The International CBX Owners Association

Curious as to which oil seems to be the best for the mighty CBX - my engine is stock, no turbos or superchargers - I'm assuming the standard Honda engine oil good enough, or is there a brand you guys prefer and suggest.

Thanks

O-oh You better duck You are (re-)starting something known as the "oil thread". You can find it here in the tech talk section. Just check all the pages.

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Well, without re-opening the 'oil thread'; I did a TON of research, looking all over and reading everything in sight. I'm switching over to the Shell Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40; I think it will do everything better and at a better price. But opinions are what make the world go 'round.

Jim-Jim:



My only concern would be the lower end of the range 5W...

I am not operating my bike at subzero ambient temperatures, and I do not need oil with the capacity to flow that thin. As heat is more of an issue than frost, in my opinion, a 20W-50 provides better performance.

EMS:



You should do more research on modern oils & and their properties

the lower numbers do not mandate they are only for lower temps, but also for the closer tolerances.



Also the newer oils help reduce the "dry" start-up conditions, and will stand up to higher operating temps.



CBX'r

Mobile, AL

CBXer:



Thank you very much for the quick education. :) Help is always appreciated.

I have a two bike raceteam in the AMA circuit and oils are very important to me. I use "newer" oils in all bikes, mainly because it is tough to get the "old" stuff. I try to stay away from the "really new stuff" with all the friction inhibitors, but I guess you are not talking about these, are you? But a 5W... oil has certain properties which make this oil more suitable for "year 'round" usage, also in cold weather. That's why the 5W.. rating. I just don't consider it the best oil for my use from April/May through October, because the low viscosity component is a disadvantage.

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My shop manual doesn't mention 5W, so I'm curious what made you choose it. Golden Spectro 20W50 for me. Probably wouldn't be my pick, but that's what the previous owner used, and I'd rather stick with it than switch.

The reason the shop manual does not mention certain oil configurations is, some oil weight ranges were not available back in 1979 when the manual was written. This also means, however, that our CBX does not require some properties "new" oils have to offer for "modern" engines with thighter tolerances to improve fuel consumption.

I agree with the 20W50 pick for mine. The brand? Pick whatever has the least aftertaste.

The rotella that he is talking about is 15w40w.I run it in everything. Don Smith did a exhaustive test a couple years ago on oils in MCN and has two new articles coming out in sport rider this month and next. Although in his articles the correct synthetic is usually better with 10 bikes its hard for me to see the logic in 5 dollar a quart oil. Most of my bikes except for a BMW never see a 1000 miles without a oil change.I have ran rotella in 400+ HP suzuki pro mods,200HP hayabusa`s,etc,etc. It won the MCN test for dino oil and it is not star burst(new EPA regulations) oil. I`ll agree if I had only one or two bikes to change oil in I would probably go syn but I`ve tried several and honestly the bikes didn`t shift as good and leaked oil more. But I do know that it does offer more protection. I just wish I could still get the good old kendall GT-1.

He specified synthetic, and 5W40 appears to be the only grade offered...

http://www.rotella.com/

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Sorry my mistake...I didn`t see the synthetic part. I use the dino oil. If I were going to spend that much I for sure would go with a bike synthetic oil. I`m lucky I have a Mobil distrbutor in town...last I checked they got 4.63 a quart for mobil bike oil.