Winter weight oil

[GARYD]

OK, I searched for winter weight oil/winter oil and winter - nothing comes up.

In the past I've changed to 10-40 motorcycle oil for riding in the winter(Chicago). I'm going to change my oil tomorrow, but the temps are still in the 50's today and back to the 60's in a few days. Will changing to lighter weight oil harm the engine in the short time interval before it starts going into the 30's and below? I usually ride every Sunday - as long as the roads are dry and free of salt.
I'm also thinking on just staying with the 20-50 and warming the engine somehow before going for a ride. Which is a little more of a PITA then just switching oil.

What do you guys think?

All answers are welcome - serious - good - snotty - funny - or

[rhino 2]

Stick with the 20/50 but use Synthetic,
And warming up a cold engine a little in the winter is always a good idea.

[garyk]

MOBIL 1 15W-50 is what I run all year long. (20W-50 in primary).
Red Line 58204 Heavy ShockProof Gear Oil in Tranny.pepper

[John Luciano]

Only difference is in the starting. After that the oil just lubes the motor. Operating temp will be the same. You can run any oil u want if you store it in a warm area.

[Phu Cat]

Gary, Stick with the multi-viscosity oils. If you're riding in really cold weather it's not likely that your engine will get hot enough to get the benefit of synthetic oil.

Multi-vis oils keep the oil thin enough to circulate when they're cold because the V.I.S. (viscosity index improvers) are still curled up. As the oil warms the VII's start to uncurl and give you the same protection a higher vis oil would.

Dino or synthetic oil is up to you and will likely be debated for some time to come. I use synthetic oil, but I live in Florida. Keeping your oil changed regularly is the hot tip. You've probably heard it said the "fresh oil is the cheapest insurance".

Phu Cat

[GARYD]

Phu Cat, I do use multi-viscosity syn in all my vehicles because in the long run it's just as cheap as dino but better protection(higher temp protection). And I don't have to change as often (which is great in the winter) and clutter up land fills.
Many years ago I added up the costs of dino vs syn and syn actually was a little cheaper then dino, but a lot more convenient for me.