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Use 10w 40 instead?

27K views 46 replies 20 participants last post by  eds 
#1 ·
I'm doing the first oil change myself. I've read up on that 40 rating sticks to the parts better than the 30 at high temp. It's pretty hot where I live especially in the summer. So I used 10w 40 instead of 10w30. There's no harm to the engine right?

I have a 2016 cbr500r
 
#2 ·
It's fine. I use Rotella T6. A lot of people do.

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#6 ·
Agree. I do oil every 2000-2500 miles. Filter every other oil change. I ride hard. Oil gets frothy after 2500 miles with my riding style, especially during summer months.

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#7 ·
Hi, I can confirm my first service by the dealer, for my 2018 CBR500R, they used 4T(semi-Synthectic) 10W-40 oil.
Its
always best to keep the same brand and type available for small top ups between oil changes.

In heavy industry, the quickest way to increase wear in parts is to not have clean area / clean oil/ clean equipment. Important to make sure if you keep a bulk (4-5 litre oil container) that it and any funnel you use are spotlessly clean when you are doing to ups. Contaminants introduced during top ups and oil changes are always a risk one needs to take precautions against.
 
#9 ·
Many places in Au use 10W40 claiming bcs it is hot here. I use Honda 10W30 bcs that’s what Honda recommend.

I had one service report say they used 10W50. They claimed it was a typo. I dumped that out and now do all my oil changes myself.


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#10 ·
Marxious - congrats on the bike, and welcome to the forum, and congrats on your CBR. They're great bike. A lot of us are on the fence about "upgrading". (going to a bigger bike) I've been there and I may go there again before I get too old, but for now, it's hard to justify and would cost me dearly in fuel consumption.

One thing that's pretty regular in internet motorcycle or automotive fora is "oil threads". But we just can't resist chiming in every time.

Here are my thoughts:

Use 10W-30 synthetic. Being only 30 weight when hot, it makes for less internal friction and better fuel economy. Temperature is not a concern, since it is synthetic, it is much more resistant to thermal breakdown than conventional oil, and I will go the full 8,000 miles without any worry or extra work.

It's not as common as 10W-30 without friction modifiers, but it's still easily found online.

It would be all too easy for Honda engineers to recommend more frequent oil changes and thus sell more oil and filters and service.
 
#14 ·
Same here. Even though Honda recommends 10W30. I asked them about it but was told I would have to talk to a mechanic out back as they order the oil and keep up the floor display for all of the products oil related. Of course I know why they do it... economy of scale and all that. Common denominator for the most bikes... I purchased my oil elsewhere. Not going to be railroaded.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I bought my bike slightly used, it only had 800 miles on it. It looked like the original oil filter, so when I got it home, I changed the oil. I bought synthetic 10-30 from Oreillys.

One thing I noticed about this bike, when downshifting, my gears would often get lost. What I mean is, there would be no response from the shifter and I would have to let the clutch out and then try again to find my gears. It was an odd situation. I just shrugged it off as being a picky Honda.

When I did my first oil change on my sons r3 yesterday, I mentioned to the parts guy at Yamaha that I did my oil change on my Honda and when I told him the oil I used, he told me if I didn’t want to be putting a clutch in it, drain it out and buy the oil that’s supposed to be for bikes. He showed me the M on the back of the bottle.

Out of skepticism but slight fear, I bought 3 quarts of yamalube from him rated for my bike and replaced it just to be on the safe side. Yes I know I own a Honda I just happened to be at Yamaha to get my boys oil filter

One thing I noticed immediately, my shifting problem vanished right away. No more lost gears, and it shifts smooth as butter.

I’m not posting this out of sarcasm, or to add or take away from any contributors of this thread, or to recommend a certain oil brand over the other, nor to sound like a know it all. but just posting my experience so that in case anyone in the future stumbles across this thread that has the same issue, it was explained to me that these bikes have a wet clutch, and the oil will make or break the bike, literally.


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#17 ·
This is a good reminder right here. Sometimes we overlook the simplest things.

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#18 ·
The big difference is that car do not use engine oil to lubricate the clutch or transmission system (as motorcycles do) so often car engine oils will have friction modifiers and other products that help extend the engine life, but will/can damage a motorcycle clutch/transmission, this is why it is important to only use an engine oil designated for motorcycle use, some car engine oils will work, but why take the risk. Always use motorcycle engine oil in a motorcycle engine!!



Gary
 
#20 ·
Don't use any oil with an energy conserving label on the back. Honda went with the 10/30 thing to get the fuel mileage. They changed the oil recommendation from 10/40 to 10/30 in their manuals on a lot of bikes that had the same motor they recommended 10/40 for. They are a very green company which is good. Don't sweat the 10/40. That's all I use.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Its not that the 10w-40 "sticks" to the metal better.
The number before the "W" is the Winter, or colder temp weight and the number after the dash is the high temp weight.
Yes motor oil changes thickness with temp.
A 40 weight will be thicker oil at 100°f than 30 weight will.
ALSO engines made now have smaller tolerances and dont need thicker weight oil any longer.
My 2017 car calls for 0w-20 oil.

So will 10w-40 be bad if 10w-30 is recommend?
Nope.
BUT - engines made now have smaller tolerances and dont need thicker weight oil any longer.
 
#27 ·
10w-30 or 10w-40? This question comes up on every motorcycle forum where the manufacturer recommendation is 10w-30. Keep in mind that both of these oils are variable viscosity. They're both going to have the same maximum viscosity at low temperature, but slightly different maximum viscosity at 212°F/100°C. Even though I ride pretty hard regularly, my motor stays pretty cool so in the normal operating temperatures for this motor, your not going to see much, if any, difference in the viscosity of these two motor oils. If you spend a lot of time idling at high temperature then you're going to want to go with 30 because it'll flow better under the low oil pressure produced at idle. If you're just a normal rider then either oil is fine. I use T6. I have ~30,000 miles on the clock. It suits my needs very wey.

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#31 ·
I think either oil is just fine. The reason I mentioned idle is because that's where oil pressure is at its lowest and if you spend a lot of time at idle (i.e. in heavy bumper to bumper traffic) you might want a freer flowing oil to deal with consequences of those conditions. At any rate, I do think use case is a factor. We might not agree on that, but it doesn't really matter. Either oil is fine.

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#36 ·
Hello,
firstly let me apologize if I am not going to 100% hit the 3d title. I have been using my CBR 500 R 2013 for 15 months and 10.000 km.

Is it normal that the engine oil consumption is practically nil?
Using the bike 90% on asphalted roads, b roads mainly (practically no motorway) how often should I change the oil?

I use the bike 5 days a week, 35 km a day.

Thank you !
 
#37 ·
Yes absolutely!
Oil use is not normal.
Maybe an amount small enough for you not to notice, but anything more than that with a relatively new bike is not usual.

It is there to lubricate not leak out or get burned in the exhaust.
And follow your manual for time/mileage interval for changing it.
 
#38 ·
Not true about not burning oil. I own two of these bike from new, they both use oil. About 1/2 quart in 5,000 miles. The reason being the breather system are connected to the intake. Makes it impossible to not suck some oil film out of the engine. It's been a problem with all vehicles with these new required breather systems. Some people will burn more oil then others, depending on riding styles. More to do with rpm and load on the engines.
 
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