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About 8 weeks ago (first of April) at my local neighborhood supplier, I was getting a 4 liter jug for $51.95 plus tax (here a little less than 10%). The individual liters were something like $14.95. At that time, I went looking online to see if I could find a significantly less expensive source, and I could not. The local price was, at that time, the same as my previous favorite brand of fully synthetic oil I had used, also available at that same store.

I just went to my local supplier two days ago (Friday, June 6) and the price had jumped to $62.95 plus tax for a 4 liter jug (about 20% price hike). I didn't look at the single liters, but I'd guess they are now locally near or slightly higher than the $15.95 you found online. I had to buy two jugs, as parade season is here and all of that engine revving at low speeds just seems to chew up oil and turn it into water quicker than anything.

What I did find online, that I didn't find locally, was this same brand in 10W60. The mileage on my bike is climbing nicely, and I'm contemplating the value of having oil that climbs up to 60weight at operating temperatures. It seems particularly appropriate for the parades.

As CleRider pointed out, everyone has a different opinion. I certainly haven't tried all of the options on the market, but I have tried most of the options available through my local shops and found this stuff, among those local options, to be what works the best, by far, in my particular bike.

Something that shocked me recently about the oil weight issue is that some mechanics at one local shop really didn't even seem to understand that the lower number represents viscosity at cold engine temps (startup), and the higher number represents viscosity fully heated to operating temps. They were concerned that my hard riding would burn up any oil with a low temp rating of 10weight, and wanted me to use 20W50. To humor them, and to avoid being the GIRL who had to educate the BOYS at the shop on the technology of oil (and the fact that the 50weight number was what was relevant to that hard riding time), I tried the 20W50 (previously I had gone from 10W40 to 10W50 when my mileage got high, skipping the 20W50 completely) - and I could just hear the time it took for the oil to thin enough to lubricate properly. I didn't leave that oil in very long at all, and while it was in I felt it necessary to idle the bike a lot longer to let it heat up enough for that lubrication to kick in before throttling up to ride away. Oh, it was awful - for my bike.

Fredrider wrote:

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Tony,

I agree with your summation. I would also add that the upper number is the viscosity that weight would have at the upper temperature, e.g. 10W-50 would have a 10W viscosity at the lower temperature and a 50W viscosity at the upper temperature, but 50W viscosity at high temperature is still less than 10W viscosity at low temperature.

That is my understanding as well. Sorry if my earlier wording confused that any.

As for the Amazon listing that you found, brkswnd, I think that with shipping charges, I still may be getting it for a buck or two less from my local dealer, even after they spiked the price 20%. I think that I probably even priced that Amazon listing back when my local supplier was offering it at $52, when shipping definitely made it far more expensive. I'm going to check it out again and see if a bulk order might garner a discount on the total shipping - which would then make it a better deal for me here.

Marpesia