A  couple of weeks ago, our friends at Castrol POWER1 had sent us a few cans of their newly launched engine oil, Castrol POWER1 CRUISE which is a premium engine oil especially made for cruiser motorcycles. They had sent these cans to us for testing/review, but we thought that instead of reviewing this new engine oil ourselves, it best to send these oil cans to some of our xBhp community members for them to test it in real world conditions and to see what they think of it.

The first one to review the engine oil was Mr. Sarang Aneja who rides a RE Thunderbird and also runs a group of fellow RE Riders called DRER or Delhi Royal Enfield Riders. Here’s what he has to say about the new POWER1 CRUISE.

Sarang Aneja

Bike: Royal Enfield Thunder Bird 500
Oil details – Castrol POWER1 CRUISE 15W-50 4T
Packing size: 2.5 liters
Background: I have been using my Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 for more than 3 years now.  In the past, I have used engine oils from many different brands.

Then I heard about this new Castrol POWER1 CRUISE oil, especially meant for the cruise category bikes and thus curiosity triggered the need of testing the same on my TB 500.

Engine oil capacity for Bike:  TB 500 needs to fill up with 2.5 Liters of engine oil. The moment I got the packing of 2.5 Liters, I was happy that I need not buy 2 different cans as I used to buy earlier, one pack is good enough to be consumed one time.

Pricing: Castrol POWER1 CRUISE is slightly expensive than the earlier brands used; however, as they have quoted that it’s a better oil and specifically made for cruiser bikes, so still ok to explore & try. The earlier brands of oil used are within the range of Rs 772 to 850; however, this Castrol is within the range of Rs 900 – 1000.

Performance: I got my oil replacement done before my full day riding trip last Sunday and rode my TB500 for good 270 KM’s before writing this review; the bike ride took place at a mix of highway & city, and tested at all speed levels possible with my TB.

I got the new engine oil filled after draining the old oil. When I revved the engine, the sound of my bike was slightly different, but that usually happens when you replace the oil.

Riding: The first 20 km’s of my ride was pure city traffic ride where I felt that the pickup had slightly improved than my earlier oil, the bike felt smoother & the engine knocking sound which I was noticing while using my earlier oil had noticeably reduced.
The clutch and gearshift was comparatively smooth, not drastic difference though.

After I touched the highway, I could feel the difference in the power output. I felt that the power produced by my bike had slightly increased. There was drag, which I used to notice in my earlier oil while cursing at high speed especially when the bike is up and running for a while, maybe because of the engine heating.

I could feel the difference between the earlier oil and the new Castrol POWER1 CRUISE as the engine was performing much better and was giving better output than the earlier oil, and there was less of vibration and less of engine heating.

Mileage: With earlier oils, I have received a mileage of 28 – 30 at different levels; however, after filling this oil I could achieve the mileage of 32 – 33 in the similar scenarios.