Is anyone using 10w-30 oil?

[twinrider]

Does anyone use 10w-30 oil in their Tenere? I've got a bunch left over from my AT ownership. My mechanic said it'd be too "hard" for the S10 tranny, whatever that means, and recommended 10w-40, but I hate to see all that synthetic oil I have go to waste.

Btw, did a search for 10w-30 oil but the search engine didn't like that term....

 

[2daMax]

Not recommended in the manual. 10W40 normal and if you live in 40deg C plus areas, 10W50.

 

[Cycledude]

Maybe you could sell the 10-30 cheap to one of your Africa Twin friends. Would probably work fine in a Tenere but I’d hate to be the one experimenting.

 

[gv550]

Not an option, according to Yamaha manuals. If your oil is still in sealed containers you should be able to take it back to a retailer and trade it for 10w-40.

 

[Wrathchild]

I have run Rotella diesel oil in EVERY bike I have ever had with great success. Thousands of riders with millions of miles can't be wrong.

 

[ace50]

Yep, you should ALWAYS go by the manufactures recommended weight of oil with a possible exception of the w (winter)
number. That only comes into play at start-up (cold engine) and would be for a short duration.
Heck, oils use to be straight weights anyway!

 

[OldRider]

Yamaha does recommend 10/30 in cooler climates. It's right in the service manual...….

 

[RCinNC]

I have run Rotella diesel oil in EVERY bike I have ever had with great success. Thousands of riders with millions of miles can't be wrong.

I don't know why that would cause distress for anyone. Rotella T-4 is 15w-40, which is specced for our bikes, and it's JASO MA/MA2 certified, which makes it ok for wet clutch motorcycle engines. I'm not sure why some people would freak out about using Rotella, unless the phrase "diesel oil" is what gets their "b-b-but you can't DO that" circuit energized.

 

[Longdog Cymru]

I don't know why that would cause distress for anyone. Rotella T-4 is 15w-40, which is specced for our bikes, and it's JASO MA/MA2 certified, which makes it ok for wet clutch motorcycle engines. I'm not sure why some people would freak out about using Rotella, unless the phrase "diesel oil" is what gets their "b-b-but you can't DO that" circuit energized.

Diesel oil has extra detergent additives in it as the good old compression ignition engines tend to get some blown-by on the pistons and this contaminates the engine oil. If Rotella meets the spec that Yamaha require, then I can’t see any reason not to use it really.

 

[RCinNC]

It meets the specs. This has come up on other forums, where people have claimed that Rotella T-4 and T-6 weren't JASO MA/MA2 certified. They are; it says so right on the jug, and the website. I'm not an oil nazi, and I'd rather juggle honey badgers than engage in those multi-page oil threads, and I don't extol the virtues of Rotella (I use it, but I don't proselytize). I just figure that when some people hear "diesel oil", that's all they hear. I've been told by guys on forums that T4 and T6 flat out weren't certified for motorcycles, in spite of that big old "JASO MA/MA2" right there on the jug.

 

[Sierra1]

Yamaha made it, and I'll use what they tell me. It's worked for the last 35+ years, and thousands of miles.

 

[2talltoo]

I have used the Rotella brand and see no issue. I like someone else posted once have experienced the shifting not as good. When you stop it is harder to find neutral and know you are in first. It feels different. You can shift as you are moving fine up and down. My BMW wet head was hard to find neutral and the Tenere is NOT. So I spend the extra $20 for Mobile 10/40 4T

 

[ballisticexchris]

Does anyone use 10w-30 oil in their Tenere? I've got a bunch left over from my AT ownership. My mechanic said it'd be too "hard" for the S10 tranny, whatever that means, and recommended 10w-40, but I hate to see all that synthetic oil I have go to waste.

Btw, did a search for 10w-30 oil but the search engine didn't like that term....

I would have no problem using the 10w-30. It's not going to hurt one bit.

Yamaha does recommend 10/30 in cooler climates. It's right in the service manual...….


View attachment 49712

Says the same thing in my manual. The only reason I will switch to a good synthetic after break in is because of motor protection in extreme situations. All those Rotella synthetic and cheap Walmart dino oil lovers can run these Super Tenere's for 100,000+ miles with no issues at all. This is under normal conditions.

If and when you run into a problem and have to run the motor over 300 degrees or punch a hole in the case and lose oil, you will be happy to have a quality oil in your motor. I personally use Motul 300V and 800 2T for my 2 strokes.

I'm no engineer but I have got back to my truck more than once with loss of water in my 2T and ran my Beta at over 300 degrees with boiling gas using Motul oil. Both times was able to ride out of the trail and make it back to my truck.

That being said, I have no issues at all running any cheap oil for now. I'm not even seeing the dirt yet. I'm changing my oil about every 1000-2000 miles until I hit 5000 miles or so. I've been using Motul 3000, Yamalube, and Maxima mineral oils. I will then switch to Motul 5100, then Motul 300V for the life of the bike.

 

[RCinNC]

Most oil stories, including mine, are anecdotal. 2talltoo experienced shifting issues; I never did. He has a totally valid reason not to use it, since his personal experience with it was less than stellar. A lot of oil stories take on a "concerned mother" sound; they usually sound something like "hey, if you want to use that stuff and have your engine explode at 60,000 miles go right ahead, see if I care". If the oil specs meet the manufacturer's recommendations, then I'm fine with using it, whether it's Yamalube, Rotella, O'Reilly's, or some really upscale brand. If someone did an actual real world scientific study of high mileage, hard use motorcycles that showed that bikes using Rotella would grenade at 100,000 but ones using Yamalube wouldn't, then I'd listen to the study; otherwise, I feel pretty safe with my anecdotally based choices.

 

[MFP]

I would have no problem using the 10w-30. It's not going to hurt one bit.



Says the same thing in my manual. The only reason I will switch to a good synthetic after break in is because of motor protection in extreme situations. All those Rotella synthetic and cheap Walmart dino oil lovers can run these Super Tenere's for 100,000+ miles with no issues at all. This is under normal conditions.

If and when you run into a problem and have to run the motor over 300 degrees or punch a hole in the case and lose oil, you will be happy to have a quality oil in your motor. I personally use Motul 300V and 800 2T for my 2 strokes.

I'm no engineer but I have got back to my truck more than once with loss of water in my 2T and ran my Beta at over 300 degrees with boiling gas using Motul oil. Both times was able to ride out of the trail and make it back to my truck.

That being said, I have no issues at all running any cheap oil for now. I'm not even seeing the dirt yet. I'm changing my oil about every 1000-2000 miles until I hit 5000 miles or so. I've been using Motul 3000, Yamalube, and Maxima mineral oils. I will then switch to Motul 5100, then Motul 300V for the life of the bike.

Big Motul fan here! Quick question,
why not use Motul 7100 full synthetic oil rather than the Motul 5100?

 

[ballisticexchris]

Big Motul fan here! Quick question,
why not use Motul 7100 full synthetic oil rather than the Motul 5100?

This might not be true but I have had two Yamaha techs tell me these ST's take a while to break in and not introduce full synthetic until after at least 5000 miles. I figure to use the Motul semi synthetic 5100 at around 5000 miles then go full 300V on the next oil change after that. I can't imagine this motor not being fully broken in already. But I have to say it sure does feel tight even after 1000 miles!!

I know some bikes that come from the factory with synthetic. Just not my choice. I want to make sure all the parts are fully worn in to the proper clearances. I ensure this by using mineral oil. It's just my way of breaking the bike in....

 

[twinrider]

Maybe you could sell the 10-30 cheap to one of your Africa Twin friends. Would probably work fine in a Tenere but I’d hate to be the one experimenting.

I tried that with the 2 owners I know but neither change their own oil. Shameful! ;-)

 

[Cycledude]

Until OldRider posted the picture in post #7 I was unaware that Yamaha had approved 10-30 for the Tenere, after seeing that chart it looks like 10-30 oil should be perfectly fine as long as the outside air temperature isn’t a lot over 70 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 Celsius .

 

[Sierra1]

….it looks like 10-30 oil should be perfectly fine as long as the outside air temperature isn’t a lot over 70 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 Celsius .

Bahahaaaa. Our LOW temp last night was 73 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm jonesin' for some cold dry air.

 

[Cycledude]

Rode 460 miles yesterday temperature ranged from 40 to 58 and light rain most of the time, by the time I got home I was getting pretty cold but a nice hot shower warmed me up pretty quick . I have heated gear but left it home yesterday.