I posted a question on oil about using a Castrol brand. What I was asking is if using a full synthetic Castrol motorcycle oil in 10-50W would be ok for the TC96. Basically I'm wondering if the 10-50W weight would be safe to use, I want to run synthetic and this oil if safe to use would cover the complete range, thanks.

 

10W50 is a little thin in my opinion.I would use the fully synthetic 20W50.

 

Im sure long time users of this forum HATE oil questions, im relatively new so I like to read who's using what you know. Ive come to the conclusion that it is best to use whatever oil makes you feel comfortable in the bike. Oil is oil. ALL oil breaks down and all oil lubricates the engine. Only way to truely ruin your engine is by running sand and soap in it. All engines get hot and theres no way around it. Run what you want and feel good about it. Some ppl run amsoil/mobil 1...and some ppl run K-mart brand oil. It still Oil either way.

 

Since the MOCO recommends 20w50, I'd probably stick with that. I used Castrol GTX 20w50 in my evo for 168k miles until I traded it and as far as I know, it's still runing strong with no smoke or problems. AS the above poster said, I think brand is much less important of it meets the oil spec code as long as you faithfully change as required or recommended by the MOCO. For my evo it was every 2500 miles.

Just my .02

Bub

 

I don't know what oil was in mine last, but my oil pressure light didn't come on when idling. Now, since I put the 20w50 in, the light comes on and stays on at idle. No engine noise, no rattles, and it goes away promptly when I hit the throttle. In this heat, I might go back to straight 50 or 60 wt oil.

 

I guess U mean in the MOTOR...?

Ive read even Mobil 1 15-50 car oil which is made for cars doesn't stay in viscosity as good as the V-twin 20W-50. it breaks down faster, claims were after 1k, it was like a 40w oil...which is IMO not enough in 85*+ weather.

Don't know what Castrol will do... I'll just stay with whats recommended.

 

Some of the guys I've ridden with for decades use nothing but Castrol GTX 20W50 in their bikes. This includes Shovelheads, EVO's, and TC's.

Others I know use nothing but regular Mobil 1 15W50 synthetic. I use Mobil 1 15W50 for the most part, and I've probably used it for well over 300,000 miles in various bikes.

Others laugh at some of us that waste our money on 'high dollar oil' and run nothing but $2.50 a quart Rotella T 15W40.

Nobody I know has ever had an oil related engine problem, and that's here in the lower midwest where temperatures can range from minus 15 in the winter to 110+ during the summer.

Harley engines aren't very smart, can't read, and don't realize they are being 'abused' if their owner doesn't feed them the latest high dollar oil of the month. The owners fret and argue about what should or shouldn't be used, the engines themselves are happy with just about anything.

Just change you oil and filter at reasonable intervals and you can run just about anything that has a decent viscosity.

 

I use Castrol in the cage, but since it's a BP product I think I'll switch to something else next change......... jmfuo

 

My exact experience with Mobil 1 15w50 - sounded like a rattle trap after a few miles
but their 20w50 V Twin oil was OK. I now use 20w50 Redline as it does not have wet
clutch friction modifiers as do most bike synthetics. Their shockproof heavy in the
tranny is waaaaaaaaaay smoother than stock. IMHO.

 

Thanks to all for the responses, much appreciated.