Hi all,
I have been a lurker on this forum a while now. I have been trying to decide what ATV I wanted to buy by reading the posts on this forum. Being somewhat of a Honda fanatic. I narrowed it down to that brand so I purchased a new Foreman 4x4 ES yesterday. I will be doing all my own service on it just like I do on my other motorcycles. So being new to the ATV world I am sure I will have other questions down the road. Right now I would like to know what brand and weight of oil do most of you guys use. I have been useing Rotella 5W40 synthetic in my 05 CBR F4i and my 99 Valk I/S. Honda recommends 40 weight oil for them and I was surprised to see that they recommend 30 weight for the Foreman. Thanks for any responce.

 

First off, conventional wisdom is to run dino oil during break-in (like Honda GN4). After that, you can switch to synthetic...which I highly recommend.

I'm not a Rotella fan at all. Of the three different types of synthetics, it has the least desireable chemistry, and while it has a descent additive package, it stll isn't as robust as what you will find in an API SG/JASO MA motorcycle oil.

My preference is one of the ester synthetics, like RedLine, Maxima Extra, Motul, or Klotz. I'm currently running RedLine in everything (just ignore that it is JASO MB...it is fine for a wet clutch). All of these are expensive, so most folks pass them up, even though they are the finest oils on the planet......

Some good reads on oil: http://www.thumperfaq.com/oil.htm


http://www.p1-performance.com/pdf/oildoc.pdf


http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0308_oil/index.html

 

Just for the record, there are three different types of synthetics. Group III like Rotella, Group IV PAO like Mobil 1 and Amsoil, and Group V like the ester synthetics.

Another good read on synthetics: http://www.maximausa.com/techn...enews/LubeNews2002.pdf

 

I think it is safe to say that Reconranger is of the "use the absolute best oils on the market" school of thought (which is fine).

Personally I think with most people's use (occasional) that changing more frequently with a Dino that meets API SG and JASO MA would be fine. 10W-40 is listed in the Foreman manual from 10 f on up, and is what I generally run. My book shows 10W-30 good between 10 f and 90 f, and it's often over 90 in my neck of the woods.

IMHO I think Honda's GN4 is a decent choice in Dino. I've used their HP4 because it's available locally, but for the price I think there are better choices in synthectic (IE Redline).

Anyway, don't use anything with Moly, or PTFE, and change it on schedule with anything that meets API SG and JASO MA and I doubt you will ever have an oil related failure during the time you are likely to own the machine.

That said, when I was doing farm work we had Rotilla T by the barrel full (for big trucks and huge tractors) and the boss had me put that in everything else. The three wheelers got changed once or twice a year, and ran through many many thousands of hours of extreme abuse... Still, I'd run JASO MA in the Foreman...

 

P.S.

You should know that on your Foreman the oil filter element can be installed backwards, and that doing so will block all oil flow to the engine (with predictable results). Honda filters are stamped as to which way they go (open end toward cover).

Anyway, welcome to the forums. Have fun on the Foreman, and be safe.

 

As for what weight to run, see the chart in your owner's manual. Try to pick an oil where the ambient temperature will be in the middle of the range for that particualar oil.

10W40 is a good 3-season oil in most of the country, and 5W30 for winter. If you are where it is cooler, maybe 10W30 for 3 season, and 0W30 for extreme cold.

 

for about 20.00 I get oil and filter from the dealer. It's peace of mind to use exactly what the manufacturer had in mind for your machine and I change twice a year. That's 40.00 a year and I don't have to worry if "brand x" oil is hurting my clutch.

 

Thanks for the responses to my questions. I am a member of the GWRRA, Sportbike, Motorcycle Touring, and Harley-Davidson forums. I would like to say if I had asked those questions on any of those boards. Somebody would have come back with a "not another oil thread question". That did not happen here. I was courious to see if anybody would come back saying they were useing Rotella in their ATV's. It is really catching on around the other places I forums that I hang out on except the Harley forum. I am very **** about how I service my equipment here on the farm including my recreational stuff. I tend to keep my rolling stock a long time. My personal truck is 13 years old and going strong. I don't want to sound like a salesman for Shell but I have seen some independant tests on their Rotella oil and most show that it meets or excedes the requirements of JASO MA spec oils. I will probably use it since it is readly available and I have it on hand for my other equipment. I have to use a 50W in my Harley or I would use it in it also. I will say I was suprised to see that cartrige type filter being used on the Foreman. It looks just like the ones I used on my old CB750,CB650 and CX500 Hondas I have owned in the past. Thanks again for the replys. Looking forward to future interaction.

 

I remember years ago when those Rotella ads came out... A blind study in a fleet of trucks, if I recall correctly, where the drivers didn't know which ones had which oil, and the Rotella trucks had less cam, crank and piston wear when they tore them down.

These days I think Premium Blue or any of the other diesel oils are just as good.

Anyway, I'd be more inclined to run Rotella in the Harley before I'd run it in a machine that shares engine and transmission oils, though I run HD 20W-50 in my twin cam. I doubt it would hurt anything, but personally I'd run Honda's GN4 or similar before I'd run rotella in a quad... but that's just me.

There is a difference in the filter on your Foreman and the ones that came on the earlier Honda road bikes (My first streetbike was a CX500) in that those had a hollow center bolt that went through the filter, and the Foreman's filter is only open on one side- so it does have to be installed with the correct end towards the cover.


Enjoy the Foreman. As long as you do the air filter, oil and oil filter, and the valves reasonably close to schedule, and don't abuse the dog snot out of it, you are likely to get many thousands of miles out of that machine.

You might also make sure that the battery terminals are tight, and hit all the connectors with diaelectric grease if you plan on hitting mud or water much.

 

I'm not one of those UOA junkies (used oil analysis), but the one place Rotella comes up short is when it is used in a transmission. It shears down more quickly than the other synthetics. Remember, in every quad except the Honda 450R, your engine and transmission share the same oil....so your oil is doing double duty! If one insists on running Rotella in a transmission, it will need to be changed frequently!

Whenever I respond to an oil post, I always add lots of links for folks to read. After reading all that, if folks can't figure out what a good oil is, well then more fool them!!! There are a hundred different API SG/JASO MA oils out there to choose from, that all meet the specs of every motorcycle manufacturer. Shouldn't be that big a deal to just pick one.

(A side note. The reason I don't like UOA's much, is that they only tell you what that oil did in that machine on that day. For instance, one guy did a big widely published analysis (for which I provided some of the oil!), and found that they all sheared down quickly.

But, one other finding was that the oils ended up with high levels of lead. So what does that really tell us??? He was running leaded race gas and his rings were shot!!! He was getting an extreme amount of compression blow-by, so fuel was rapidly contaminating the oils and diluting them down. So he went and used this data to bad mouth a bunch of excellent oils....when in fact his experimental design was faulty. Oil needs to be tested under carefully controlled laboratory conditions.

If your rings are just fine, then that all means nothing in your machine....so his UOA data is useless to anyone but him. This is the kind of stuff that everybody forgets!!!)