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is SAE 10/40 still ok?

  • Thread starter Thread starter CartoonLifeStyle
  • Start date Start date
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CartoonLifeStyle

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After switching out the oil in my katana for a bunch of fresh semi synthetic sae 10w/40 oil, I've got blueish white smoke coming out of the exhaust.

Before I switched the oil it was smoke free, is this modern oil too thin for these old beasts?
 
No, modern oil is not thinner than old oil. Stay clear of auto oil though. Not enough zinc and phosphorus (high pressure additives). Get motorcycle or diesel engine oil. Shell Rotella is the forum favorite.
 
bonanzadave said:
Did you possibly over fill it ?
Click to expand...

Yes I did, I put about 2700ml in instead of 2500, the oil was just above the f line on the window. Could have been the straw that broke the camels back perhaps, although I didn't ride to far at that level, maybe 30 miles or so.
 
How about a little history lesson?

How long have you owned it?

Wha oil was in it before?

Have you checked the petcock?
 
tkent02 said:
How about a little history lesson?

How long have you owned it?

Wha oil was in it before?

Have you checked the petcock?
Click to expand...

I picked this beauty up in November last year.

black stuff and only about 2 liters of it.

yes and I don't leave it overnite on prime either :)

so what bikes do you own as I see an empty list in your signature?
 
No, modern oil isn't too thin

But, there are modern oils that are not compatible with these old bikes.

What oil did you use, exactly?

The best way to gauge the issue is to check your oil consumption.

The white smoke may just be something burning off
 
The stuff you REALLY want to avoid are any oils that are 'energy conserving' according to the little round label. They have additives that can make your clutch slip, and I believe the can impregnate the fibers and ruin the plates. Everything else is negotiable.

Except I use Shell Rotella so anyone what doesn't is a poopyknickers.
 
Don't worry about smoke, go by how the bike Runs. Does it Idle, and return to Idle well, snappy throttle, no Hanging Rpm's, good power at full throttle, hesitation or vibration?
(but yeah blue smoke is not right, you said Oil over-fill I guess)
 
Last edited:
CartoonLifeStyle said:
After switching out the oil in my katana for a bunch of fresh semi synthetic sae 10w/40 oil, I've got blueish white smoke coming out of the exhaust.

Before I switched the oil it was smoke free, is this modern oil too thin for these old beasts?
Click to expand...
...................... hi guys i,m in australia,,,, i,ve used shell sx4 ,,fortified oil for over 10years ,, i went to buy another lot ,,yep shell has decided to stuff around and drop that ,,,and now i,ve got to go other variant oils the may be o.k. i,m currently looking at other oils regards oldgrumpy
 
oldgrumpy said:
...................... hi guys i,m in australia,,,, i,ve used shell sx4 ,,fortified oil for over 10years ,, i went to buy another lot ,,yep shell has decided to stuff around and drop that ,,,and now i,ve got to go other variant oils the may be o.k. i,m currently looking at other oils regards oldgrumpy
Click to expand...

This is my point exactly, they seem to keep switching formulas and it seems to be all detrimental to old bikes. I have to use specialist oils for my old triumphs.
 
Me and my son got the Rotella T6 Synthetic on sale and both switched over from the regular Rotella. His bike is now busily spotting every inch it covers on the driveway. It wasn't leaking like this prior. His bike ( 36,000 miles) now is due for some new gaskets and 1/2 moons. My bike (at 70,000 miles) is enjoying the oil very much. Some increased leakage noted on spots of the engine but nothing getting to ground by any means. I'm satisfied, he is not.

At any rate, no, I don't think the 30-35 year old thinking on oil should be taken to heart. Lot's of changes in oil over three decades. Best to go with the current thinking when it comes to oil recommendations IMO and I would follow the recommendations from these guys as many of them have owned GS's for a long time.
 
Good lord just put oil in it and ride it. The oil debate has been going on for years!
 
Oh, goody, an oil thread :)
I was using diesel 15W-40 for years, quite happily, but got a bit fed up with cold clutch drag, so recently, towards the end of last winter, switched to a semi-synth 7W - 40 and immediately noticed the clutch drag improved, and the bike revved more happily. I replaced that with a proper 5W-40 full synth and still going great guns. That's what I'll keep in it all year round from now on. I avoided the current gen SN oils as they're designed to protect catalytic converters, so have very low levels of zinc and other goodies which we need, and they also contain other friction modifiers which we don't need on our clutches.
As far as using car oils goes - very occasionally, I've had a bit of clutch slip when using full-on car lubes, but it's never presented itself as a problem to be worried about. A slight bit of slip on full-bore take-offs can be accomodated and frankly, I don't ride like that most of the time, so no matter.
 
Oil threads come and go every year, I guess because people just can't understand that the cheapest oil out there actually works better than just about anything else on the market at any price.

I like the Rotella synthetic 5W-40 best in two of my bikes (they seem to run quieter with it than the standard Rotella). The standard Rotella 15W-40 is used in the other bikes, or Mobil Delvac 1300, whichever one is on sale (usually one of them can be scored for less than $15 per gallon). All three of them are heavy duty diesel oils with lots of zinc and phosperous, which is what any wet-clutch really wants to be fed.

Advance Auto parts also has a generic version of Rotella 15W-40, which is usually about $1-$2 less than the Rotella, and seems to be the same stuff. When it's on sale, it goes for about $12 per gallon.

If you use one of the oils listed here, you can rest easy knowing that you aren't wasting money, and any engine issues you might have aren't going to be oil-related.
 
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