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Which motor oil do you suggest?

OriginalRocket said:
If I overfill my PCX with just .250 a quart, it will drag the crank in the oil, foaming it up, and eventually seize the engine. Maybe oil levels are set for a reason.
Click to expand...

Point well made. I plan to fill with the specified correct amount when next I change the oil. probably at 10K miles since my oil changing schedule got derailed by that leaky filter problem (now fixed).
 
OK, let's wrap this up. We're up to 143 posts on this oil thread. In summary:

Buy and use only the oil specifically recommended in the Honda manual, brand of your choice.
With the bike in the vertical position, fill it to the level indicated by the dipstick (not screwed in) - no more, no less.
Change the oil at the interval shown in the Honda maintenance schedule.

How hard can this be?

Greg
 
Last edited:
Beemerphile said:
My question is why would you intentionally over-fill?
Click to expand...

Very good question. And a cause for concern. The last thing I want to do is damage my brand new engine. But if a gallon of oil will damage the engine, then it is already damaged as it came from the factory that way.

So I think a better question is, why does Honda over-fill?

The crankshaft and transmission on the NCX are a semi-dry sump design. This was done to decrease the drag of gears running submerged in oil for increased fuel economy. If you look at the design of the engine, the crankshaft sits lower than the clutch or gearbox which would be impossible in a traditional wet sump design. So the old warnings about oil foaming from crankshaft splash would seem not to apply in this case.

It is my conclusion that Honda puts a gallon in because they know it doesn't matter and it is safer and better for the engine. Or maybe it is the high end of the real spec, and the dipstick is designed with leeway either way. Maybe to save money they used a dipstick from another model? Who knows. And I am not recommending that anyone else do this. But I am confident enough that I am going to do it this way. I checked it again today after a long ride and there was no foam in the oil. Why am I going to do it? Because it is more convenient, no partially filled leftover oil jugs laying around, and the engine will benefit from it.

This is my personal decision, and I am not recommending anyone else take this as advice. And I have nothing bad to say about those who want to strictly follow the manual. That is the safest thing to do ;)
 
feel free to do as you wish.

You'll probably find Honda put 4.3 US quarts in the engine as first fill - that's the dry fill capacity. I doubt they overfill if only for the sake that all those overfill amounts would add up to a lot of cash on a year's production.

It's easy to get the impression that the engine has been overfilled because they've decided a very strange oil measuring routine. The first time I checked I thought they'd overfilled then I read the rule for checking in the manual:

1. If the engine is cold, idle the engine for 3
to 5 minutes.
2. Turn the ignition switch off, stop the
engine and wait 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Place your motorcycle in an upright
position on a firm, level surface.
4. Remove the oil fill cap/dipstick and wipe it
clean.
5. Insert the oil fill cap/dipstick until it seats,
but don’t screw it in.
Check that the oil level is between the
upper and lower level marks in the oil fill
cap/dipstick.
6. Securely install the oil fill cap/dipstick.
 
This reminds me of a running argument/fight my grandpa had with the local Honda car dealership svc dept. His owner's manual said the car should hold a certain amount, so that's the amount he bought and took to the dealer. When the dealer stopped filling when the dipstick said the car was full, and gave the extra pint or so o back to Grandpa, he was irate. One time they used it all. After that, they wouldn't because they didn't want it over filled. Grandpa escalated to American Honda and things just kept getting worse. None of us could ever figure out why Grandpa was so rigidly attached to a spec in a book, yet would happily ignore the dipstick reading (which he'd used in all vehicles, farm and personal, his whole life until he got too old to crawl under the car any more). He knew from experience that manufacturing variance and a host of other factors contributed to what a given engine actually took to reach the 'full' mark on the stick, but at a certain point he decided to ignore all that and assume someone somewhere was trying to cheat or harm him.

It was really, really too bad, but at least you guys have given me a chuckle and a recollection of Grandpa, whom I dearly loved. :)
 
The NC holds so much oil, for an engine of this displacement, that once you fill with 3 qts., it has all the oil it really will ever need.

Art
 
I would have thought that several other design factors besides displacement would be much more critical.
 
OriginalRocket said:
I don't agree with your first statement. But I do find it interesting just how much oil this bike holds. My car holds about the same!
Click to expand...

I think it's due to the long stroke. Longer path for the oil to reach the camshaft. But a longer 8000mile service negates the costs of more oil :)
 
It's pretty much a simple case of the more oil you can put in the sump the longer the service interval the bike can have.
 
If you go 8k+ on 10w30 oil get prepared for even greater costs down the road when your engine doesn't last as long.
 
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