Best oil for shifting on 4 cyls

[BradR]

Hey guys, new member here...been reading over the site for several weeks. Being a motorcycle enthusiast, along with several friends, we are interested in the absolute best oils for shifting performance or our various japanese 4 cylinder sportbikes(GSXR's, etc) I take it that the Amsoil and Schaeffer's may be the best, but I am interested in hearing each of your experiences with whatever you have used.
Anyways, thanks again.. I hope to learn some things here in the future and just maybe contribute a little of my own experince.

 

[XS650]

Brad, it may not be the ultimate, but Mobil Delvac Super 1300 15W-40 works very well in MC engines. It definitely held up better than any of the overpriced non-synthetic MC oils I or others on the Suzuki Bandit list I was on tried.

Same goes for the other brand name HDEO 15W-40 oils.

It's a good idea to change oil more frequently in a MC engine because of the common oil supply for trans , clutch and engine on most MCs. Because of that, synthetics don't make as much sense on MC engines unless you have oil temp problems.

 

[satterfi]

M/C news tested a couple dozen different oils and found oils with high molybdenum levels gave the smoothest shifting.

 

[KW]

Probebly the best for shifting that I have used is GTX 20W50. This was in a Suzuki Bandit 1200.

Other oils that I have used in my Bandit 1200 and TL1000S are.

Bandit:
Torco 10W40
Rotella T 15W40
Valvoline 20W50
GTX 20W50
Mobil 1 5W30
Amsoil 10W40

This was a bike that was used for drag racing and the 5W30 seemed to work the best in it. Valvoine was the worst. And GTX provided better shifting.

TL1000S:
Rotella T 15W40
Mobil 1 15W50
Rotella T 5W40
All worked well in this bike and it never had any clutch issues.

Those bikes have been traded off this summer and I now have only one. A Honda VFR800FI.

VFR800:
Rotella T 5W40
It will get Amsoil 10W40 soon because I have about 15 quarts of it.

Hope this helps.

 

[qadsan]

quote:

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Originally posted by road_rascal:

quote:

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Originally posted by XS650:

It's a good idea to change oil more frequently in a MC engine because of the common oil supply for trans , clutch and engine on most MCs. Because of that, synthetics don't make as much sense on MC engines unless you have oil temp problems.

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Please elaborate on this...

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I think the motorcycle application, its design, its performance & how it's used also has a lot to do with this because every oil that I've tried (synthetic or not) in my bike which is used for off road racing shears the oil down significantly wihtin 10 hours of use. Mobil 1 15W50 red cap turns into a 30wt within 15 hours or less, Delvac 1 & MX4T drop a full grade or more within 10 hours, but then so does Motul, Honda's HP4, Amsoil, etc. Things are probably different for a street bike, but the off road race bikes I've had the oil analyzed on have sheared down the oil rather quickly. I believe oil analysis is a key to understanding how well a given oil is working & holding up for a particular application.

 

[thedawk]

Synthetics generally are more shear stable than their equvalent weight non-synthetic counterparts. They usually carry a better HT/HS rating and therefore would be beneficial in a motorcycle application. The transmision in motorcycles cause much more stress on oils than everyday automobiles.

 

[KW]

quote:

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Originally posted by JonS:

quote:

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Originally posted by KW:
Probebly the best for shifting that I have used is GTX 20W50. This was in a Suzuki Bandit 1200.

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I'll bet the 20w-50 and 10w-40 oils you used were the older version. The SL will not work in a bike with a wet clutch. Maybe this is why the manuals call out for 10-40 or 20-50 but it is rated at SF or SH. Even the new models call for SF-SH.

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They would have been either SJ or SL. The M1 5W30 was SL for sure as was the Rotella T's.

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by KW:

I'll bet the 20w-50 and 10w-40 oils you used were the older version. The SL will not work in a bike with a wet clutch. Maybe this is why the manuals call out for 10-40 or 20-50 but it is rated at SF or SH. Even the new models call for SF-SH. They would have been either SJ or SL. The M1 5W30 was SL for sure as was the Rotella T's.

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SL that meets Allison C4 will work in a wet clutch. xW-40 and thicker oils also aren't limited in anti wear additives like the xw-30 and thinner oils are.

The MC botique oil peddlers would like you to think that, but it isn't so.

This doesn't mean that all xW-40 and 20w-50 oils are suitable for wet clutches, if they don't say Allison C4, be careful.

 

[BradR]

Me and a friend are seriously considering ordering some Schaeffer's from Tim Mill's(he is only about 2 hours from where we live hehe)
I read someone here had great shifting performance with it and was wondering which Schaeffer's he recommends. I notice most of their oils has moly(I realize thats not necessarily bad)...and I dont want to run a 20w50. Any experience with these various oils?
Thanks for the replies so far, some good suggestions there.

btw, currently using M1 15w50

 

[JonS]

quote:

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Originally posted by KW:
Probebly the best for shifting that I have used is GTX 20W50. This was in a Suzuki Bandit 1200.

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I'll bet the 20w-50 and 10w-40 oils you used were the older version. The SL will not work in a bike with a wet clutch. Maybe this is why the manuals call out for 10-40 or 20-50 but it is rated at SF or SH. Even the new models call for SF-SH.

 

[road_rascal]

quote:

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Originally posted by XS650:

It's a good idea to change oil more frequently in a MC engine because of the common oil supply for trans , clutch and engine on most MCs. Because of that, synthetics don't make as much sense on MC engines unless you have oil temp problems.

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Please elaborate on this. I plan on letting the next batch of Mobil 1 15w/50 go at least 5000 miles in my air/oil cooled Honda due to the UOA I received from Blackstone:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001698#000000

 

[BradR]

My 91 Nighthawk 750 has fibrous friction plates, which explains why the M1 15w50 doesnt bother it. I'm not sure of the GSXR's though...anybody have experience with them and moly?
People say alot of good things about Schaeffer's... is the Supreme series of oils the best for motorcycles?

 

[sjlee]

I've heard nothing but good things about Shell Rotella T 15W-40. I'm going to start using it on my next oil change.

 

[shortyb]

I have Motul 3000 (non-synth) in the Gixxer 1000 right now. Noticed smoother, quicker, quieter shifts, get more "clunkiness" from my old bones when I move my foot on the shifter than the tranny

.

Schaeffer's doesn't offer a 10W-40 but they do have an excellent HDEO CH-4 15W-40. I may give this one a try myself.