96 carb monster 900 which oil?

Hi all, decided it's time to do some basic maintenance on my monster so ordered the service pack from a duc dealer darn sarf (eBay)
So while I'm waiting for it to arrive which oil is best for my air cooled 900?
My manual (Haynes)says fully synthetic 5W40 is this the best? Does anyone use halfords oil?
Alex (ducati noobie)

I've ran my M900 on Halfords best for years. Tried Putoline Nanotec and it finds places to weep!

[SteveG]

Now you've gone and done it.... Get ready for tons of options and opinions.

I have been using whatever 5w40 synth has been on offer in my previous 750 and the current keeper 900 - I change religiously every 3000 and seems to have always served me well.

Thanks DrD and SteveG : )

AlexW

[Flip]

Yep as the others have said there'll be hundreds of opinions for hundreds of bikes (in fact I'm surprised you've not had more already.

Personally I favour Silkolenes' Comp 4 10w40 for my Monster having been recommended the same oil (different grade) for my classic race bike by a well known Ducati Guru.

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-785-silk...torcycles.aspx

[Nickj]

Semi sythenetic

Its the low viscosity number that your interested in, remember it takes a minute or two before the heads get any oil so low means it gets there a tiny bit quicker.
10WXX is good, 5 is maybe a bit of overkill BUT as the change cycle is quite frequent it doesn't really matter.
20W isn't really a good idea very long term on the classic style monsters.

[Mr Gazza]

Originally Posted by Nickj

Semi sythenetic

I go with fully synthalating every time.

[Pedro]

Rock oil semi synthetic

[Flip]

Here's a good read for those interested and the reason why old engines shouldn't be run on low viscosity oils (I run my race bike on 20w50).

VI and how multigrade works

To produce a multigrade mineral oil, polymers are added to a light oil, say SAE 20. At low temperatures the polymers are coiled up and do not restrict the flow, but as the temperature rises they unwind so that at 100 oC (212 oF) the viscosity is equivalent to SAE 50. There is more than one way of achieving this result. The best quality base oils have a higher VI, which is the rate at which the oils' viscosity falls as temperature rises within a given temperature range. This means that less polymer is required to achieve the same result. As it's the oil that does the lubricating, not the polymer, this is obviously preferable and as the polymer also degrades in use the less present to start with the better.

A good quality engine oil will have a relatively low level of polymers and some synthetic oils have such a high VI that they don't need any. Generally the lower the viscosity of the base oil, the more polymer it requires. 10w-40 needs more than 20w-50 for instance, and polymers can shear and burn, thus creating deposits which can cause valves and piston rings to stick. A good quality oil will typically lose up to 20% of its' viscosity in 1000 miles running, the rate of loss then slows and the life of the oil is about 3000 miles in normal use.

[Zimbo]

A always favour Rock Oil 15W-40, would use 10W-40 or 10W-50 without a problem too. 5W-40 seems a little on the low side to me?

[Dirty]

Baby oil...... oops, wrong forum!