what motor oil do you use in you bike?

[SpudRider]

In an earlier post I provided two links to CalSci oil essays. Here is a quote from the first CalSci oil thread.

There are a few special problem areas for motorcycle oil. Most motorcycles have wet clutches, which means the motor oil runs through the clutch. If the motor oil has too much molybdenum in it, there are fears that the clutch can start slipping. No one I know has ever actually had this happen to them, but the warnings are all over your owners' manual and the oil companies' web pages. On the back of all certified oil cans is a circular stamp with the certification. Avoid oils that say "energy conserving" in the bottom half of the donut. These oils contain friction modifier additives that could cause clutch slipping over time. Essentially all 0w-20, 5w-30 and 10w-30 oils are energy conserving, and should not be used in your motorcycle.

Most motorcycles run the engine oil through the transmission, and the transmission gears are very hard on the oil's VII package. This means that over a couple thousand miles, the oil's viscosity can break down. Standard car oils are only good for typically 1500 miles before they've lost about half of their viscosity. Remember, 10w-40 oils contain a lot of VIIs which tend to shear in your transmission, so I believe 10w-40 oils should be avoided. You can't use 10w-30 because of the friction modifiers. This doesn't leave much. Commercial 15w-40 oils are a good choice, because they have relatively few VIIs which are the more expensive shear-stable sort. Synthetics typically don't contain much of a VII package, so shear is not as big an issue with them.

Spud

[zingshoen]

i use motul 5100 4T 10W40 and change it every 1000 ks.

[kens]

Excellent post.

It never fail that when I have a question about my china bikes that I can surf on over to chinariders and get excellent info.

I've been using Castrol 10-40 motorcylce oil but only because I was not sure what else I could be safely using.I never thought that CD diesel oil was a option.Now I clearly understand what I can use and it will save me $$ as I can go buy a gallon of Rotella T instead of castrol quarts at 6$ each

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by kens

Excellent post.

It never fail that when I have a question about my china bikes that I can surf on over to chinariders and get excellent info.

I've been using Castrol 10-40 motorcylce oil but only because I was not sure what else I could be safely using.I never thought that CD diesel oil was a option.Now I clearly understand what I can use and it will save me $$ as I can go buy a gallon of Rotella T instead of castrol quarts at 6$ each

Thank you for the kind words.

Once again, I am going to promote the following two essays on motorcycle oil, because I believe they contain a wealth of good information.

http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Oils1.html
http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Consumables.html

These links can also be found under the Maintenance heading in the Zong Sticky, located at the top of this forum.

Spud

[2LZ]

I found this a while back. Intriguing reading. A bit 'wordy' but very informative.

http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/oiltest1.htm

[BillR]

Originally Posted by alan566

i used castrol oil (regular car oil), i can't remember the weight but probably 10 w 40, I have changed the oil a few times since i bought it and now i have around 400 something miles on it. I bought some castrol motorcycle oil the other day but i was waiting to get 500 miles on the bike.
does it matter if the oils not motorcycle oil?
thanks, alan
i tried to search this but i didn't see this question.

Alan,
Lots of good info and opinions in this so far.

Rotella T 15w-40, changed every 1500 miles.

Tried Mobil 1 motorcycle synth, clutch slipped a bit and it got harder to shift when warmed up. Back to the Rotella and all was well.
Bill

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by BillR

Alan,
Lots of good info and opinions in this so far.

Rotella T 15w-40, changed every 1500 miles.

Tried Mobil 1 motorcycle synth, clutch slipped a bit and it got harder to shift when warmed up. Back to the Rotella and all was well.
Bill

Many riders use the Rotella T, 15W/40 dino oil with very good results.

Spud

[zingshoen]

down here rotella trades as helix ultra (methinks) and costs around 65 aussie dollars for 5 litres, thus is almost as dear as 4 litres of motul 5100!

[humanbeing]

Originally Posted by zingshoen

down there rotella rades as helix ultra (methinks) and costs around 65 aussie dollars for 5 litres, thus is almost as dear as 4 litres of motul 5100!

Rotella trades as "Rimula" outside North Amercia

[SpudRider]

Thank you for the information, Humanbeing; that is a nice thing to know.

Spud