I think that would be a good choice.

Honda's HP4 synthetic originally contained moly, which is probably where that came from. Many other synthetics are rated MA, indicating they have been certified to work properly with wet clutches.

I run Redline 75W90 in mine, and it has worked fine. Warranty requirement for the AAM axles in my truck requires 15k changes with full synthetic GL5. Hypoid systems are harder on oil than a lot of people think, and fail relatively quickly when film strength is inadequate.

I was chatting with a guy who put high end synthetic in a truck, that was driven very little. At 1 year it only had a couple thousand miles and he thought it could stay in longer, but when he sent the oil in to Blackstone it came back with a low base number- the oil's ability to counter corrosive acids that build up in a crankcase had degraded with time, not miles. It also had an unacceptable moisture content.

Annual oil changes for something run infrequently is the outer limit of how long you would want to leave any oil in, IMHO. No matter how good the oil is, contamination from blow-by and condensation need to be removed.

I also subscribe to the ride it hard, and very early oil change for break-in. I suspect, though, that once you get that oil out of there and start servicing the machine regularly, that it will live a long life. Don't forget the valve adjustment/clutch adjustment.

I usually agree with Reconranger, and although the above is true, I don't think the average ATV buyer pays any attention to service requirements before making a purchase. The king quad, for example, has shim and bucket valves, and I'd bet I'm in less than 1% of buyers who would consider what a pain in the rear those can be in deciding what to ride.

Also, I bet if an owner followed Honda's schedule to the T with fluids that meet their requirements, the machine would run many many thousands of hours, and never have an oil related failure. I've seen many atv's do just that.

The problem I think is as machines get older people seem to care about them less. They skip axle fluid changes, do oil changes late if at all, and stuff like that. In an older machine, ring seal is likely to be less perfect, letting more combustion gasses into the crankcase, so in a way it needs timely oil changes more than a newer machine. JMHO.

There is little to loose, though, in doing service a bit more frequently if you choose.

 

I get my Redline here, simply because it is close and the shipping is less expensive. They use to pick up the shipping if you bought a case, but I don't think so anymore. Remember that you want the motorcycle oil in the BLACK bottle:

247-Parts.com - Import Auto Parts For Racer Entusiasts

If I am looking for Maxima and can't find it locally, I get it here:

Maxima Lubricants: Onoffroad-ON OffRoad

 

Jet engines get filled with polyol ester synthetic at the factory....and that oil can remain in there for the life of the engine! They do have to replenish the addtive package, but the oil itself never actually wears out. There would not be a "jet age", without lubricants like these!!!

I think that it is generally true that most folks neglect maintenance. I have lots of friends who don't change their oil more than once a year. So....all the more reason to run a high quality synthetic!!! Even my quads that don't see much riding these days (like the kids old 90, which is now just a "guest" quad for folks with kids who camp with us), still get an oil change for both the hot (10W40) and cold (10W30) riding seasons.

 

Yeah, I think in ATV applications oil changes are dictated more by contamination than anything else. They are likely to do short run cold start cycles, which really builds up moisture and assorted hydrocarbons in the crankcase.

I've had really good service getting redline at synlubes.com.

 

This one right??? >>>> Red Line Oil: Motor Oil

 

Though rated MB, it is supposed to work for applications that require JASO MA but uses different friction modifiers.

I'm a little hesitant to try it in my Rincon, though, since it isn't rated MA...

 

Yes!

Also, if you have a 450R or 2-stroke where the transmission oil is seperated from the engine, Redline's 80W Motorcycle Gear Oil with ShockProof is totally bizarre stuff for your transmission! It contains microscopic particles (it looks like paint!), that cushion the gears and actually give you the lubrication of a grease on the gear surface....yet it has the fluid drag of a light weight oil.

Red Line Oil: Gear Lubricants

 

When Redline MC oil first came out, I went round and round with their tech service trying to figure out how a JASO MB oil could also be wet clutch safe. (I am a chemist, so I can talk tech a lot better than the average person...so I think they thought I was an industrial spy or something!) After a lot of discussion, they finally revealed that the oil contains a whole new generation of proprietary organic wet clutch safe friction modifiers. A lot of people refer to this as "organic moly" (real molebdenum disulfide is inorganic). Nobody else has these particular ones, at least until they license them from Redline, or reverse engineer them to get past Redline's patents!

The thing is, JASO has no category to rate these new friction modifiers, so Redline has to call it "MB". There may very well be a new category like "JASO MC" or something, to account for these in the future. Maxima Ultra and 530MX, also contain wet clutch safe organic friction modifiers. Other brands may as well, that I am not aware of.

This is the high tech future of performance oil. The best of both worlds, reduced friction AND the ultimate in protecion. Get some extra torque and horsepower....from a bottle!!! What could be more simple...duh? Go with the technology, or get left behind in the stone age....

Just for the record, inorganic molebdenum disulfide is excellent stuff for your engine! It is just that it is to slick for the wet clutch of your integrated transmission to handle. On the engine side of your 450R however, moly makes all the sense in the world!!!

 

There are always so many opinions on oil. After reading several post on here and other forums I went out and bought the Shell Rotella T synthetic mainly because it was easy to find, right at Walmart, and relatively inexpensive, for a synthetic. After buying it I had second thoughts and posted a specific question on the Honda Foreman site and got several do not use replies so I took it back. I then crossed the border into Canada just so I could get Amsoil 0w-40 4 stroke stuff as no one local sold Amsoil. It was expensive at $13 a quart. After coming back to the US side I went to the Walmart there and they had Mobil 1 Racing synthetic for $8.77 quart, wish I would have known I probably would have gone with that instead but I'm not making another trip across the border to return the Amsoil, I'll use that, seems to get decent reviews. I too am hoping for better cold starts as I use my wheeler alot for ice fishing.

 

AMSOIL Formula 4-Stroke 0W-40 Synthetic Motor Oil

If you look at the "cSt @ 40 degrees C" numbers I quoted above, you will see that a really great very cold weather oil will be down in the range around 50 cSt. Looking on Amsoil's web site, their 0W40 gets 83.7 cSt, which is way to high for extremely cold weather!!! Don't get sucked in by the "0", it's the "40" that counts more here!

I have problems with all the oils you mentioned! Rotella has been reformulated, and gotten a downgrade in the additive package...plus it is Group III which is the least desireable of the three different synthetics.

Mobil 1 now seems to be Group III rather than PAO, so that is a downgrade there. It will have a descent additive package if it is the motorcycle oil, so that at least makes it better than Rotella.

Amsoil is pure PAO. The trouble with both Group III and PAO is that in a bearing they need to get spinning before it will create a lubrication layer. If they fortified it with some ester, it would help that situation....but I doubt Amsoil would ever do that, because that would be like admiting that PAO isn't the ultimate, and that would go against all their advertising BS.

I would look for some Maxima Extra from mailorder somewhere....and 530MX for winter.