Cold Weather Oil

[MikeFossl]

So we have 3 inches of snow on the ground now in Maple Bay British Columbia.  It should warm up to 5 degrees C (40 F) tomorrow when I hope to ride again.  I still have the standard 20W50 Royal Purple cycle oil in the bike.  Should I be changing to a 10W40 or 15W40 ASAP or am I good for a few rides? :-/

[montmil]

Per the manual, your Airhead would use 20W50 with temps between -10 to 40C.
Between: -10 to 30C lists 20W40.
Between: -20 to 30C lists 15W50

Cold thickened oil will really test your battery. Keeping the bike plugged into a Battery Tender Jr, or similar, would be a good idea.

Brrrrr...

[Barry]

If the bike is starting from a warm garage then the oil should be OK but not if it's left out all night or as I do at work left out side for 8 hours in low temperatures.

Personally I wouldn't run 20w50 or even 15w40 during the winter. I've used 10w40 for years and that's still too thick when very cold so I'm moving to 5W40.

My ride to work tomorrow is forecast to be at 0 deg C with a maximum during the day of 3 Deg C so I'm really glad I've got the thinner oil in.

As far as BMW recommendations are concerned the riders manual has been superseded 2 or 3 times by successive service bulletins the latest of which is this. No explanation was given of  what they mean by "special oils" but I reckon it has to be synthetic.

Truth is all oils are too thick when cold but 20W50 is grossly too thick as shown on the viscosity comparison chart.

[MikeFossl]

Cold thickened oil will really test your battery. Keeping the bike plugged into a Battery Tender Jr, or similar, would be a good idea.

Brrrrr...

Speaking of batteries and at a risk of hijacking my own thread, I picked up an AGM battery from Amazon.   Despite the wimpy terminals, it seems to work well.

[Barry]

There are a few of us using these generic AGM batteries. They are hard to beat at the price even if they only last a few years.  I had a choice of the same terminals as yours which I'm sure would be fine or these which I've found to be more convenient to connect up. I no longer have  to thread a screwdriver through the slots in the side cover.  This battery starts my bike instantly at -5 C  using 10W40
 
Even if these different makes of batteries are not all actually manufactured in the same Chinese factory the empty cases probably are.

[Bob_Roller]

One thing you may not be aware of, is that these engines develop lots of oil pressure when cold .
If you are using a heavier oil, you may want to warm the engine up for a minute or two before setting off .
Keep the engine speeds on the low side and no heavy throttle use for a few minutes .
A few members here have posted pictures of collapsed oil filters .

[Barry]

A few members here have posted pictures of collapsed oil filters .  

I'll 2nd that - being one of those members that has suffered one.  Nothing like a collapsed filter to focus the mind on how really thick 20W50 is in cold temperatures. The graph posted above says it all.

[arvo92]

Ammm....

While reading this thread I was seriously dazzled not about the oils different people are using but the shere fact that somebody actually drives close to 0 degrees of C...

I live in a nordic country and I shoved my bike into the garage when it fell below 10deg of C. I have not been riding for 2,5 months now and it still is above 0 most of the time (very warm winter for us).

Maybe I should get my bike back out again You guys are either wearing 3 woolen jumpers, have installed heated grips + jacket or get a very warm backrub from your missises before the runout.
But wow.

To the topic. Not knowing exactly about the oils I put 20w50 in there since the summer was hot and close to 30 deg of C for periods of time. I looked at the chart and changed from 10w40 to 20w50. Is the beforementioned oil still good at higher twentis of C in your experience?

[Barry]

I only stopped riding my short commute this week and that was because of the salt and wet rather than the cold and maybe the hailstones which are quite an experience  wearing an open face helmet. I have no heated gear unless you count the fact that I heat my gloves up on the radiator before going out. It does make a difference.

I use 10W40 or now 5W40 year round on the basis it never really gets hot enough in the UK to become too thin at least in my engine. In hotter climates there is no reason that 10W50 or 5W50 wouldn't cover both extremes of temperature. The oil chart does show 10W40 to be OK up to 30C provided it's special oil which I take to mean synthetic. The reason for that will be a specification called HTHS (High Temperature High Shear) This is a viscosity measurement taken at 150 Deg C and other than ZDDP it's what prevents metal to metal contact in high stress areas like cams and piston rings. Synthetics and semi synthetics tend to have a HTHS spec that is higher than the minimum required. For this reason if using a 10W40 I believe it should be at least a quality semi synthetic rather than straight dino.

To be honest when I look at the viscosity chart above I worry about how thick the oil is when it's cold not how thin it is when it's hot.

[arvo92]

Thanks a lot for the oil info. Getting quality 20W50 was a special order in my town + it cost much more than 10W40 which is widespread. Next time I will not bother myself getting that and stick to quality 10W40.

I think there are pros and cons to riding during the winter. Some of my gear is leather and it gets horribly cold even during chilly summer nights. I think winter gear has to be synthetic. The only person I know riding currently has a fluffy full fur jacket made of doghide. Do not ask me where he got this.
The roads are tretcherous here - there is always a patch of frozen road somewhere between the trees even when it has been above 0 for long time. I will stick to riding at warmer temperatures. But if you can keep your body (especially knees and fingers) warm enough, I guess you can ride all year around.

I remember when I lived in UK - every month there was 1-2 days of pure sunshine and lovely weather. It just kind of appeared out of mist and rain and felt like a gentle breeze of summer. And these days the roads were full of bikers.

[Bob_Roller]

I reside in a low desert, temps usually don't get below 32 F, 0 C .
So I ride all year long, no ice, snow or salted road ways to deal with .
Sounds like quite unfavorable conditions for winter riding in Estonia !!!!!

[MikeFossl]

I just picked up 2 litres of 5w50 Quaker State synthetic.  Looks like I'm good to go all year round. 8-)

[Semper Gumby]

10W40 in winter - Valvolene motorcycle oil.
20W50 in the summer - Still using the VR-1 Valvolene.

Now if I could just keep that expensive oil pressure sender from leaking.