About ready to do my second oil change and want to know if the victory oil is preffered, or is the synthetic? I thought about amsoil 20/50 and filter, since that is mostly what I have run in my other bikes. Ride safe!
Preffered oil
SLORIDE
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Oil questions? At one time we all have wondered what oil to use or asked do I have to use the OEM factory oil. The answer is absolutely not!SLORIDE said:
Victory oil does not have some special secrete formula with some special unavailable additives. Victory is not any different then Honda, Harley, Ford, Chevy or any other manufacturer who wants to brand and market these types of products. Victory as everyone knows uses in depended suppliers for their Oil and Chemical lines.
To make my point Victory oil was produced by BP (British Petroleum) at one time.BP markets many oils under several different Labels. The most recognizable is Castrol. I got this information from a Victory engineer at the Victory Store in Sturgis 2011. The reason my statement (At one Time) is that all engine manufactures are always looking to reduce cost and shop suppliers. They may change suppliers or have more than one supplier.
I say to each his or her, own when it comes to oil preference. If you are happy buying Victory oil because it says Victory on the Bottle go for it. The fact is as long as you use an oil that meets or exceeds the manufactures requirements, does not say energy conserving in the API label which means it does not contain any added friction modifier and follow the scheduled maintenance and keep a log with receipts your warranty is safe.
I don't recommend any specific brand that isyour call as you the consumer thats your choice. I have been riding for 40 + years and have never used any OEM oils in any of my bikes anI have owned many andI have never had an issue. I have a good friend that was a Factory Trained Suzuki and Indian Tech new era and Service Manager for 28 years. He never saw not one engine failure in 28 years due to brand of oil used.
My oil preference is Castrol Synthetic Blend 20-50. Victory 20-40 Castrol 20-50 no big deal in viscosity but I live in the desert of Arizona with summer temps in the 110-118 range and have never had an oil or heat issue. I ride all year long 20k + a year. Note! If you live in a cooler temperate area you may wish to run a lower viscosity. Castrol Synthetic Blend 20-50 is a Non Energy Conserving oil that meets and exceeds the manufactures recommendations. My oil filter preference is a Bosch 3323 because it is a quality filter and reasonably priced and both are available from most auto parts stores. The Castrol Synthetic Blend terminal brake down point is 425 degrees. If you get the oil that hot you have other things to worry about.
I hope this was helpful to some. Again this is just my take on the subject of oil. We all have our opinions that what makes America great we all have right to our opinion. Ride Safe and often!
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Okay, I really don't want to prolong this. And I'm not going to lie - I didn't read all the reponses. I will agree that choice of oil is much a matter of personal choice. I know which brands I prefer and what some of the OEMs recommend. Now, stepping up on my soapbox, a couple things.
First, let me establish myself: I was the Materials Manager for Yamaha Motors (Corporate office) over all spare parts, including oil. I was also the National Parts Manager for Kubota Tractor Corp, also over spare parts including oil. At the time of KTC, I dove into the details of the oil sales and worked to bring the sales from under $1M/yr to over $7M in just 2 yrs.
I will tell you that, at least in KTC's case, there ARE some special additives. Buying the OEM oils does NOT just mean you're getting rebranded oil from somewhere else. While I was the manager, I moved the oil from one supplier (won't name) to Valvoline. But they were the manufacturer ONLY - It was NOT just rebranded Valvoline. And I can conclusively say that there were differences in KTC oils over Valvoline oil. (I'm not saying this for all OEMs, but at least for Yamaha and Kubota.) The design of the oil was specificially engineered to meet certain parameters of the Kubota engine requirements. (And don't ask me what those were - that was 10+ yrs ago and I wasn't the engineer itself. Jeez!)
Stepping off soap box now.
Now for some other information if you're trying to choose oil, I'll say read the Lloydz Tech Tips here http://www.lloydz.com/techtips.asp. I think he may know a little something about it.
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I love this stuff, Oil Questions? Many oils do contain special additives but let's keep the response to Victories oil which was the intent in my post.
Victory oil does have additives like any oil but they are not special. Victory keeps that information hidden. If Victory's OEM oil has some special additive that is not available from some other source please send me the Specific formulas and special additives Specific to Victories OEM motor oil I would like to see them. I am always looking for new Information so that I may pass it on to my riding group.
If someone has a website link to Victories oil chemistry again I would like to see it.
I don't want some list of what you have been told or heard. I want the actual site with posted Specifications. Additives, Friction inhibitors, Viscosity Breakdown, Flash Points and other information etc that make Victory's oil unique. If Victory did posted this information you would find that there are other oils out there that would meet Victories specification. That is the only thing I was trying to say.
I to could try to impress everyone with my past work /engineering experience but I did not think it is necessary. For those who do not want to responded and keep the tread going then don't.
Some times in our emails the true meaning and intent can be lost. I am not trying to argue my point. I only want the true facts, true written facts from the manufacture. I believe they don't exist in a public form.
Ride Safe and Often
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Bandpilot said:
I dont mean to be rude, but I cant help myself... You just posted a book that means very little. Your friend has not seen an engine failure in 28 years due to oil? The problem is not the engine it is the tranny. Also, you could run car oil in a Suzuki and it would be fine. I dont recall BP ever making the oil for Victory especially not in 2011. Lube Tech has been the sole supplier since atleast 2008 and they are the ones that make most of Castrol's oil and Mobil's. Now in all of the words you posted you are misleading the average reader into thinking any JASO rated oil will work fine. Fact is it wont. As far as warranty, if all JASO oils are acceptable, why do I know of three separate instances of clutch's not being warrantied because the owners used full synthetic (Yes Amsoil sorry Bubba)? You run, in your bike Castrol Semi-Synthetic, which is great, it meets the intent of the warranty verbiage but your going to recommend something else? No, you do not need to use OEM oil, but you do need to use something equal or better. So show me where a full synthetic has been tested and proven better in a Victory powerplant. Cant be proven because it has never been done. We do not own HD's, our wet clutch system is very different.
Okay here is a challenge to all the people on here that want to recommend putting full synthetic oil in a Vic. If you feel it is that much better and safer then a semi synthetic, put your money where your mouth is. When someone here has a warranty denied for following your advice you all chip in for his lawyer and quote the M&M act to your blue in the face...
How about it? Who wants to start the fund?
Sorry bandpilot you just hit me on my 6 month oil blowout soapbox speech....
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I couldnt quote your response to me for some reason? I did pick on you a little because your response was one of the more intelligent ones I have read in the past 10 pages or so... But that is a scary thing, if I was reading your post as a newbie, I would come away with exactly what I said early, all JASO oils should be fine and they are not. Your response was almost 100% correct (except for the BP comment) but you are using a semi synthetic. The rest of my rant was basically venting on everyone that wants to make recommendations, heck one person sat here and recommended an oil that has friction modifiers. Oh, and if you want to see the special blend you can pull it off the Lube Tech MSDS sheet section. It is no different then the equivalent Castrol Semi-Synthetic. Also, nothing I wrote in my previous response was an opinion, it is all based on facts and documentation of dealing with Victory for years.Bandpilot said:
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So if you use a full synthetic like AMS oil and have a clutch issue or failure Victory can void the warranty on that component?????
I am a new 2012 XR owner and just put AMS oil in!!!!!!!!
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Great!!!!!!!!!!!! Just wasted $70 on AMS oil. I have a 5 year warranty on the powertrain and I don't want to take any chances. AMS oil was easier to get a hold of for me.
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You could call and check and verify with your Dealer to be safe. But in the days of Corporate earnings you are taking a risk with your warranty. The Owners Manual is pretty explicit and I am no warranty expert. If the oil you used was the same specs and weight it wouldn't be an issue but since it isn't, it could be an issue. You take a chance in everything you do.nkleiner728 said:
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Screw the dealer I want someone from Polaris/ Victory to verify this! The dealer sold me AMS oil!!!!!!! AMS oil does not make a 20w40 so it says right on the 10w40 bottle recommended for Victory bikes as well as others.
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AMSOIL can say anythingthey want, they don't own Victory nor do they run the Warranty Department. 20W40 is required in the manual and Amsoil don't make that weight. Of course they will recommend their own oil. Amsoil is good oil but not within the published specs. If the Dealer sold it I would feel a little better about it, but I would still ask Victory because if there is an issue they will be the ones to accept or decline.Could they decline? Absolutely. I'm not giving you a hard time but proceed with caution and run whatever oil you want.nkleiner728 said:
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Not at all a "hard time"thanks for the information. Waiting on a call back from the dealer who is calling Victory tech department for an answer.clif02 said:
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I wouldn't get too worked up over the Amsoil 10W-40, it's unlikely you will have ANY clutch issue with that oil. It's the 20W-50 V-Twin Amsoil that people use that has the reputation of causing slippage in Freedom engine's Clutch and that can be rectified by simply going back to Victory oil if it happens. In 99% of the cases slippage can be cured by going back to the higher friction oils. The oil molecule does not bond with the clutch pack, it's absorbed by it. Changing oils will flush the additives that cause the slippage and "cure" a slipping clutch. It's only if you are a completely meat fisted idiot that hammers the bike when it's obviioulsy slipping where any long term clutch damage would occur.
I would also not get too worked up over claims that warranty work being has been denied, we don't know what specifics caused the claim denial and I seriously doubt it was because they were full synthetics. That may be the story as it went from person to person to person but the simple term "synthetic" has so little to so with the oils clutch properties it's irrelevant to a warranty discussion. It's more than likley they were not MC oils (Rotella comes to mind) or heavy weigh oils like the Harley specific 20W-50 oils. Note, the term V-Twin is shorthand for Harley in the oil industry. Aside from the cylindar configuration the Victory motor has NOTHING in common with a Harley motor, why would you expect it to use the same oil?
FYI, the service manual makes no reference to syntheitc or semi-synthetic, it only refers to the viscocity rating and that it should be a MC rated oil and to never use oil additives. Sure, the spec is 20W-40 but the high number is what's really important, that describes how the oil works at operating temperature. The low number is a measure of how well the oil flows at low temps.
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