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Difference between revisions of "What Motor Oil Should You Use?"
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How do you really know if you're changing the motor oil in your motorcycle too often, or not often enough? How can you tell if the oil you're using is adequate? You can get valuable information to help answer those questions with used motor oil analysis. | How do you really know if you're changing the motor oil in your motorcycle too often, or not often enough? How can you tell if the oil you're using is adequate? You can get valuable information to help answer those questions with used motor oil analysis. | ||
Oil analysis is available from heavy machinery dealerships (such as [ http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=40700&x=7 Caterpillar]) or from any number of labs which can be found on-line and to which you can mail a sample. | Oil analysis is available from heavy machinery dealerships (such as [http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=40700&x=7 Caterpillar]) or from any number of labs which can be found on-line and to which you can mail a sample. | ||
The company you use should be able to help you interpret the results you get from your analysis. There are various tests that tell you different things: | The company you use should be able to help you interpret the results you get from your analysis. There are various tests that tell you different things: | ||
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==Vast Motor Oil Conspiracy== | ==Vast Motor Oil Conspiracy== | ||
Choosing what brand of motor oil to use shouldn't be a stressful process. There is ''not'' a vast motor oil conspiracy working to cause your motorcycle to die an untimely death. Nor is there a conspiracy to keep secret some magic motor oil additive that let's you go 50,000 miles between oil changes, raises your mileage by 40% and increases your horsepower by 10%. | |||
[http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Competition.html Free markets] work to ensure that all motor oils have similar performance for a similar price. Yes, there are the occasional [http://www.titantruckz.com/kb/index.php?article=46 Flim Flam] companies that sell inferior oil at superior prices, but they don't stay in business for long. You can rest assured that any established brand of oil is comparable to the others, and meets the grades to which it is certified. | |||
== | The major motor oil companies aren't [http://www.tutor2u.net/economics/content/topics/monopoly/cartels.htm colluding] to keep some amazing technology off the market. There is too much of an economic incentive to bring such an advance to the market for such a conspiracy to survive. (Economist call this the [http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PrisonersDilemma.html Prisoner's Dilemma].) | ||
There is some difference between the brands of oil. But the differences are at best minor. You may be able to eek out a little more longevity, or a little more horsepower by using one brand over another. But no brand is going to give you huge gains, or cause significant damage. | |||
Use a motor oil that is certified to the service and grade, and is of the weight, specified by your owner's manual, and you will do no harm. Beyond that, do whatever makes you happy. | |||
==External Links== | |||
Most of these links are repetitions of links earlier in this article. They're all gathered here for convenience. | |||
*[http://www.helminc.com/helm/homepage.asp Helm, Inc.] - Sells Honda motorcycle manuals | |||
*[http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Oils1.html All About Oil] | |||
*[http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/API.html API Services and Grades Summary] | |||
*[http://new.api.org/certifications/engineoil/categories/index.cfm Official API Services and Grades] | |||
*[http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/oil-life.html Synthetic Oil Life Study] | |||
*[http://www.blackstone-labs.com/ Blackstone Labs] - one of many places offering motor oil analysis | |||
*[http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=40700&x=7 Caterpillar] - also offers motor oil analysis | |||
*[http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/warranty.htm#Magnuson-Moss Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act] | |||
*[http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/ Motorcycle Consumer News] - Like Consumer Reports, but just for motorcycling | |||
*[http://www.jsae.or.jp/index_e.php JSAE] - Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, which sets the JASO specifications | |||