rotella 15-40 works dandy, but my water-cooled SuziQ calls for 10-40; the Rotella Synth is rated at 5-40, so I use that. Diesel oils still have all the zinc & phosphorus that they've taken out of the SJ & onwards rated car oils.

 

Also, according to Pete Roper [who's opinion in these matters I hold in very high regard!], no "friction modified" oil should be used in an air-cooled mill like our Guzzis. This is easy to spot on any U.S. oil can as the API rating is a bulls-eye kind of logo w/ the oil's nominal "wt." in the center dot, w/ an upper & lower rocker surrounding the dot. Look at (o) and imagine it rotated 90 degrees for an idea. The "friction modified" will appear in the lower rocker. Don't put any oil w/ that info in a motorcycle w/ wet clutch or air-cooled motor, unless you prefer wrenching to riding.

 

Ride on!

[rac]

hi

in the end choose 20 /50 ,castrol gp mineral . engine seem quieter untill hot . will change every 2500 miles ,filter every other one .