best oil to use

[zzzterry]

Hello everyone,
I'm new to the forum, but been reading in here for a while and seen alot of good info and just ordered a china ATV, thought I would give one a try, and i was just wondering what you think is the best oil to run in a TAOTAO ATA 250D

[FLASHLIGHTBOY]

Do you mean grade of oil .. like 10-40??? or who;s brand of oil??? I use the shell 10 w -40 in mine and for cooler times of the year.,.. 10w 30..

[Weldangrind]

I firmly believe that wet clutches need motorcycle oil. If on a budget, Castrol 10W40 or 15W40 motorcycle oil is available at Wal-Mart for cheap.

Regular car oil has friction modifiers that will cause the clutch to slip.

[TurboT]

Would a CVT style transmission in a quad require motorcycle oil as well? Or just regular oil with the correct weight?

[katoranger]

Would a CVT style transmission in a quad require motorcycle oil as well? Or just regular oil with the correct weight?

Good question. On the GY6 scooter style I would say no, but on the little 50-110cc quads I an not sure. I don't know how they are setup.

Allen

[Weldangrind]

CVT is different; the clutch is dry and external. In that case, run whatever you wish. In our CVT, we use 10W30 synthetic.

[TurboT]

CVT is different; the clutch is dry and external. In that case, run whatever you wish. In our CVT, we use 10W30 synthetic.

Okay good, it is what I had 'thought' but I got a bit nervous there. I'm running 15/40 Diesel oil in my quads. Seems to be doing fine. I couldn't 'find' 10/40 anywhere initially, but have subsequently seen it recently.

The YZ on the other hand, has Mobil 1 Synthetic, 15W-50, non energy conserving oil in it. For the price, one might think it has gold flakes in it! For my coming oil change, I may try the specific YamaLube to see if it's different, worse, better..

[Weldangrind]

CVT is different; the clutch is dry and external. In that case, run whatever you wish. In our CVT, we use 10W30 synthetic.

Okay good, it is what I had 'thought' but I got a bit nervous there. I'm running 15/40 Diesel oil in my quads. Seems to be doing fine. I couldn't 'find' 10/40 anywhere initially, but have subsequently seen it recently.

The YZ on the other hand, has Mobil 1 Synthetic, 15W-50, non energy conserving oil in it. For the price, one might think it has gold flakes in it! For my coming oil change, I may try the specific YamaLube to see if it's different, worse, better..

Are you referring to your daughter's quads when you ask about CVT? If so, those quads are automatic clutches, not CVT. I would definitely use motorcycle oil in an automatic clutch.

Re synthetic oil, try Motul. It's available at most bike shops, but I've found the best price at 3-D Cycle in Abbotsford.

[offroad1]

Most cycles that share tranny and motor oil probably would do best (as Weld said) with cycle oil. Less friction modifiers and more molecular stability when being chewed by gears.

However.....I have had ok luck with running 15-40W diesel truck oil (maybe more zinc in it?).
I do change fairly often, so that probably keeps me outa trouble.

[TurboT]

Are you referring to your daughter's quads when you ask about CVT? If so, those quads are automatic clutches, not CVT. I would definitely use motorcycle oil in an automatic clutch.
Hey D,

Why do you say they are automatic clutches and not CVT? The Gio website specifies they are CVT's in their specs page...and yes I was referring to my daughters units. Neither of the manuals say to use motorcyle oil, but they are rather confusing.

Re synthetic oil, try Motul. It's available at most bike shops, but I've found the best price at 3-D Cycle in Abbotsford.

Funny how I'm pretty anal about 'manufacturer's specified' oils in my cars, yet I go and put something other in my bike since I read on the Thumpertalk forum others were having success with it. I thought perhaps I should give the YamahaLube a try since that's what the dealer recommends... I will have a look at options when in Daytona later in the week.

[Weldangrind]

When they say CVT, they're trying to describe the traditional horizontal Honda clone fully automatic (automatic clutch and gears). When I say CVT, I'm describing a Continually Variable Transmission, which is accomplished by two pulleys and a belt (that's over-simplified, but workable). Since your daughter's quads have wet clutches, motorcycle oil is advised.

Motul is a worls class racing oil. Do a search on it, and see if you'd like to try it.