Amsoil 10w40 will work just fine for you Chainman. And I wouldnt get too nervous over "shear" stability. You will like the synthetic.

 

I haven't got in an oil debate in a long time so lets do a little math.

If one changes their oil every 40 hours and rides 1,000 hours, you would change your oil about 25 times. Lets see what this would cost.

For my Bomb it adds up to this:
Rotella dino oil, about a buck a quart in bulk, + $15 filter=$20.00 or so a change, and at 1,000 hours I would have about $500 or so invested in oil changes.

Syn oil, about $8.00 bucks a quart or so at quart Wally world + $15 filter =$55 or so a change, and at 1,000 hours I would have about $1,375 or so invested in oil changes.

That leaves a net difference of almost $900.00!!!!!!! I can buy a lot of new parts for almost 900 bones!!! And after I do, I have a BRAND NEW MOTOR. (Maybe that big bore or a big cam to boot!!!)

The person running the syn oil would have a motor with 1,000 hours of run time on it AND have his wallet lightened by almost $900 bucks, with no money left over to freshen that 1,000 hour motor up!!!!!

BTW, I'm not knocking syn oil, but there is two sides to every story. If I have money to burn or I'm in the racing game where every 10,000's of a second counts, then sure I go syn oil. Other than that; well you saw the math.

 

Doctorturbo,

Go to Walmart Mobil 1 red cap is $19.00 for 5 quarts.You'll spend a a total of $190.00 on all the oil you need for 1000 hours. My oil filters are 10.00 each and they go 80 hours so that will be $125.00 for filters. Total needed for 1000 hours is $315.00. So if you completely neglect your quad and choose not to change oil at all you save 315.00 bucks! Your not going to get very many parts for that.

If you're using "buck a qt recycled oil", which I haven't seen in a long time, good luck getting your 1000 hours in before your next new motor. Pray when it blows your close to the truck. If your like most people and change oil on the intervals recommended by the mfgr or the oil co. the cost of using syn oil is negligible. I like to take care of my equipment in the belief it will take care of me. At 500 hours I don't want to worry about the sticking or burnt valves that really need replacing or the smoke at start up because my rings are shot or the lose in performance because all the wear items are worn, or a spun bearing, etc.

You're actually providing an important service to our sport. You help keep the repair shops fully staffed and after market guys busy.

Pay a little now now or pay a lot later, you'll pay either way it's your choice.

 

I talked to some of the other riders who told me about this great debate going on concerning the differences in lubricants. Man, what a job you guy are doing in favor of the oil barrons no doubt.
There are a lot of variables as we all know. Such as how many miles do you ride per month, is your quad used for farming or just getting to the back yard? Do you have over size tires or standard, etc. The manufacturer gives us a rule to follow but that doesn't mean everyone is going to have to follow the letter. Not talking warranty problems here.
My AC 500i, 2000 M.Y. has about 2500 miles on it and I haven't touched the valves for adjustment yet. Doesn't need it! My quad is mostly used for recreation but I do use it for plowing snow in winter. I bought it new from the dealer and it was filled with synthetic oil, I believe it was AC recommended oil with AC's name on the container. I still use synthetic but it's Castrol. My friends tell me you guys say, Amsoil is the only synthetic to use in your engine for quads. Now I see why they would think that. It's easy to be misleading in the net.
By following the manufacturer's reconmendations, we should be safe to run the quads for a long time without major problems but that's not always the case, is it? I go through deep water and so have many of you. When I do, I make sure I change the oil after a weekend of trashin' it. Common sense, nothing more. Why does it have to be so difficult? Don't make it a rich man's dream... (Sending everyone out to purchase expensive lubricants for little cause if any).
Chuck

 

.Curls, you must be lucky in Az with the price of syn oil. I can't even come close to that where I live. Even on sale in the big red K or Wally world.

If you read, I made it clear it was Rotella in bulk, not "recycled cil."

Not if you change it every 40 hours, thats what I based my post on. Check my math, I think it's correct.

Never knew you could burn a valve with dino oil? Hmmmmm?

Rings are cheap and really easy to replace. So are bearings.

Sorry dude, I do all my own motor work. Only blew two motors in my life. One was a lean detonation from a bad fuel fitting; burnt 4 pistons in that deal. One was a blown head gasket because of 25 PSI of boost. Never spun a bearing in my life. Never had an oil related failure in my life. Unlike my bro-inlaw, he spun a cam bearing on his race car about a month ago. And yes, he was using full syn Red line race oil. Do I blame it on the oil? NO WAY!!!! Great oil!!!! But it won't save you in all situations, and that's a fact. I'm sure it would have spun with Rotella or any other oil in the case.

BTW, I will have a "new" motor after a 1000 hour rebuild. And no matter how you cut it, yours will still have 1000 hours on it. I just picked the 1000 hour figure out of the air. One piece of equipment I own has 10,000 hours on it and it burns a qt/ 100 hours. Never had anything but Rotella in the case, and never has even had the valve cover off.

I'm sure I won't change your mind, I'm not trying too, just trying to point out the other side of the coin for people that do their own motor work.

I'll say this one more time, I'm not knocking syn oil, it's good stuff.

 

I use Amsoil because its the easiest to find. Mobil makes a good synthetic also, but its harder to find. I don't use Red line because It's no better than Mobil or Amsoil and cost quite abit more. The idea of using a synthetic is more of a personal choice. Why do I use it; well last year on the deer hunting opener it was -17 f (bitter cold!).. Now in that case I feel much better knowing the oil is going to circulate that much faster and starting the engine is that much easier. I like the fact that my engine will stay cleaner using whatever brand of synthetic. If I spend more on oil (considering I just dumped over $7000 on a machine) and I know there are some benefits to it then to me its worth it. This is not to say that conventional oils are bad they have improved quite abit over the years. If I lived where the temp didnt fall below say 10-20 degrees then I would be just as comfortable using dino oil. I use synthetic in all our vehicles and I like it. Again, its just personal choice.

 

I havent had my oil changed in over a year now, Ooops [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

Lets see, my bike runs cooler, revs faster, pulled alot harder through the gears, saves gas, go twice as long between oil changes using only one oilfilter. I tried rotella, look at my above post, anyone on here can becom a amsoil dealer and have the oil delivered to your door in about 3 days. Heck they have oil that last up to 25k miles or 1-year oil drain intervails. Those of you that havent tried it go ahead you just might like it, you throw more money away on movies you rent each week. I base my assumptions through the *** meter.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Just for the record.. I run Mobil 1 10-30 in my Honda Gl1800... 6000 mile per change (manual says 8K), Mobil one says not to use it, becuase of the clutch slippage...but Mobil one USE to say it was great, but now that they make a Motorcycle oil, so the orignal Mobil one Sucks for Motorcycles or so they say... All marketing I say, and the motorcycle oil is almost TWICE as much

I romp on it all the time 0-60 in about 4 seconds and continue on up to 100-110 Fast shifts wide open.. 100+ HP.. 1000 lbs bike, and no slipping in 41K miles!

I say try it, if your clutch slips, then use soemthing else. In my Eiger Auto, it's a no brainer.. CostCo sells Mobil 1 10-30 fairly cheap.

 

I don't know if you're doing the right thing or not DaFoo. But my guess is you're not far from being right-on about differences in materials for the oil you're using compared to the new motorcycle oil made by the same manufacturer. Case in point: I used to buy Fram oil filters for my AC at the local auto supply for $4.00 plus change. Fram repackaged the filter in a new box design and sells it as a motor cycle filter now. Price, $8.00 and change. Talk about fleecing of America.
Chuck