What Oil Should I Use for Best Clutch/Transmission Performance?

[herbie]

Originally Posted by Bruces

The Honda gn4 is nothing at all special other than the Honda sticker and price tag ,nothing wrong with it ,but also nothing to wet yourself with excitement because you have it either .The Castrol motorcycle oil sold at wallyworld is good cheap oil .

I'm not sure why commented like that so I guess I need to clarify. There are a lot of good quality oils on the market and many are good motorcycle oil, I have used diesel oil for years in my motorcycles both dino and synthetic oils as well as other oil and lots of different brands. The modern water cooled engines are not nearly as dependent on the oil for cooling as our air cooled bikes are. We need better viscocity oil for lubrication and its cooling effects, so the viscocity is of more importance than the brand of oil. I also don't believe there is a great difference in Honda or motorcycle specific oils in themselves, but to my point. We buy everything from the big box stores and online anymore and the local dealers suffer. There may be a day when you need a part like now and your local Honda dealer has it and in stock ( yes some Honda parts fit some chinese engines) So buying oil from them may cost a couple of bucks more but to me it's worth giving them a little business than throwing all my money down into the big box coffers. Just my opinion

[China Rider 27]

Originally Posted by mototech77

You’ve gotten a lot of responses already but I’ll throw mine in if you are interested. I changed to Amsoil 30w Break-in oil before first startup, based on recommendations from other Lifan Xpect riders. The engine runs quietly and smoothly with no clutch or shifting issues. Once I have finished the break in period, I am changing to Amsoil 10w-40 Metric Motorcycle oil (I used a little bit of this on top of the initial quart of break-in oil to get to top fill line).

Curious I looked up that Amsoil 30w break-in. The website says not to use it in Motorcycles because it is not rated for wet clutches?

https://blog.amsoil.com/why-you-shou...rts-equipment/

[franque]

I wouldn't use anything that the manufacturer advises against using for wet clutches, simply because you don't want to unnecessarily have to replace a clutch because the friction modifiers in the oil killed the friction discs in the clutch.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Wild Dog

The reason why i avoid using syn oil in these engines, it's because it's an overkill.
They were designed when Dino oil was the norm.

Don't know in the US, but here you can buy 2,5 liters of Dino oil with the same money you can buy one liter of syn oil.

The only damage you will get when using syn oil instead of dino is in the wallet.

A gallon of T4 in my area (3.78 quarts) is $14, give.or take. A gallon of T6 is about $21. Break that down to the quart and its $3.70 vs $5.56 which quite literally is a 50% increase in price for the synthetic version.

Even with the oil cooler, T4 lasts at best 800 miles in my bike. So far the T6 tends to be pretty much roasted around 1500 miles, but for arguments sake let's call it 1200, which is still a 50% increase in oil life meaning my total cost of operation between the two oils is almost identical.

[China Rider 27]

That AMSOIL link has a good comparison of conventional versus synthetic oil and of course they are selling synthetic oil but if the testing backs it up.

https://blog.amsoil.com/synthetic-vs-conventional-oil/

[TxTaoRider]

I love oil threads.
"Oil-use it".

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by TxTaoRider

I love oil threads.
"Oil-use it".

Just embrace it and let your universe expand.

[Boatguy]

This problem is solved.

I used Amsoil 20w50 full synthetic made for air cooled v-twin bikes and compatible with wet clutches.

Within minutes of starting to ride, the transmission worked better. I can shift into neutral from first now. So if you are having this problem, switch to a different oil. Rotella T4 is not the right oil for these transmissions/clutches, at least with my Lifan X-pect.

This Amsoil is available at Ace hardware, among other places. I saw it and grabbed it on a whim.

All shifting problems were solved instantly.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Boatguy

This problem is solved.

I used Amsoil 20w50 full synthetic made for air cooled v-twin bikes and compatible with wet clutches.

Within minutes of starting to ride, the transmission worked better. I can shift into neutral from first now. So if you are having this problem, switch to a different oil. Rotella T4 is not the right oil for these transmissions/clutches, at least with my Lifan X-pect.

This Amsoil is available at Ace hardware, among other places. I saw it and grabbed it on a whim.

All shifting problems were solved instantly.

I think you will find that the 20w50 part of the Amsoil equation was a bigger reason for the increased transmission performance than anything else. Considering you live in a warmer climate especially. 10w40 and 15w40 of any brand degrades pretty quickly in these motors due to heat soak and small capacity. The second I added my oil cooler my transmission "clunkyness" was greatly reduced while running said oil weights.

Not saying that Amsoil isn't great stuff either. It's the only thing I use in my VFR (7100 10w40 synthetic) as it runs and shifts the smoothest. At $60 a gallon though, not quite something I will run in my Hawk lol.

[China Rider 27]

The test would be to put some T-7 in it at next oil change and see if the shifting problems return.

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by China Rider 27

The test would be to put some T-7 in it at next oil change and see if the shifting problems return.

Hate to disappoint, but NO THANKS! Ha ha ha.

I’m happy with a perfectly functioning bike at this point. I don’t want to go back to bad shifting.

[TheChairman]

Rotella T4 15w40 is the goto for motorcyclists across the board. All sorts of bikes of all types have had nothing short of stellar performance. No fancy break-in oils or special weights for different Temps needed. All year. All climates. All conditions.

Rotella T6 synthetic 15w40 is the preferred oil. It's even better. If you can find that, use it.

I found the T6 5w40 to shear a bit early. The 15w40 works amazing in virtually every single shared sump I've used it in. No slipping clutches. Smooth shifts. Air cooled or water cooled, doesn't matter.

Once the warranty is up on my Moto Guzzi it, too will be switched to T6 15w40.