silverbird1100 Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 How long has the price been up $3 a quart?! It's $12 at my local dealer and $9.80 at a private one. I paid $6 less than a year ago!! BULLSHIT! When I decided to switch a rep told me they pride themselves on noy continually raising their prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rockmeupto125 Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 And now they can pride themselves on not raising it again until the next time. That's a big hit, but their alternative is to raise the price 3 cents every month like the post office. Think of all the extra money they'd have to charge for the overhead to change their prices that often. Your alternative is to find another oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunedain Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 I wish I could sympithize but I buy Repsol. $8.95 for several years now. A free shirt here and there. A free hat here and there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaXX Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 I have a friend who joined the Amsoil club or whatever they call it. He got me 20w50 "motorcycle" oil about a month ago for $78 a case of 12. I got the impression anyone can join and order direct. I paid the same price a year ago too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Well, that's when you decide if the price is worth whatever tangable benefits you are getting by using that oil. If you experience none, then you may want to switch oils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
150Fuelie Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 $20.00 a year and you become a prefered customer and get all their stuff at dealer cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toynut Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 $20.00 a year and you become a prefered customer and get all their stuff at dealer cost. I believe that their distribution model closely resembles a pyramid. Therefore, "dealer cost", is a relative term. Amway has a lot of "dealers" too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Well, I've used AMSOIL for years. 1. I don't think I pay THAT much for a quart, but I'd have to check my receipts. 2. You can order directly online. I suspect the high price you're paying is your local dealer's markup. It sounds in line with what local places I know that stock AMSOIL charges. 3. One benefit you get from AMSOIL is extended oil drains because the lube does not break down like ordinary oils. Just change the filter and top off during the season and you don't go through as much as the same stuff you normally get off the shelf that should be changed every 5,000 miles. Perhaps you should try ordering online. Retailers have overhead to cover. I don't find anything for a motorcycle cheaper from the local store. BTW, as much as AMSOIL is not dino-oil, it does need dino-oil in the manufacturing process. As oil prices go up, companies have had overhead go up, and ultimately the cost is being passed to the consumers. Dang. Just checked online....$8.70 a quart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obby Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Geez, that's pricey. I just run my used truck oil in mine . On a serious note, I've been paying about $45 a change at 5k miles (that includes the $10 for the filter). No problems, oil related, in 55k+ miles or so. My 2 cents... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Krypt Keeper Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Shell Rotella 5W-40 syn. $14 a gallon Wix oil filter $5 Only thing I buy from Honda is the crush washers, polish, and chain lube.. I change my oil every 2.5k - 3k miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bird Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 I prefer Amsoil but switched to Motul Semi b/c the Brit site make a huge fuss about using full Synthetic, I paid $100 a case of 12. It is expensive up here but I'm thinking of switching back to Amsoil cause I think by bike runs cooler with it. My 2 Cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 I'm at about 25 bucks an oil change including filter. Change it every 5k (kms) I'm at 84k miles with no issues so far. Working for me anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVLXX Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 You guys and your Amsoil kill me.... and now it's $12 a quart.. Ok... just curious... so how many miles is that good for ? 10K.... 20K .... 30K. What's the cost vrs protection ratio compared to say Mobil 1 , or..... Maybe even Valvoline Full syn ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Who here has ever had a oil related problem with their Bird with any brand of oil, please raise your hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Krypt Keeper Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Nik.. although it wasn't the oil that failed, it was the oil pan from not being able to take the 150ft lbs of torque applied to the drain plug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 You guys and your Amsoil kill me.... and now it's $12 a quart.. Ok... just curious... so how many miles is that good for ? 10K.... 20K .... 30K. What's the cost vrs protection ratio compared to say Mobil 1 , or..... Maybe even Valvoline Full syn ? Well, it's not $12 a quart where I'm at. It's over $8 a quart, but that's splitting hairs. AMSOIL used to claim on ordinary cars/trucks that you could go 50,000 miles or one year with nothing more than a filter change in 6 months and a top-off of oil lost to the filter. I've done that in my pickup truck. Over 100,000 miles and going strong. For "high-stress" applications like motorcycles, AMSOIL said their product was good for three times the normal change interval or one year. Since the recommended change interval on my Kawasaki was 3,000 miles, that came out to 9,000 miles which was about what I put on in a year more or less. Consider that my old Kawasaki (which is when I went to AMSOIL) had an internal fileter, and I had no choice but to dump the oil to change the filter. Now, AMSOIL seems to have stopped making that claim, but at the time they made it, they had hard data showing that they outperformed any other product out there, and they even paid to rebuild a trucker's engine who put over 300,000 miles on without changing oil. The condition of the cylinders was incredible. Remember that AMSOIL started making lubricants for the aerospace industry long before synthetics for cars, trucks and motorcycles was a significant market. AMSOIL (at that time) did not make "motorcycle oil" as there was really no difference between what they sold for cars or for motorcycles. To my knowledge, the only difference between their regular product and motorcycle product is the label. It's 100% synthetic. What works in the car works in the bike (unlike dino oil which frequently gets "doctored" for particular uses). I suspect they dropped the extended drain promotion line at the advice of lawyers who fear someone might try a product liability claim that even if it fails, would be expensive to defend against. Remember, 3,000 mile change intervals were suggested when dino oil was crude and formulated for big V8 motors and not the hot burning 4 cylinder jobs on the road today. Even off-the-shelf dino oil can go an easy 5,000 miles or more (esp. highway miles) before you need to worry about it being unfit to use. I change bike oil in the winter. New filter. In summer, I change the filter and top off. I average 10,000 miles in a year depending on how many trips I make on the bike. If that sounds extreme, I don't know of a single verifiable claim that AMSOIL has ever damaged a motor with the extended drain interval practice. More so, any off-the-shelf synthetic will cost you as much as AMSOIL or only save you a few bucks. If you change oil more than once a year, you've just paid more for an inferior product (Mobil 1 synthetic is one of the best off-the-shelf items and it does not compare with AMSOIL's performance when tested). Sorry for the sales pitch (I don't sell AMSOIL), but when they first marketed their product, it was ALWAYS more expensive than the next best competition (Mobil 1), and AMSOIL ALWAYS STATED that the value of their product was (1) better protection and (2) the ability to change oil less frequently (which compensates in how much product you buy each year). I don't think AMSOIL's base price is too unrealistic. I got full-synthetic for my dad's little 250. On short notice, I went to Wal-Mart, and what I found cost over $5.00 a quart. Yeah, other synthetics can likely go longer than the recommended change interval too, but NO OTHER PRODUCT has EVER quaranteed that their product was safe for extended drain intervals. Add to that the fact that AMSOIL can take more heat and stay liquid in colder temps (why I didn't have a block heater during Wyoming winters) and that it CLEANS your motor with heat (my Kawasaki had a lot of miles and ZERO gum or varnish with around 50K miles on it), and you are paying for a better all-around product. What I don't get are people who buy AMSOIL and change oil and filter every 1,000 miles. :icon_think: I mean, if you race your bike, I could see that, but why bother buying AMSOIL if you're going to dump every 1,000 miles. Dino oil will do good enough for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB4XX Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Oh cool! An oil thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott s. Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 just by a case of filters from peeps and change the oil every 3000 and it dosen't matter what kind of oil you use. :icon_clap: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bird Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 What's so magical about 3000 miles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 What's so magical about 3000 miles? It's the interval most promoted for oil changes. It was good advice (3 months or 3,000 miles) back when the new 4 cylinder cars came out. Oil was not formulated to deal with the higher stress and heat. Today, that advice is still pushed to keep the quick lube places in business. Airplanes put the highest stress on lube. They don't dump it. They ship it someplace where it's filtered and has the special additives replaced. Oil itself never wears out. Synthetic just can go alot longer without replacement with no harm. I change oil over the winter because it's when I do the least riding, so I might as well drain out the old and put in the new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Krypt Keeper Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 I replace mine every 2500 - 3000 miles because its normally a 500 mile round trip day to the mountains and while I am there my bike won't see below 6k RPM's while I play and enjoy the scenery. I have no doubt my oil will last 8k miles between changes, but I do it at or before 3k cause of the RPM's I turn in the mountains, I do have some time in between where my bike won't be started for 2 weeks or more at a time, and its only costs me less than $20 and takes about 30 minutes if I let the bike sit to drain for 20 minutes. My damn tires cost me $250 and are gone in 4k to 4.5k miles the price of my oil changes and the frequency of which I do them is nothing compared to my tire cost. I do my truck every 5k miles. Wifes van every 5k miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVLXX Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 You guys and your Amsoil kill me.... and now it's $12 a quart.. Ok... just curious... so how many miles is that good for ? 10K.... 20K .... 30K. What's the cost vrs protection ratio compared to say Mobil 1 , or..... Maybe even Valvoline Full syn ? Well, it's not $12 a quart where I'm at. It's over $8 a quart, but that's splitting hairs. AMSOIL used to claim on ordinary cars/trucks that you could go 50,000 miles or one year with nothing more than a filter change in 6 months and a top-off of oil lost to the filter. I've done that in my pickup truck. Over 100,000 miles and going strong. For "high-stress" applications like motorcycles, AMSOIL said their product was good for three times the normal change interval or one year. Since the recommended change interval on my Kawasaki was 3,000 miles, that came out to 9,000 miles which was about what I put on in a year more or less. Consider that my old Kawasaki (which is when I went to AMSOIL) had an internal fileter, and I had no choice but to dump the oil to change the filter. Now, AMSOIL seems to have stopped making that claim, but at the time they made it, they had hard data showing that they outperformed any other product out there, and they even paid to rebuild a trucker's engine who put over 300,000 miles on without changing oil. The condition of the cylinders was incredible. Remember that AMSOIL started making lubricants for the aerospace industry long before synthetics for cars, trucks and motorcycles was a significant market. AMSOIL (at that time) did not make "motorcycle oil" as there was really no difference between what they sold for cars or for motorcycles. To my knowledge, the only difference between their regular product and motorcycle product is the label. It's 100% synthetic. What works in the car works in the bike (unlike dino oil which frequently gets "doctored" for particular uses). I suspect they dropped the extended drain promotion line at the advice of lawyers who fear someone might try a product liability claim that even if it fails, would be expensive to defend against. Remember, 3,000 mile change intervals were suggested when dino oil was crude and formulated for big V8 motors and not the hot burning 4 cylinder jobs on the road today. Even off-the-shelf dino oil can go an easy 5,000 miles or more (esp. highway miles) before you need to worry about it being unfit to use. I change bike oil in the winter. New filter. In summer, I change the filter and top off. I average 10,000 miles in a year depending on how many trips I make on the bike. If that sounds extreme, I don't know of a single verifiable claim that AMSOIL has ever damaged a motor with the extended drain interval practice. More so, any off-the-shelf synthetic will cost you as much as AMSOIL or only save you a few bucks. If you change oil more than once a year, you've just paid more for an inferior product (Mobil 1 synthetic is one of the best off-the-shelf items and it does not compare with AMSOIL's performance when tested). Sorry for the sales pitch (I don't sell AMSOIL), but when they first marketed their product, it was ALWAYS more expensive than the next best competition (Mobil 1), and AMSOIL ALWAYS STATED that the value of their product was (1) better protection and (2) the ability to change oil less frequently (which compensates in how much product you buy each year). I don't think AMSOIL's base price is too unrealistic. I got full-synthetic for my dad's little 250. On short notice, I went to Wal-Mart, and what I found cost over $5.00 a quart. Yeah, other synthetics can likely go longer than the recommended change interval too, but NO OTHER PRODUCT has EVER quaranteed that their product was safe for extended drain intervals. Add to that the fact that AMSOIL can take more heat and stay liquid in colder temps (why I didn't have a block heater during Wyoming winters) and that it CLEANS your motor with heat (my Kawasaki had a lot of miles and ZERO gum or varnish with around 50K miles on it), and you are paying for a better all-around product. What I don't get are people who buy AMSOIL and change oil and filter every 1,000 miles. :icon_think: I mean, if you race your bike, I could see that, but why bother buying AMSOIL if you're going to dump every 1,000 miles. Dino oil will do good enough for that. Wow... I did not know that Amsoil used to make such a strong promise... that's very interesting.... even more so now... because if it was still so great... why not continue the promise ? What's so magical about 3000 miles? It's the interval most promoted for oil changes. It was good advice (3 months or 3,000 miles) back when the new 4 cylinder cars came out. Oil was not formulated to deal with the higher stress and heat. Today, that advice is still pushed to keep the quick lube places in business. Airplanes put the highest stress on lube. They don't dump it. They ship it someplace where it's filtered and has the special additives replaced. Oil itself never wears out. Synthetic just can go alot longer without replacement with no harm. I change oil over the winter because it's when I do the least riding, so I might as well drain out the old and put in the new. One of our members ran his Oil over 10K... and did the testing to back it up... not on Amsoil.... but on Mobil 1. Plus I've pulled up every test article and spec sheet I could get my hands on, researched all of the additives and what they do..... which is why I'm sticking with Mobil 1. Oh cool! An oil thread! ............... probably not for long... it's a crime to talk about old topics around here don't you know.... especially OIL. And I'm sure all of our new members have searched back through the last 3 years ... to find the really good articles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Wow... I did not know that Amsoil used to make such a strong promise... that's very interesting.... even more so now... because if it was still so great... why not continue the promise ? I'm going to contact AMSOIL to ask about that. As I said, I suspect they stopped the claim thanks to how litigious people are over the slightest thing. You test AMSOIL and blow your motor (having nothing to do with AMSOIL's quality), and they have a costly lawsuit and a lot of bad press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Wow... I did not know that Amsoil used to make such a strong promise... that's very interesting.... even more so now... because if it was still so great... why not continue the promise ? I'm going to contact AMSOIL to ask about that. As I said, I suspect they stopped the claim thanks to how litigious people are over the slightest thing. You test AMSOIL and blow your motor (having nothing to do with AMSOIL's quality), and they have a costly lawsuit and a lot of bad press. Also, there is the thing about people not believing their engines burn/lose oil over time, so it's VERY possible that someone would just run the engine and not ever check the oil, and run it dry... MIke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shovelstrokeed Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Let's see. $12/qt for Amsoil and let's be generous and give it a 10K change interval with a filter change at 5K. That's $68/10K miles or $272 at 40K when you are due for another $68 change. I pay $12/gallon for Shell Rotella 15w40 at my local NAPA and get a filter there for $5. Change oil at 5K miles, so, at the end of 40K, I'll have spent $68 and be due for another $17 change. I can't imagine my engine showing any more wear using an oil designed for heavy duty applications. I could be wrong though, I'll let you know in a couple of years when I have over 100K on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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