I have some owners in Las Vegas that are running 20/50. They regularly ride in 3 digit temps. I wouldn't recommend it for most owners. A 10/40 or 15/40 is a better choice for most.
A thinner oil flows better and cools better. Running an oil thicker than what you need doesn't really give you any additional protection.
BajaRon - I live in Southwest Nevada. I have seen temps as high as 116 on Interstate 15 from Barstow to Las Vegas. Even a wet vest didn't help. I finally found a motel and stayed until the next morning. I walked out to ride, and the air temp was 102 at 4 AM.
I drank almost a gallon of H2O between Baker, CA and LV. Oil temp wasn't a major concern except that if I had an engine failure out in the Mojave Desert, I'd be in deep buzzard droppings. I later talked to a dude at the MC shop who said his oil temp gauge showed a tad over 265 degrees at three in the afternoon. Oil viscosity isn't as important at these temps, but oil quality certainly is!
BajaRon - I live in Southwest Nevada. I have seen temps as high as 116 on Interstate 15 from Barstow to Las Vegas. Even a wet vest didn't help. I finally found a motel and stayed until the next morning. I walked out to ride, and the air temp was 102 at 4 AM.
I drank almost a gallon of H2O between Baker, CA and LV. Oil temp wasn't a major concern except that if I had an engine failure out in the Mojave Desert, I'd be in deep buzzard droppings. I later talked to a dude at the MC shop who said his oil temp gauge showed a tad over 265 degrees at three in the afternoon. Oil viscosity isn't as important at these temps, but oil quality certainly is!
20/50 is most often recommended for air cooled engines. Head and top of cylinder temperatures can get extremely hot in an air cooled engine and heavier weight oil can resist thinning in these conditions. But this is not the case with a liquid cooled engine and the heavier weight oil does not dissipate heat as well as a thinner oil. Which, in an liquid cooled engine, is more important than viscosity.
There are those who will tell you that oil is oil and it doesn't matter. And this may sound good until you start analyzing the results. If you do this, you can discover a good bit of difference in quality from one brand to another. That Barstow to Vegas run can be blistering. I've done it myself a few times. Running 80 or better in that kind of weather can really test your components. Drinking water is key for riders. A full face helmet with good mesh jacket and pants also helps.
If you're concerned about the oil use between scheduled changes that's part & parcel of operating a dry-sump high performance motor like these Rotax V-twin's that in some (early) Spyders, you need to remember that these V-Twin 998cc motors are designed and intended to sacrifice some oil in order to support the tolerances that let them rev freely and perform reliably in a higher rev range than that designed & intended for the 1330's! And don't forget that in the parts of North America that get cold during winter, that 'W' that should in the oil spec 20W50 is very important!
Here's some things to be concerned about if you are considering running a heavy-weight oil like 20W50 in a V-Twin Rotax engined Spyder:
Since the oil is thick, it is not ideal for most modern vehicles and especially not for engines that specify/require thinner oil.
In cool temperatures, the oil becomes too thick, which affects its circulation in the engine. This means it is not ideal for use during cold seasons or weather.
The heavier oil spec can reduce engine power; cause poor oil &/or fuel economy; and increase harmful emissions from the engine.
The oil might affect the timing system or throw it out of sync. The timing belts or chains may fail to function due to the oil’s increased thickness. The reason why this happens is that most modern timing systems depend on the oil pressure in some way. If highly viscous oil is used, the oil pressure goes up, damaging the lifters, piston rings, and cam bearings. The symptoms will be blue smoke emanating from the exhaust, lifter tick, and cam noise.
Heavier oil than specified can lead to premature wearing of the oil pumps because of the thickness, which the pumps were not meant for. This means that the pumps will likely wear out faster. The heavier oil might also affect the engine’s gas mileage; there will likely be sludge build-up within the camshaft or crankshaft which can then make bearings fail, resulting in the engine’s catastrophic failure.
And all that is BEFORE we get to all the nasty things that running a higher than designed/specced oil can do to the clutch operation in the 'wet-clutch constant mesh transmissions' our Spyders run!!
So, considering all the above - Is there any reason you are asking or even contemplating running such an oil, Steve??
Last edited by Peter Aawen; 03-19-2024 at 01:44 PM.
Following this thread, always find the oil threads fascinating, some use pop corn to indicate ho hum. I'm a Rotella full synthetic fan, however blend would probably work as well, but what's a buck or two between oils? I prefer the 10/40 full synthetic but Rotella just doesn't sell it, at least not that I can find, 5/40 is it, probably doesn't matter a bit, the book just says, 10/40 blend I think. OK, pop corn folks, all done.
Following this thread, always find the oil threads fascinating, some use pop corn to indicate ho hum. I'm a Rotella full synthetic fan, however blend would probably work as well, but what's a buck or two between oils? I prefer the 10/40 full synthetic but Rotella just doesn't sell it, at least not that I can find, 5/40 is it, probably doesn't matter a bit, the book just says, 10/40 blend I think. OK, pop corn folks, all done.
Can-Am recommended 10/40 for the Spyder when they sold it. Now they only sell 5/40 (in the blended) and that's what they recommend. Sell what you got, I suppose.
Good information Ron. If Canam is selling 5/40 blend, then I'm way good with Rotella Syn 5/40. I'm probably getting way nit picky with the oil thing anyway. I need to do my yearly change soon, so your oil change kit awaits, minus the oil of course. :-)
Good information Ron. If Canam is selling 5/40 blend, then I'm way good with Rotella Syn 5/40. I'm probably getting way nit picky with the oil thing anyway. I need to do my yearly change soon, so your oil change kit awaits, minus the oil of course. :-)
Yes, you're doing much better with a fully synthetic oil. But it's one thing I like about Amsoil. You can run the same oil over multiple seasons without issue if you don't run to the service limit in 12 months.
Anyone tried a 20-50 syn oil?
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Originally Posted by poprivit
