title says it all any suggestions???? I have my 04 midnight just about ready to fire, went to walmart to get 5 gal of mobile one 20w50 and they didn't have any. I already have the filter and 14.00 on a walmart gift card and was hoping to use that and the few bucks i have. i can get the 5 gallon jug of mobile 1 just not sure what weight is okay to go with....

Jees dude you the bike only holds 1 gallon. Castrol and valvoline are make motorcycle oil now did Wally world have any of those.

I ment 5 quart lol

and no they didn't have any 20w50

I know what it's like to be broke. Here's what I used for several years in my Yamaha XS650/big bored to a 750cc- RotellaT 15W40 Diesel oil. You can get it at Wal-Mart and it's quite reasonable. Since the EPA has limited the zinc content in motor oils (it protects metal-to-metal contact surfaces in engines with mechanical lifters)the Rotella is one of the few oils with a relatively high content of zinc. The zinc and phosphorous raise havoc with catalytic converters in newer cars. It's still allowed in oils for diesel engines and motorcycle oils, for instance, but being gradually phased out in all oils. I supplemented my Rotella with about 20% STP oil treatment in the blue bottle, which is a ZDDP rich compound. I never had any problems with the Rotella/STP mix, and I'm still learning about the oil requirements of my Road*, so I haven't used it in it yet. I have a feeling I will eventually switch to a mix of the RotellaT, STP and some synthetic for the Roadie too. I change my oil frequently, along with the filter too, which is more important IMO than buying fancy $7.00/qt. oil and leaving it in for all season or tens of thousands of miles. If you have any clutch slippage with the STP, just use less of it.
Hope this helps,
OBMF

EDIT: I just re-read my post, and realized I should have said, "Up to a maximum of 20%" I actually used a lower concentration of the STP in my 30 yr.-old Yamaha XS650- it was happy with a little less than half a bottle of the STP for two qts. oil. Sorry for the confusion....

first, you only need 4qts, don't worry about the extra .3. been using 4qts for 110k miles and never an issue. of course synthetic will cost more, but you can go 5, 6k on changes. I just went with the rotella syn, 20 bucks at walmart for 4gts, or use the rotella non-syn. I also use just auto oil, only once I used v-twin mobil 1, and that was because they did not have the auto in stock. as long as the API cirlce does not have energy conserving on the bottom, good to go. I would never add any additives as the other poster mentioned, especially when he says to use less if there is slippage, and if there is, there goes all that oil wasted to start again, so why even take a chance?? And he hasn't tried it in the bike yet, sorry OBMF, but be my guest, be the pioneer if ya want.

Dino seems to be what wet clutch manufactures are recommending these days. The synthetics are slipping and wearing clutch plates premature or impregnating to much. I know we like some of the synthetics characteristics but hate that clutch slipping. Sometimes things become more of a fad or designer statement or just a way to get more from us. I still hold on a side note the bolts from factory are stretching adding to the slippage.

The oile debate continues....
Note: I'm getting ready to change my oil and haven't purchase any or for that matter, looked at the manual for the recommended types.
For what it is worth, I ride a two-stroke YZ250 and I hammer this puppy hard. I change the oil (gear box) every 4-6 hours. I use the absolute cheapest ATF type F oil I can find. Yeah that's right, ATF type F! I was imformed by a respected motor builder that I would get smoother shifting and less clutch wear. The trick was frequent changes which IS recommended by all offroad bike manufacturers. I couldn't see spending $7.00/qt to change my oil after 4-6 hours of riding so I instead spend $1.39/qt.
Basically, here is my point. Brand name oil is not necessarily better but is usually more expensive. Many of the gear heads that I know are all using Rotella. They recommend the Rotella non-synthetic when you are going to change at 3K miles and synthetic when you want 6-8K between changes.
I use Rotella in my deisel tractor and bulldozer and I buy it from a farm supply for a abit cheaper than auto supply houses and Walmart. I usually have a empty quart bottle around for convenient measuring so buying by the 5 gallon container saves you money.
The next biggest debate is on filters. I cannot offer any particularly good or bad experiences with filters but some swear off FRAM and recommend Puralator or Wix.
As for the brand of oil YOU choose, if it meets the spec., is available conveniently, AND you don't mind the price you pay, use it. Following the manufactures recommendations for quantity, type, and frequency of change is the best overall way to protect the engine. Yamaha produces a good engines across their entire line and the failure rate isn't high and is usually attributed to extreme riding. Most riders never push their bikes to the limit except for an occasional HOT run. I hope that the oil that I choose will maintain smooth shifting for that is what I'm acustomed to.
Brian

I didn't take any offense, believe me. Just offering up what has worked and worked well and economically for me in my old broad. The Rotella is good oil all by itself. The STP just adds a higher concentration of ZDDP. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence suggesting that the reduced levels of ZDDP in newer formulations of motor oil is deadly to our old motorcycle and hot-rod engines. Two cylinder motorcycle engines work hard and run hot. Whatever you choose for your bike is your choice. And nothing stimulates discussion on mc sites more than oil choice (unless it's politics or religion) My comment about clutch slippage probably has more relevance to the 30 yr. old clutches on the 650's which are very sensitive to proper adjustment and may have weakened clutch springs. STP oil treatment is just more of what the older oils had in them.
OBMF

Here's a bit from 650Central.com, from motorcycle riders/racers who know far more about air-cooled engines than I do about Diesel oil in bikes:
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ENGINE OIL

I am not selling oil here, but I do have a recommendation. I use 15-40 diesel oil in my bikes. Here's why: It has the high-load package, that Detroit had removed from the SH & SJ-rated oils, for fear of long long-term catalytic convertor damage. This is important for lubricating the transmission and air-cooled camshafts. It is Allison C4 rated, suitable for wet clutches, instead of having the friction modifiers Detroit insisted on to up the corporate gas mileage numbers. This is important to our XSs, since the poor exhaust ports and flywheels in the oil raise the oil temperatures. Many XS1s lost engines due to unnoticed slipping clutches that heated the oil and broke it down, causing engine failures
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And here's a link to Mobil Oil's official notes on the subject of ZDDP in their oil formulations:
https://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Car_Care/AskMobil/ZDDP_Collection.aspx

OBMF wrote:
I didn't take any offense, believe me. Just offering up what has worked and worked well and economically for me in my old broad.

Good you didn't take offense, was not meant to be any disrespect. I do know all to well about being broke as well, losing my home due to this economy. I was only referencing what you said about not having tried it in the Roadie, just don't want him to start trying something only to find that he wasted 15, 20 bucks of oil, and now it turns to a 40 buck oil change. His best bet is to use something that others have used with no issues. And yes, a weak link is the clutch spring plate, more so when you start to do up-grades and get more power from this machine. when I added the 42hsr carb, I slipped in all gears, with all my mods, went from 52hp to 69.7 and tq of 88 to 99. went with a suggested mod by a 30yr yamaha tech, using a Virago1100 plate piggy back over the stock plate, 60k miles on this set-up and still stock clutch everything else. yes, went with rotella due to info about the zinc, and also having a much much colder winter here than normal, so wanted to try the 40w, usually I use to 50w because of the heat here, wish the rotella came in 50w, all in all, only saved about 6, 7 bucks comapared to the Mobil 1 15/50 auto syn.