Looking for a cheap oil to store bikes and don't want to waste a pile of money on motorcycle oil that will get immediately dumped in Spring. I've been advised to use a car oil that has no friction modifiers because friction modifiers will damage the clutch. Looked at labels on car oils but did not see any claiming, "contains no friction modifiers." So how do you know if it has them or not?

* Last updated by: Rook on 12/5/2009 @ 9:38 AM *

......read the API cresent seal ....if you can find it.

If this is on the bottom of the API donut, don't use it. Rule of thumb, if it's SAE 40 or above it's not energy conserving and contains no friciton modifiers. I'd put Pep boys 10w40 in there for the winter and be done with it. I just use a synthetic and leave it in all winter, synthetics are good up to 1 year.

Thanks. Off to Pep Boys this weekend.

I stored the 14 with synthetic for a couple months last winter and the slick performance didn't seem to last long in Spring. It could have been that the brand of oil was not formulated for long use. it was expensive stuff though. I'm going to try to fill the bikes all the way to the cap for storage so I want something cheap that i can just empty out dispose of before going with something worth running in the motor.

Rook I can understand why you want to completely fill your motor with oil. But it's really not necessary. Unless your storage area is really, really damp, your just wasting money. I would also worry about seal failure by filling your motor like that.

Pretty good read here.

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/maintenance/motorcyclewinterstorage.htm

rook do you not start your bike up during the winter? be careful once you go to synthetic your not supposed to put reg oil in it again ...so ive been told. i start all my bikes once a week just to let em warm up and hear em run...lol

rook just found this article so i guess what i was told about switching back and forth was wrong but heres the article:

Q: After a recent trip to two major auto parts dealers for oil (5W 30), I realized synthetic oil is slowly replacing nonsynthetic on the display shelves. The problem is, I'm getting conflicting information about synthetic oil. One store attendant told me I shouldn't go back to regular oil after changing to synthetic. Then he said it would be okay to add a quart of regular oil to synthetic, if I needed to top up. Another clerk said I should never mix the two. At a different store, the employee said it didn't matter if I used synthetic and then later replaced it with regular oil.

A: Early synthetics got a bad reputation for leaking. This was because, despite the claims of the oil manufacturers, the seal-swell characteristics of the new synthetics were different from those of the mineral oils they replaced. If the seal-swell rate was lower, the seals shrank and oil leaked from crankshaft seals and rocker cover seals. If the rate was higher, the seals swelled a little extra and the engine was tight. Then if the owner changed back to mineral oil, or added a quart when no synthetic was to be had, things got really bad. The crank seals had become worn, in their turgid state, and then relaxed. The valve cover seals were compressed when swelled, and when the different oil was added, everything leaked like, well, an old English sports car.

Fortunately, the situation has improved; you should have no problem switching back and forth. Adding a quart of mineral oil to a crankcase full of synthetic will be fine. Read the fine print — a lot of the "synthetics" on the market are blends containing a substantial proportion of mineral oil.

Thanks, Phil. Now I have a few new ways I can baby my 14 while she sleeps.

I would also worry about seal failure by filling your motor like that.

Scott, I started mine a couple times last winter and i got a white fog on the oil sight glass. Of course, I have seen that condensation fog form even during the riding season when the weather was cold.

No, I didn't plan to run the engine at all. Definitely not if overfilled with oil. I think I will just store with a normal oil level. I might be better to stay with what most people do rather than try to outdo them and end up having problems in Spring. I don't even know what is all in there yet so why mess with it? I have heard one owner post that he filled the crankcase to the cap though.

I am one who switched from dino oil to synthetic and back to dino. No serious oil consumption. I think the bike uses a little but I first noticed that when i went to synthetic. It may have done it all along. The last oil went a full 3000 miles and I don't know for sure if the oil level had just dropped because of cooler temps or because some got used. The you can really thrown the sight glass off quite a bit just tipping the bike a few degrees. I started to think these bikes have oil gremlins that raise and lower the oil level when you're not looking.

* Last updated by: Rook on 12/12/2009 @ 8:25 PM *

Rook; My '94 ZX-11 was 14 years old when I sold her, and still purring like a kitten. She was stored for 4 years straight once. I always just put in fresh oil to the high mark for winter, filled the gas tank, added sta-bil, hooked up the charger, and never started it. My dad was a mechanic for 40 years and always said starting it will just cause internal condensation no matter how long you let it run. In the spring, fresh oil, new filter, fresh gas, and let er rip.

* Last updated by: alg8er on 12/13/2009 @ 12:07 AM *

I picked up a couple gallons of cheap Advance Auto 10W40. The API label indicates that the 50 weight oils are energy conserving and the 40 weight is not. 4 quarts it shall be. New filter pre-filled with oil. I'm leaving that filter on when I dump the storage oil and replace it with good oil in Spring. The only thing wrong with it is that it will have a little cheap but unused oil in it.

Just leave the oil thats in it now to store it and then change it in the spring. Why dump different oil in it to just sit there. If your realy worried about it pull the plugs and squirt a little high quality oil in the cylinders and rotate the engine thats where the problem will be durring long term storage. and dont start it that will create moisture in the engine. Here in phoenix I dont have to wory about that crap I ride almoust every day. I dont think I could handle looking at my bike sitting there for a long winter! Dont forget the trickle charger.

Rook, I use Amsoil synthetic and change it before I put it into hybernation for the winter, then just use the same oil in spring, for the few months of sitting there it will be just fine. Starting it up once and a while in the cold winter in the garage does more harm that good in my opinion. Back to your original question, it's my understanding that any oil that says on the label increased gas mileage or something of the sort, has friction additives in them. I would always use synthetic that is made for motorcycles only. I personally burned out a clutch many years ago by not knowing any better, I know guys run that junk from wally world without issus but I refuse.

move south and keep riding ?

^^Wouldn't that be nice!