allcool-You seem to object to the word "thickeners", so maybe I can use another term. How about "Viscosity Index Improvers (VII's)"?

http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html#Oil

From the link above-

"To make a 10w-40 oil, the manufacturer would start out with a 10 weight oil as the base stock. All by itself, this oil would thin out so much at normal operating temperatures that the oil film would be useless. So, they add these very special very long molecules, the VIIs. The VII molecules are as much as 1000 times as long as an oil molecule. The VII molecules curl up in a little ball at room temperature, but as the temperature gets higher they uncurl and stretch out, like a cat sleeping in the sunlight. The more stretched out the molecule is, the more it impedes the normal flow of the oil, thus raising the effective viscosity. Now, this sounds just a little too good to be true. Well, there are two catches: first, these molecules are not lubricants, so the more of them that you add the less oil you have sitting around lubricating things. Secondly, these VII molecules can be broken into pieces by various pressures and forces, like being squeezed through the transmission gears in a motorcycle or the hydraulic valves in a diesel engine. Every time a VII molecule gets broken, the oil loses some of its high temperature viscosity. Synthetic oils made from pure PAOs and/or Diesters typically have very few VIIs, so these oils are far less subject to viscosity breakdown due to shearing of the VII package. As a result, synthetics are far more stable in a motorcycle engine."

The point I would like everyone to take home is, the greater the viscosity difference between the two numbers in your oil, the more VII's have to be added, and large amounts of VII's aren't a good thing! So, say you are picking a summer season oil, so you need a 40 weight. You are better off with a 10W40 than a 0W40, because the 0 weight base oil needs so many more VII's to get it to 40 weight when at operating temperature, than a 10 weight base oil does.

The best thing for kingdiamond to do is get an owners manual, and see what Suzuki recommends for his machine. I don't think he will find a 0W40 in there anywhere! And, most important of all, kingdiamonds Polaris that specs 0W40 DOES NOT HAVE A GEAR-ON-GEAR TRANSMISSION! It has a CVT, so it isn't going to be nearly as hard on its oil as a manual trans bike (that shares the same oil between the engine and transmission) is going to be. Those VII's can get totally trashed when they are mashed together between two spinning gears, at high temperatures. You can't make a direct comparison between the two types of bikes at all.

And, pick an oil that is API SG/JASO MA. More good oil info- http://www.thumperfaq.com/oil.htm

 

I have an 05 Eiger 5 speed 4x4. I use Mobil1 V-Twin 20W50 in the summer in FL. and MX4T 10W40 in winter. I can actually get it at Wal-Mart. Use a motorcycle oil only, don't take a chance.