Castrol Power 1 GPS - anyone use it?

Hi all,

Does anyone use this oil or have they used it? Any feedback about it?
I'm considering changing brands from Motul 3100 Gold to this Castrol oil to cure notchy shifting after 3500km and engine is rattly on cold start and also a bit at hot idle.

This question could start a long thread.

Was using it now using Silkolene Comp 4, I think it was a little cheaper at Supercheap, I have no idea if its better. Says 'ester based' does this mean its a type 5 based? I dunno probably not, Castrol GPS is certainly type 4 base and is there really any difference especially in an engine with a relatively low state of tune like the B1250? This all makes my head hurt! I'll just stick with the Silkolene.

I have not tried that particular oil however another you may or may not have considered is
Amsoil MCF SAE 10W-40 Synthetic Motorcycle Oil. This is a full synthetic and I think it was the first synthetic that came to the market. I have used this brand for a good 20-25 years in cars and motorcycles. It costs a little less than mobil 1 and that is delivered to your door usually within a couple of days of ordering.
When I changed my current bike over to it it made a massive improvement to gear changes and engine noise.
07 5530 6300, http://www.enginecare.com.au, parts@enginecare.com.au. If you call them ask to speak to Carl. Can't speak highly enough about the service or the brand.

Haven't used Castrol in the bike. I have used Silkolene full synth and I reckon Belray Semi Synth suited the Bandit better. No notchy shifting until closer to the 6000k intervals.

I use to use castrol, but now only use silkolene comp.

Dhula, whats the word from the Guru?

Can't see any probs with using it as it meets all the spec requirements as set out by Suzuki. Can't seam to find a great deal of tech data that shows makeup of the oil such as zinc content etc but it appears to be a good quality oil designed for bikes so why not give it a go.

Thanks dhula. For exactly the same price you can get the Power 1 Racing oil 5W/40 full synthetic. The Castrol lube guide says you can use either. Lately we have been getting lows of around 22deg and highs in the region of mid 30's. I have been trying to read as much as I can RE oil tech and the old school way of thinking was if you are in a real hot climate use a 20W/50 or a cooler climate use a 15W/40. Does this still apply?
For the same $ go full synthetic its just a little bit lighter (5W) or stick to the GPS semi-synthetic?
I may be being too anal about it but I'm not planning on selling the 650 and want it to last as long as possible before having to rebuild.

Also I took the airfilter out yesterday to check how dirty it was. Noticed a dribble of oil from the engine breather hose in to the airbox. Not a great deal at all you could probably wipe it up with your finger but was wondering if anyone else has found the same thing - you know is this a normal occurrance etc?

Thanks everyone.

I know we like to look after our Bandits but do we really need full synthetic racing oil .This is a unstressed Bandit motor were talking about
here. I brought the Bandit because i didn't have to rev the crap out of it to find power. Semi Syn. seems a more sensible way to go
i would have thought ? That's normally about $60 an oil change, i hate to think what full syn. costs .I did 1000ks this week going nowhere
I'd have to get a second job ( ) just to pay for oil. I sure this must have been discussed before and some people like to know
they have the best oil sloshing around underneath them ,i'm o.k with that. Semi for me and I'll put the savings towards a tyre and be
comfortable knowing (thinking ) its doing its job. Or am i wrong ???

That drip of oil in the air box i would think was normal .If i slightly over fill (oil )in the other bike its more like a flood in the air box, no problem.

Hi Gus,

Castrol Power 1 GPS and Power 1 racing are priced the same. Dunno why. The Racing type is a 5w 40 where the GPS is a 10W 40.

Jas

Now my head is starting to spin. To many choices , like milk. I just want an oil stops the motor wearing out .That will be semi syn. and
no extra dollars .

I better say what i have been using--Motul 5100(ester?) 10w50 price ranges from $5o-$63 for 4lt. No reason, its just what the shop sells.


The used oil that comes out of the bike goes into the car (old )

I know, and so difficult to get hard information: like when you say synthetic do you mean Type III (ultra refined dinosaurs), Type IV (PAO), or Type V (Ester). All of these are marketed as synthetic and what is the practical difference anyway? When it says on the Silkolene bottle "ester based" does this mean that the base stock used is Type V, making it a 'true' synthetic?

I read heaps at http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Consumables.html and http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/ and it doesn't help me decide. Also, be aware that locally marketed oil may not be the same as that marketed under the same name in other countries. And what about the theory that you use the cheapest oil meeting the spec and change it often (like 2000kms)? Some say that oil needs to break-in and during this period wear is highest and how far do you take this i.e. when does it wear out (this contradicts the change often idea)? I also read a very long article is the early 90's based on piston aero engines Synthetic (type V), semi-synthetic and mineral shell oils. Their conclusion was that full synthetics had two advantages 1. Corrosion protection, so engines started only once a month or so would benefit from the increased bonding ability of synthetic oil with metal, (but no benefit for engines started daily) 2. Better protection at high temps, say engines operated continuously at or near max. power (no benefit in engines operated normally). They did not see any significant benefit for semi's. Now, these are air cooled four strokes and probably the high temps seen do not readily occur in water-cooled engines.

So I have given up. I buy what I believe is a high quality oil that has all of the required certs (JASO MA), in the specified viscosity (10W-40) and change it every 6 months (I don't do enough kms) that is readily available (i.e. Repco, Supercheap etc.) Castrol Power 1 Racing fits the same bill.

Oils are to hard to understand. and thats the way oil companies like it!
I'm using POWER1 GPS, but thinking of changing soon, after about 3000k's. as i've been out on the open road a bit lately with the boys and RPM sitting around 5-6000RPM. I'll leave the K&N oil filter in tho.

We had slight problem when we went to Tassie. Two bikes which had both done 2.000 ks each since their last oil change .Going on
a 8.000 kl trip do you change good oil or leave it in .
WE left it in figuring 10.000 touring kls are easier on the motor than 1.000 thrashing .

Well I bit the bullet and went the Power 1 GPS. Bought a genuine oil filter - but my opinion of "genuine" parts dropped out the arse when I saw it was made in China. Is nothing sacred anymore? At least the NGK's are still made in Japan.
Service parts all up cost me $101 - satisfaction of a job well done afterwards - priceless.

Do they charge $30 for the OEM Suzuki filters there? I'm seriously considering buying a box of K&N's or Purulators from the states, $30 for a made in china filter and you don't even get a reach-around.

I just got 3 k&n filters from the uk for $35 Aus Posted

Couldnt complain when you go to the shop and get a hiflo or vesrah for 20 each

A Study Of Motorcycle Oils

Have a look at this downloadable pdf file it compares the following motorcycle oils:
Amsoil MCF,Bel-Ray EXS Super Bike, Castrol Power RS R4 4T, Honda HP4, Lucas High Performance, Maxima Maxum 4 Ultra, Mobil1 Racing 4T, Motul 300V Factory Line, Penzoil, Pure ( Polaris) Victory, Royal Purple Max-Cycle, Spectro, Platinum SX4, Suzuki 4 Cycle Syn Racing, Torco T-4SR and Valvoline 4 strke.
They do comparisons also for cars etc in other studies which are available. They seem to be the only company prepared to go head to head and compare themselves to the rest.

They test even more oils in the SAE 50 group.

Anyway a bit of light reading as this report is only 28 pages.

http://www.amsoil.com/lit/g2156.pdf

This study not only tests engine performance but also transmission and wet clutch as well as cost performance benefit.

Yes, have read it before, quite scientific as I recall. I will probably give the amsoil a go, apart from the higher grades of motul, its the only one that I think is a proper type V synthetic, and the bike shops charge like a wounded bull for the motul. Tks for the info.

This report was concluded in may 2009 so is very current and relevant. They had an affidavit on the results to confirm that they are above board.

May i ask the cost of 4 ltr of Amsoil with out reading 28 pages. Tell me its good and i'll believe you, i go thought lots of oil.
Delivery costs also?

They are selling Motul 5100 for $50 up here as cheap as i've seen it.

The cost will probably be less for you Queenslanders because you purchase direct from the distributor who is based up your way. If you buy in bulk he will do a deal. So if several out your way on the forum buy as a group you may do quite well. In theory you don't need to do oil changes as often as it does not break down like other oils. I believe Amsoil was the inventors of fully syn oil I could be wrong but it is something I have been led to believe.
Delivered to my door in Sydney cost me $91. The performance improvement for me was noticeable.

Have any of you guys seen the photos of Castrol in the rust test? I don't know if this is the same as TheCastrol you are interested in but it is enough to scare me off from considering any of their oils.

I just had another look at the report and Castrol did not appear to do well in not only rust protection but also oxidation, wear protection and high temperature and high shear viscosity.