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Old January 17th, 2011, 06:41 PM   #109
gfloyd2002
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Name: Floyd
Location: Barbados
Join Date: Dec 2010

Motorcycle(s): '10 Ninja 250R Special Edition Green

Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 13
MOTM - Feb '12
I agree pretty much. Once I move to synthetic, that is what I'll run. 40wt for the first oil with the bike also makes sense, because you change it out before it has time to break down too much. So I'm totally with you in general.

The interesting question is what to do with the first oil change in a hot weather climate, when the manual calls for 3400 miles before the next change? Non-synthetic 40wt (except for the heavy duty diesel oils) breaks down quickly due to its very high VI values, and it loses its effectiveness in hot weather. The Lawrence article below talks about the chemistry of this. Using the recommend 3400 mile service interval in the manual, a conventional 10w40 could well be unfit for weather above the low 80s before the next oil change.

So I think a 20/50 is a fine choice under the limited circumstance of biding time for a full synthetic, especially when its the only motorcycle oil available locally. The service manual does say that 20/50 is fine for the weather I'm in, so I'm not concerned about that. That said, I concede that since I'm likely going to change to synthetic in another 5 or 600 miles anyway, it wouldn't have mattered if I ran the 40 because it would have no time to break down. Or even better, I could have gone with the local Rotella conventional heavy duty deisel oil. Oh, well.
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