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**Bismaya** · 08-27-2018, 06:15 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by #bpk View Post

I think bajaj recommends 20w 50, this is ok with your bike, but what about honda engines which recommends 10w 30. Which grade of oil do you recommend for honda engines

Just like Hero, Honda recommends 10w30 during the warranty period. After that, you can always use a better oil.

I used 20w40 on my old Twister and currently using on my Splendor Pro. As for 20w50, I've used it on my roommate's Pulsar, Hornet and my brother's Unicorn. The 100-125cc bikes can run 20w50 but the tendency to rev hard increases and the engine doesn't feel smooth as compared to when you use 20w40. Not to mention that the mileage takes a hit.

**ashwinprakas** · 08-27-2018, 06:20 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by #bpk View Post

I think bajaj recommends 20w 50, this is ok with your bike, but what about honda engines which recommends 10w 30. Which grade of oil do you recommend for honda engines

The recommended grade is 10W30, which is the same for all commuter motorcycles.

I prefer to go with 20W50 going by the ambient temperature chart and type of use.

Check the international instructions manual, they usually come with the chart.

**Shashank K R** · 08-27-2018, 06:24 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by #bpk View Post

I think bajaj recommends 20w 50, this is ok with your bike, but what about honda engines which recommends 10w 30. Which grade of oil do you recommend for honda engines

I had used 20w40 on my unicorn 160 earlier, and 20w50 on my Gixxer.

Both of them felt smoother (unicorn was not buttery, but it was better than before). Gearshifts improved.

But, they felt a bit strained above 5000rpm and were noticeably sluggish. Also the "tappet" noise on the Gixxer increased.

My friend did use 20w50 on his hornet. It was smooth, yes, but it was terribly sluggish.

I guess it's fine to use them when it's more than 35°C all the time.

**Bismaya** · 08-27-2018, 06:25 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by Shashank K R View Post

I had used 20w40 on my unicorn 160 earlier, and 20w50 on my Gixxer.

Both of them felt smoother (unicorn was not buttery, but it was better than before). Gearshifts improved.

But, they felt a bit strained above 5000rpm and were noticeably sluggish. Also the "tappet" noise on the Gixxer increased.

I guess it's fine to use them when it's more than 35°C all the time.

Should have gone for the 20w50 on the Unicorn. 40 I'd meant for mostly smaller capacity engines. The density wasn't apparently enough for the 160.

**Shashank K R** · 08-27-2018, 06:29 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by Bismaya View Post

Should have gone for the 20w50 on the Unicorn. 40 I'd meant for mostly smaller capacity engines. The density wasn't apparently enough for the 160.

Didn't try it on my bike as it felt quite sluggish with 20w40. The w50 too would've felt sluggish.

**Bismaya** · 08-27-2018, 06:32 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by Shashank K R View Post

Didn't try it on my bike as it felt sluggish with 20w40. The w50 too would've felt sluggish.

Pretty sure that it wouldn't. The Unicorn 160 uses the same engine as the Hornet. And the reason I use the 20w grade oils is because the weather here is always hot & humid and hence the engine oil grade suits the heat and climate. I've seen most of the 150-160 bikes run 20w50 without any issues. Not sure why the Gixxer wouldn't. What's the recommended engine oil from the SVC? I don't have any experience maintaining a Gixxer, so I can't really say much.

**Shashank K R** · 08-27-2018, 06:37 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by Bismaya View Post

Pretty sure that it wouldn't. The Unicorn 160 uses the same engine as the Hornet. And the reason I use the 20w grade oils is because the weather here is always hot & humid and hence the engine oil grade suits the heat and climate. I've seen most of the 150-160 bikes run 20w50 without any issues. Not sure why the Gixxer wouldn't. What's the recommended engine oil from the SVC? I don't have any experience maintaining a Gixxer, so I can't really say much.

The recommended grade is 10w40. It feels best when using that grade.

The bike will feel smooth, but it will dull the acceleration and mileage, which I didn't like. At higher rpms the bike felt a bit more strained than normal.

The temperatures here at Bengaluru vary between 25-30° (touches 35° in summer) most of the time. Hence went with 10w40 for both unicorn and Gixxer.

**Bismaya** · 08-27-2018, 06:39 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by Shashank K R View Post

The recommended grade is 10w40. It feels best when using that grade.

The bike will feel smooth, but it will dull the acceleration and mileage, which I didn't like. At higher rpms the bike felt a bit more strained than normal.

The temperatures here at Bangalore vary between 25-30° (touches 35° in summer) most of the time. Hence went with 10w40 for both unicorn and Gixxer.

Here the temperature is mostly around 35-38C and touches between 42-48 in summers.

**Shashank K R** · 08-27-2018, 06:41 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by Bismaya View Post

Here the temperature is mostly around 35-38C and touches between 42-48 in summers.

Yep, for those temperatures 10w30 is inadequate. The Gixxer manual recommends 20w for anything over 35° IIRC.

Honda's manual recommended 10w30 for all temperatures in their graph, which IMO is stupidity.

**Bismaya** · 08-27-2018, 06:59 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by Shashank K R View Post

Yep, for those temperatures 10w30 is inadequate. The Gixxer manual recommends 20w for anything over 35° IIRC.

Honda's manual recommended 10w30 for all temperatures in their graph, which IMO is stupidity.

You can't contain engine heat with a 10w30. The peak RPM will be stuck at about 5500 and the bike will literally ask to shift to the next gear. Feels overstressed IMO.

**Shashank K R** · 08-27-2018, 07:05 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by Bismaya View Post

You can't contain engine heat with a 10w30. The peak RPM will be stuck at about 5500 and the bike will literally ask to shift to the next gear. Feels overstressed IMO.

That's true, 10w30 is suited for colder climates, below 15-20° IMO, but it's hard to see that kind of climate in India. I wonder where Honda tested this.

**Bismaya** · 08-27-2018, 07:08 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by Shashank K R View Post

That's true, 10w30 is suited for colder climates, below 15-20° IMO, but it's hard to see that kind of climate in India. I wonder where Honda tested this.

Probably in Japan.

**raaz321** · 08-27-2018, 07:32 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

reading all the above comments i understood why my hornet and friend R15 feels awesome one day and crap somedays, temperature and oil grade will effect this much , wow

**#bpk** · 08-27-2018, 07:34 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by ashwinprakas View Post

The recommended grade is 10W30, which is the same for all commuter motorcycles.

I prefer to go with 20W50 going by the ambient temperature chart and type of use.

Check the international instructions manual, they usually come with the chart.

In foreign countries, people have used 10w 40 oil in cbr 250r in which recommended grade is 10w 30. Can i use 10w 40 in summer

**#bpk** · 08-27-2018, 07:57 PM

Re: Honda CB Hornet 160R Owners Experiences

Originally posted by raaz321 View Post

reading all the above comments i understood why my hornet and friend R15 feels awesome one day and crap somedays, temperature and oil grade will effect this much , wow

My new hornet runs calm at 29 degrees. Anything above 30 degrees engine feels stressed if i ride in stop and go heavy traffic

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