alternative to yamalube

[DieselDeereguy]

Hello everyone,

I just purchased a used 05 yamaha wolverine and would like to use something other than yamalube in it. It is an air cooled 350. I found castrol 4t 10w40 at 16 dollars a gallon. Would this be a good oil?

my spec calls for 5-30, 10-30, 20-40
do not use any diesel oil with specification of cd or of a higher quality than specified
do not use any oil labeled energy conserving 2 or higher.

could I use another type of oil such as regular automotive oil?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[heavyhitter]

Castrol 4T will be fine.

I am not a fan of Yamalube. VOA's show that Yamalube is not any better than a "car" oil.

I would run a HDEO oil (Delvac or Rotella T) I have used Rotella in 4 of my ATV's for the last 5 years with no problem.

 

[JohnBrowning]

First why all the [censored] limitations? Do you want a good oil or do you want to play hypothetical games? Their are all kinds of oils you can use that would work fine if you drop the games.

 

[DieselDeereguy]

Originally Posted By: JohnBrowning
First why all the [censored] limitations? Do you want a good oil or do you want to play hypothetical games? Their are all kinds of oils you can use that would work fine if you drop the games.


Thats what Yamaha says in the manual...I didnt make that up...

I imagine the energy conserving part is due to the wet clutch...

 

[Jim 5]

Any 15w-40 HDEO.

You'll go around and around and it will come back to that. Spend some time in the motorcycle section.

 

[daman]

Any HDEO 15w40 or M1 15w50 from WM.

 

[af0h]

Originally Posted By: daman
Any HDEO 15w40 or M1 15w50 from WM.


+1

Yeah, what he said. (Rotella T - hint hint)

 

[mjoekingz28]

do not use any diesel oil with specification of cd or of a higher quality than specified

It says this in my manual as well, cannot figure it out. After I got the bike, in went 15w-40 and about 3-4 hrs in so far and runs good. I think HDEO is CJ atm which is higher in letter count than CD, so I dunno whats going on. BTW, on the same page it has a chart for oil vs temp. Right there on the chart is 15w40 and AFAIK all 15w40 is HDEO, so why does Yamaha want us running diesel oil from the 1950s? My guess is they want to move their Yamalube inventory, hence the 20w40 and 10w30 recommendations on many models.

 

[Hitzy]

I like Amsoil powersports synthetic 0w40. Expensive, but these things don't hold alot of oil.

 

[robbobster]

I run Rotella-T 15W40 in my Raptor 700, Wolverine 350 and Rhino.
Oh, an I use it in my truck, too. Good stuff, great price.

 

[Mr_Joe]

Regular 10-40 here in my Honda ATV, WM Super Tech.

 

[Spdfrk1990]

I have a raptor 350 with the same engine and my manual says the exact same thing about the diesel oil not sure why though.
It calls for yamalube 20w40 , 10w30, and 5w30.
I was going to try out the rotella t6 5w40.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: Spdfrk1990
I have a raptor 350 with the same engine and my manual says the exact same thing about the diesel oil not sure why though.
It calls for yamalube 20w40 , 10w30, and 5w30.
I was going to try out the rotella t6 5w40.

Because Yamaha wants you to buy there overly priced oil! search the VOA section,one time there was a report on virgin Yamaha lube the stuff was empty/weak nothing to it, rotella IS spec'd for MC's,and a 15w40 can be used,many many riders out there use a HDEO every day.

 

[Spdfrk1990]

Thanks again I am going to try the t6 but was wondering why yamaha specifically states not to use the diesel. Lots of other oils out there to try also besides the hdeo. Maybe that was just something about the older oils not sure. I will use the t6 and get some uoa results eventually maybe I can find someone to buy the yamalube I have left or return it.

 

[daman]

because i think their thinking moly,witch could cause clutch slippage in high PPM.

these MC oils are nothing great.it don't take much of an oil to meet JASO spec,allot of these HDEO's on the market today could meet that spec easily but choose or desire not to.

if you have the oil on hand use it,it'll work fine,i just would not buy it over a HDEO. i under staind your concern i too was like that once,only the best my stuff.

 

[Mr_Joe]

I agree, skip the yamalube & get something at least as good for less $.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: daman
Because Yamaha wants you to buy there overly priced oil! search the VOA section,one time there was a report on virgin Yamaha lube the stuff was empty/weak nothing to it, rotella IS spec'd for MC's,and a 15w40 can be used,many many riders out there use a HDEO every day.


+1

Quite right. As I recall from a thread here on BITOG, some HDEO, Rotella as I recall and as you mentioned, does meet the standards, is certified as such, and is quite compatible with wet clutches.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: daman
Because Yamaha wants you to buy there overly priced oil! search the VOA section,one time there was a report on virgin Yamaha lube the stuff was empty/weak nothing to it, rotella IS spec'd for MC's,and a 15w40 can be used,many many riders out there use a HDEO every day.


+1

Quite right. As I recall from a thread here on BITOG, some HDEO, Rotella as I recall and as you mentioned, does meet the standards, is certified as such, and is quite compatible with wet clutches.

yep and even IF it didn't carry the cert it is perfectly safe to use,no issues.

 

[jstutz]

I have been in an atv club now for about 7 years and i can tell you that many many of them use standard 15w40 or 10w40 or 5w40. I have seen many atvs get destroyed but not due to choice of oil. Spend lots of time fussing over air filters and such because they get subjected to tons of dust when riding with others. If you can just choose one that dont have lots of moly in it. Although i have never seen a clutch related issue, i seems to exist.

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: Spdfrk1990
Thanks again I am going to try the t6 but was wondering why yamaha specifically states not to use the diesel. Lots of other oils out there to try also besides the hdeo. Maybe that was just something about the older oils not sure. I will use the t6 and get some uoa results eventually maybe I can find someone to buy the yamalube I have left or return it.


IIRC my (sold) 1987 Yamaha FJ1200 motorcycle called for the Yamalube 20w-40. I and the previous owner (who I know) put something like 50k miles on this bike on garden variety 15w-40 HDEOs. When I cracked the case to replace second gear, the clutch, internals and main bearings looked brand new.

I don't remember what the manual said about oil other than asking for Yamalube 20w-40, but I'd bet money that any reputable 15w-40 HDEO will blow its performance out of the water for likely 1/3 the price.

Use it with confidence. I did in my FJ1200, my Triumph Sprint ST 955i and my 08 BMW K1200S (that is still under warranty - so I'm putting my money where my mouth is). By my reading of the owner's manual on that bike, a 15w-40 HDEO is permitted if it meets JASO MA, which Rotella does (it even now says so on the bottle).