I wanted to see if anyone had a list or a way to name all oils that are suitable for use in a wet clutch motorcycle engine, i.e free of friction modifiers. I'm sure that most diesel oil (15w-40) as well as most 10-40 and 20-50 would be fine, I just don't know where a list of all these oils would be, Thanks !!!
Can someone name all oil suitable for M/C
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Rotella T synthetic is taking motorcycle circles by storm... I use it im my FJR 1300. Works extremely well in my application.
John.
John.
I ran Mobil1 15W50 in my Honda and it was great. Better gas milage and the trans shifted much better.
It would be cool if we had a list of all known heavier weight Moly-free oils, kinda like a reference. BTW how much is the Rotella T 15w-40 per Gallon , I think I've seen it at Wal-Mart and don't want to get the wrong kind !!
Rotella T conventional 15W-40 can be had in white jugs practically anywhere. Not sure of it's costing however. But it is one of the best values in HDEO to be found. Rotella T (Grp. lll) synthetic 5W-40 is a better oil that only costs about $13.00 (in US funds) at American Walmarts.
Unless you have some particular aversion towards sythetic oils (?) then I would use the synthetic Rotella. Comes in a blue-ish jug.
Of course, there absolutely nothing wrong at all with using 15W-50 M1 automotive lubricant. Wonderful stuff. I have used a lot of it.
John.
Unless you have some particular aversion towards sythetic oils (?) then I would use the synthetic Rotella. Comes in a blue-ish jug.
Of course, there absolutely nothing wrong at all with using 15W-50 M1 automotive lubricant. Wonderful stuff. I have used a lot of it.
John.
Depends upon the bike involved...
Think about it: if the manufacturer requires (or "required") an SG rated 10W-40 oil 10 years ago you need to meet that spec, at the very least.
I would hazzard that MOST motorcycles with wet clutches will run fine (or better?) with any JASO MA rated oil. Most (if not all?) of the current conventional 15W-40 HDEO's SHOULD work just fine.
The 10W-40 oil that was ok for an '89 Goldwing will not work fine in a new Wing, but the AMSOIL 10W-40 AMO product certainly will, along with their motorcycle-specific 10W-40 and their synthetic 15W-40. Probably the semi-synthetic product, too.
As for 10W-40 Chevron, Havoline, Motorcraft, GTX, Pennzoil, etc. ???? I really don't know.
My personal belief is that you stick with a motorcycle rated oil OR an HDEO depending upon how much money you care to spend, taking into consideration the age and co$t of replacing parts which may be affected on your ride.
IMHO, of course!
Cheers!
Think about it: if the manufacturer requires (or "required") an SG rated 10W-40 oil 10 years ago you need to meet that spec, at the very least.
I would hazzard that MOST motorcycles with wet clutches will run fine (or better?) with any JASO MA rated oil. Most (if not all?) of the current conventional 15W-40 HDEO's SHOULD work just fine.
The 10W-40 oil that was ok for an '89 Goldwing will not work fine in a new Wing, but the AMSOIL 10W-40 AMO product certainly will, along with their motorcycle-specific 10W-40 and their synthetic 15W-40. Probably the semi-synthetic product, too.
As for 10W-40 Chevron, Havoline, Motorcraft, GTX, Pennzoil, etc. ???? I really don't know.
My personal belief is that you stick with a motorcycle rated oil OR an HDEO depending upon how much money you care to spend, taking into consideration the age and co$t of replacing parts which may be affected on your ride.
IMHO, of course!
Cheers!
If you want to be on the safe side, look for "Allison C4" on the jug. It's a wet clutch oil spec that most dino HDEOs meet. Even if it has some moly, it should be OK if it meets C4.
I'm still running "Car" oil with Moly in my ATV with a wetclutch. No problems yet............. YMMV.
I suggest you investigate AMSOil MC V-Twin oils, 10w40 and 20w-50.(JASO MA). Holly smok-a o-lees!!! Dramatically better. OK, its in a dry clutch, air cooled BMW '73&1/2, R75/5, but I put 60,000 miles on it using GTX 20w-50, then Syntec 20w-50, which wasn't that much of an improvement. AMSOil 20w-50, however, turned it into a "tur-bine tiger".
I have found my perfect "beer", will now leave my job and go work at the brewery. I really didn't expect such immediate obvious improvement.
Your results may vary. Good luck with whatever you try.
Your results may vary. Good luck with whatever you try.
Castrol, 76 Unocal, Mobil are companies that make motorcycle specific motor oils that are free of friction modifiers. All come in 10w-40 and 20w-50 weights. I'm very hesitant to use anything that is not specially made for use in a motorcycle. May void a warranty or mess up a wet clutch with oil that does have friction modifiers in it. Some use anything they want, to each his own I guess.
Mobil 1 has two in the U.S., and another in Europe:
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/PDS/NAUSE2PVLMOMobil_1_Motorcycle_Oils.asp
The 20W-50 contains no VI booster at all, the 10W-40 a small amount of a very stable VI enhancer. Both are high flash point very shear resistant full synthetics.
http://www.mobil.com/UK-English/Lubes/PDS/EUXXENPVLMOMobil1Racing4T.asp
Closer to the U.S. market's 15W-50 automotive oil, for water-cooled high performance motorcycles.
I own a 2002 Gl1800 Goldwing. The Honda Manual recommends 10W40 Dino that meets SL specs.
For years I have used Amsoil's 10w40 AMF motorcycle engine oil. This is NOT the 20w50 V-Twin Amsoil mentioned in an earlier post. Just my opinion, but I would not use a 20w50 in your Gold Wing. Nor would I use automotive engine oil, be it dino or synthetic.
I've used the Amsoil AMF 10w40 in a V65 Magna, CBX, CB900 Custom, ST-1100, as well as a 1989 & 1999 Gold Wing's over the years with zero complaints.
I've used the Amsoil AMF 10w40 in a V65 Magna, CBX, CB900 Custom, ST-1100, as well as a 1989 & 1999 Gold Wing's over the years with zero complaints.
I bought a 1989 Honda Gold Wing new in 1989, and the owner's manual calls for 10w40, just as the 2002 models do today.
The oil specification USUALLY calls for two things: appropriate weight for an average temp range (i.e., 10W-40, 20W-50) and an oil grade (i.e., API SG, Jaso MA)...
Cans (gold & red) of Motorcraft 10W-40 SG/CF are probably just fine for a 10 or 20 year old Wing, but I wouldn't use it in a 2002 under warranty. Nor would I use an SM-rated dino "Energy Conserving" 10W-40.
But that's just me: I stock up on JASO
MA oil when it is on sale
Cheers!
Cans (gold & red) of Motorcraft 10W-40 SG/CF are probably just fine for a 10 or 20 year old Wing, but I wouldn't use it in a 2002 under warranty. Nor would I use an SM-rated dino "Energy Conserving" 10W-40.
But that's just me: I stock up on JASO
Cheers!
Having done piles of research on this topic, I have learned that "diesel engine oils" make the best modern bike engine oils. "Non energy conserving" types in otherwords. And the best synthetics seem to be Shell Rotella T, Mobil Delvac 1 and Amsoil. The Rotella and Delvac are the most popular but Delvac seems to be hard to come by. Seems that a lot of the good "motorcycle specific oils" available are overpriced versions of these. Most of the folks I am in contact with swear by Rotella. This is a group that are Suzuki SV650 owners, so these are small liquid cooled, oil cooled V-twins. And real sweet I might add.
I would agree with the Rotella 5/40 synthetic being a good oil but I would question its lack of Allison C4 or Caterpillar trans. ratings. At least the 15/40 Rotella has Allison C4 although it lacks in other specs.
The high ash content in Chevron Delo 400 15/40 scares me off but it also has Allison C4.
Pretty hard to go wrong with diesil oils that have the Allison rating and an ash level .12 or lower.
I would'nt take a chance on the car 10/40 and 20/50 unless they have Jaso MA. The trend seems to be for more moly added. Even the old standard Castrol GTX is rumoured to have more friction modifiers in it now.
I've mentioned 'ash content'. There seems to be a little ambiguity regarding it. Ash is proportional to detergent levels. High ash can cause more engine deposits and may be harder on valves. So what does that mean? Do oil makers put more detergent in the oil to combat the ash content? I assume so. Maybe best to start with less ash in the first place.
The high ash content in Chevron Delo 400 15/40 scares me off but it also has Allison C4.
Pretty hard to go wrong with diesil oils that have the Allison rating and an ash level .12 or lower.
I would'nt take a chance on the car 10/40 and 20/50 unless they have Jaso MA. The trend seems to be for more moly added. Even the old standard Castrol GTX is rumoured to have more friction modifiers in it now.
I've mentioned 'ash content'. There seems to be a little ambiguity regarding it. Ash is proportional to detergent levels. High ash can cause more engine deposits and may be harder on valves. So what does that mean? Do oil makers put more detergent in the oil to combat the ash content? I assume so. Maybe best to start with less ash in the first place.
I think that also begs the question of how much moly is too much. I checked a Virgin OA on Mobil 1 20-50 Motorcycle and it had about 75 ppm of Moly. Also an analysis of 10w40 Redline also showed I think 605 ppm. Of course the amsoil had zero. I'm really considering the Amsoil 15w-40 or the Rotella T 15w-40. I was something a bit more shear stable. With my 15,500 redline engine, transmission and wet clutch I tend to chew up oil pretty quickly.
BTW I think one of the Amsoil guy on this site had a Triumph and was going to do a UOA on the 10w-40.
BTW I think one of the Amsoil guy on this site had a Triumph and was going to do a UOA on the 10w-40.
I do not know why Rotella T 15/40 is so popular.
In blends and petroleum oils; 76 lubricants Royal Triton QLT, Lubriplate Super GPO, Petro-can Duron, Texaco Ursa Premium Tdx, Amsoil, Chevron RPM heavy duty and delo 400, Pennzoil Long Life, Mobil Delvac 1300 Super, Exxon xd-3 Elite, Citgo Citgard 600, Phillips 66 Super hd 3000, and the list goes on. The above oils (15/40) all have specs that exceed those of Rotella t 15/40.
Shell Rotella T 15/40
vi ---------- 139
PP ---------- -15
FP ---------- 415
HT/H/s ------ 3.70
Noack ------- 13.00
TBN --------- 11.6
Phos -------- ?
Zinc -------- ?
CCS --------- 7000@ -20
Ash --------- 1.47
Chevron RPM heavy duty 15/40
vi ---------- 140
PP ---------- -38
FP ---------- 460
ht/hs ------- 3.70
Noack ------- 13.00
TBN --------- 10.5
Phos -------- 1270
Zinc -------- 1370
CCS --------- 6400@ -20
Ash --------- 1.37
Shell does not supply zinc, and phos numbers so we can assume they are of minimal standards. The poor Flashpoint, Pour point, and high ash hurt this oil for motorcycle use. The Chevron stuff has great FP, PP, and lower ash.
The above is just an example. I picked Chevron because it is very common, not because I endorse it. There are several oils better than the Chevron including blends, petroleums, and all of the synthetics.
Shell and Chevron do have Allison C4 ratings which is important considering wet clutch motorbikes. I'm not sure of the following oils or the ones I first listed and I'm too tired to look.
The better synthetic oil is Redline 40 wt race.
The better blend is 76 Lubricants Royal Triton.
The better petroleum is Precision 102 P.
You can download my source from my signature.
In blends and petroleum oils; 76 lubricants Royal Triton QLT, Lubriplate Super GPO, Petro-can Duron, Texaco Ursa Premium Tdx, Amsoil, Chevron RPM heavy duty and delo 400, Pennzoil Long Life, Mobil Delvac 1300 Super, Exxon xd-3 Elite, Citgo Citgard 600, Phillips 66 Super hd 3000, and the list goes on. The above oils (15/40) all have specs that exceed those of Rotella t 15/40.
Shell Rotella T 15/40
vi ---------- 139
PP ---------- -15
FP ---------- 415
HT/H/s ------ 3.70
Noack ------- 13.00
TBN --------- 11.6
Phos -------- ?
Zinc -------- ?
CCS --------- 7000@ -20
Ash --------- 1.47
Chevron RPM heavy duty 15/40
vi ---------- 140
PP ---------- -38
FP ---------- 460
ht/hs ------- 3.70
Noack ------- 13.00
TBN --------- 10.5
Phos -------- 1270
Zinc -------- 1370
CCS --------- 6400@ -20
Ash --------- 1.37
Shell does not supply zinc, and phos numbers so we can assume they are of minimal standards. The poor Flashpoint, Pour point, and high ash hurt this oil for motorcycle use. The Chevron stuff has great FP, PP, and lower ash.
The above is just an example. I picked Chevron because it is very common, not because I endorse it. There are several oils better than the Chevron including blends, petroleums, and all of the synthetics.
Shell and Chevron do have Allison C4 ratings which is important considering wet clutch motorbikes. I'm not sure of the following oils or the ones I first listed and I'm too tired to look.
The better synthetic oil is Redline 40 wt race.
The better blend is 76 Lubricants Royal Triton.
The better petroleum is Precision 102 P.
You can download my source from my signature.
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