20W50 mineral available?
 

Hi!

We will be coming down to Central and South America in a few weeks, with our old Tenere's. Is 20W50 mineral oil, motorcycle special or not available in Central and South America?

Your answer much appreciated!

Auke

Auke- the best man to ask is Bob at smellybiker 'Dot' com - he's been up and down more times than most!!

Loads of it down here. In fact most of the oils are mineral in South- and Central-America, and 20W-50. I'm having hard time finding good semi- or fully synthetic which I much prefer over mineral.

But I must warn on most of the Latin-Americas oils - quality is poor tho, I'd recommend change 1.5-2X more frequently if possible.

If you're lucky you may find a good US or European made oils here, but the price is more than 2X over the locally (mostly Brazilian) made oils - very expensive and relatively hard to find. Usually well equipped car or motorcycle shops in the bigger cities have it.

In Central America you can find 20W50 mineral oil at the various service stations of the familiar international brands like SHELL, ESSO , TEXACO,BP
Also you can find it in the supermarket/department stores in the bigger towns, at motorcycle stores, parts stores, auto parts stores, cambio de aceite stores. Buy it here and carry it to a cambio de aceite place and for a small fee you or they will change the oil.
In several C.A. countries try the supermarket chain PALI which carries Castrol ( and I think PALI is actually a subsidiary of WalMart)
In Mexico the auto parts stores will have it but you may have to look around a bit. For some reason Mexicans seem to use more single grade oils. In Mexico too you will find it at WalMart and its Bodega Aurera branded stores, supermarket chains Soriana, Gigante et al.
As to the quality of oils sold , I am sure you will have no complaints. Most of the big branded motor oils are actually imported from the USA, Canada and Europe, and fullfill all the API qualifications on the label e.g . SJ ,SL,SM. I have done some research in the various stores across Mexico and C.A.
on this topic and find that all BP /Castrol oils come from the US refinery, WalMart's store branded oil is made in USA, Canada,France, Mexico depending on which viscosity you pick . Rohsfrans , a Mexican brand, is made in Mexico but some of their high-end synthetic and semi synthetic blends are made in Canada. Italika oil sold at Italika motorcycle dealers is also up to snuff. I have used both these brands with no complaints from the bike.
Do note that there is some really crappy oil out there , stuff labelled as SA and SB, good pehaps for garden gates and very old cars from around WW I era. But a lot of this comes from .... the USA! They label it with stars and stripes , one brand is called "American Oil" and the label suggests that it be added to older car engines only and no more than to 20% of engine oil content. Yet you will see locals puring in 3 or 4 liters at a time. No wonder a lot of the cars start smoking.It is sold at a bargain price for those who cannot afford the 4 to 5 dollar/L price of good oil but they pay for it eventually with a burnt - up motor.

Thanks!
 

For all the replies. The old Tenere's will feast!

Auke