Hi, this is my first time, very nice web site with lots of good info. There is one thing that I would like to know! I have just bought a 2000 Road Star; the guy I got it from did not have any of the owner manuals. He did tell me about how to change the oil and the filling process. Also I read some of the threads on oil changes and the levels. What I would like to know from readers is what type of oil that would be the best and the weight for the summers in the south. He said that he has Harley Davidson 20W50 in it now and would change it to 60 wt. for the summer. Any help Please. Time for oil change. Trail Boss.

Welcome to the Clinic TB!

And thanks for the kudo's on the site. I will pass that on to the others on the staff here.

20-50 is a good weight, if you go to 60, be sure you are getting multi grade. I am not sure it can be had in 60 weight, but the 20 end of the equation reduces friction when cold.

The important thing to do is not to use Automotive oil. We have wet clutches in these bikes that are lubricated by the engine oil. Normal (nearly ALL) autmotive oil has "friction modifiers" in it that will cause your clutch to slip.

Be sure you are getting straight oil, no friction modifiers. If you want to be sure, get motorcycle oil as most will not have this type of additive. Want to be double sure, look on the bottle real closely and ask the guy at the parts house.

If you want to send me your email address via our personal message system, when I get home I can see if I still have a pdf (adobe) copy of the service manual. Its a huge file to send via email, but would be good for you to have.

BTW... Might want to consider the synthetics. There are some real good ones out there.

GRAM

Thanks alot, this is the kind of info that makes this a great web site.
I have heard a lot of good things about Mobile 1 oils and the Amsoils.
What would be the best !!!!
How does synthetics oil work with wet clutches. I'm not up on the site yet to find the personal email message system, but give me time I will find it. Just a note you can get to some owner manuals on Yamaha Web site, you just can't print or down load it with out buying it. Thanks Trail Boss

Under the main "home" page of this website, under the main menu on the left, is an option for personal messages. If you go into that menu item, it will let you search through our user database to find the person you want to send a note to.

Although lots of folks are using Mobile one, I have personally reserved judgement on it. There have been rumors of changes to the formulation recently, although they are un substantiated as of right now. I do know of three folks who used it who ended up chnaging their clutches out for slippage problems, but each of them had done performance enhancements that could have caused the problems.

Haven't heard anything negative about Amsoil, Royal Purple, or Yamaha's synthetics.

GRAM

just a question concerning oils
i have jsut switched to mobil 1 (gold cap 15 w 50)
no problems after 120 miles so far
couldnt find anything on the bottle about friction modfiers
so i chanced it...
what word do you have concerning this????
warthog

I don't know a lot about Mobil one WH. Is the gold cap the new motorcycle oil? Most folks I knew that were using it were using the red cap.

You might be able to enlighten us

GRAM

Mobill Red Cap is what everyone uses. The other colours have friction modifiers in them and are unsuitable for the R*.

Unfortunately, depending on where you live, the Red Cap may not be available as it has been replaced by the Gold Cap. I am still able to buy the Red Cap (have 6 4-L jugs in my garage ); I cannot buy Gold Cap in my area. I have read posts on the R* Forum that seem to indicate that the API label on the bottle does not specify that it contains friction modifiers.

Just to note that Mobile changed the label on the Red Cap recently. I can't remember what the new label says but when I saw it the 'new' wording made me believe that they added friciton modifiers to it. However, the API label is the same.

Doc

Trail boss Im using 20w50 Valvoline V-twin oil. Whatever you use make sure it has no friction modifiers in it. I personally like both synthetic and dino based oils so pick what you like. I do pay attention to the oil filter quality a little more closely on my bike then most. Im using dino based oil now because in my area the local auto zone carries it.

Boy I am really confused. Thanks for all the info. Not sure what is available around our town. So, it is Mobile one in the red cap or just no friction modifiers. Does synthetics have friction modifiers. Trail Boss

Hey Trail Boss.
I just gotta chime in on this one. Our bikes were meant to use 20/40 oil, so you probably want to stay near that range. I'm thinking that 60-weight is probably a little over the top. Many Roadie owners I know, myself included, have had great success with Shell Rotella/T 5W/40 synthetic, available at Wal Mart for $13.00/gallon. Others swear by Mobil 1 red cap (gold cap now???) There is no proof that the outrageously expensive motorcycle-specific oils are any better than automotive oils, as long as they do not contain friction modifiers. There is a little circular code on the back of every bottle of oil that indicates whether or not the particular oil contains these modifiers. For a thorough examination of the oil issue, check out this article; http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Consumables.html#Oil
Happy trails,
Goose

P.S.

Here's another good article about oil; http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html<br><br>Post edited by: Goose, at: 2005/06/22 18:07