Another Oil Question

[Alan Schlosser]

Hate to bore you all but...
I was talking with a buddy last night who has an 80 Yamaha 1100 and we were discussing our plans for spring maintenance. When we were on the topic of oil changes, he said that he may change the clutch plates because they were slipping a little. he also said that he's been using regular 10-40 automotive oil. Now I remember seeing somewhere that there was something with automotive oil that shouldn't be used in a motorcycle wet clutch application. If so, please let me know. He kind of looked at me funny like I was making it up. Personally, I grab the gallon jug of Honda oil at the dealer. Thanks in advance!
Al

[Motorcyclemodeller]

You should use motorcycle oil, as it is formulated for gearboxs and motors. But regular motor oil will not effect the clutch, sounds like the clutch is going. I used Sunoco CAM2 oil for years then KLOTZ racing oil and now use Motul motorcycle oil.

8) Andre 8)

[Anonymous]

That subject has been on a dozen times and the opinions/experiences vary a great deal. As for me i never experienced any clutch problems with automobile oil . I have used synthetics also AND NEVER HAD ANY TROUBLE WITH THESLIPPING BUSINESS. In the 40 years of riding i never used anything but auto oil. Mostly castrol 20-50. Now when the cash is too low for syntec, I use the house brand of 20-50 from discount auto part. Others will never touch anything but motorcycle specific oil for many reasons.????

[Anonymous]

I have used everything from full synthetic motorcycle oil to cheapo Wal Mart brand auto oil. It all works the same in my experience.

[redliner1973]

if you read the owners manual of any given bike, it will say something to the effect of "Use a high quality SH-SL-SJ XXw-XX oil such as (BRAND X)" I use castrol 20w-50 in Suzi, and have done so in other bikes for years. There is not anything wrong with using an 'automotive' oil. What you may be thinking about is something the happened in the 1970's with 10w-40 motor oil. the Viscosity improvers used back then would not hold up even in light-duty applications, and would break down and sludge up a motor very quickly. this is not a problem with todays oils, but the 'history' of this still lives on. :twisted:

[Anonymous]

The Yamaha XS1100 has notorious transmission problems, mainly second gear. I saw one on ebay and went to an XS owners forum (not even 10% as good as this one) to see what the major issues were. The complaints on there steered me away from considering buying it. If you search around the site, I also remember reading about problems with them slipping out of gear, but I think that was all related to the worn dogs that are addressed in their transmission rebuild sections.

http://www.xs11.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=2d09e0eb8634f46cec42eb06ab089297&forumid=39

One of their tips was that when you are going to change gears while riding(all gears), pull in clutch, wait for rpms to go back down near idle, change gears, then procede normally. I might as well just buy a freakin scooter.

[Anonymous]

Some of the fans of motorcycle specific oil, like to point to the fact that auto oils have friction reducers. However, they are not used in weights above 10w30. Weights like 10w40, 20w50...are not "energy conserving". I like Honda's oil, but it's pricey. I change my oil way too often to use the specific stuff.

[oldschoolGS]

My experience regarding Suzuki gearboxes is that the befefit of running full synthetic allows you to run a lighter weight oil 5W-30 vs 20W50 with the same protection. The lighter weight oil is easier on the gearbox and provides quicker start up protection (crucial but always overlooked) as it is easier to pump thru small passages. Mobil 1 has been my flavor of choice for the last 20 years and has never let me down. The fact that synthetic oils are superior is well known as they are used exclusively in aircraft turbine engines which are subject to extreme temps(860C) and RPM(40,000+) The only caution is to not use them for breakin.

[Anonymous]

My experience regarding Suzuki gearboxes is that the befefit of running full synthetic allows you to run a lighter weight oil 5W-30 vs 20W50 with the same protection. The lighter weight oil is easier on the gearbox and provides quicker start up protection (crucial but always overlooked) as it is easier to pump thru small passages. Mobil 1 has been my flavor of choice for the last 20 years and has never let me down. The fact that synthetic oils are superior is well known as they are used exclusively in aircraft turbine engines which are subject to extreme temps(860C) and RPM(40,000+) The only caution is to not use them for breakin.

I like also the synthetics because they allow me to shift gears easier when the engine is not fully warmed up.

[lberkhei]

Alan,

Gary covered it well. The easy answer is look for the notation "Energy Conserving" on the little round emblem now found on most, if not all motor oils, usually on the back label. That notation indicates extra friction modifiers have been added, which could effect clutch operation. These modifiers are found in most, if not all, automotive oils of 10W-30 or lower viscosities, but almost never in 10W-40 and higher viscosities. On these oil containers, that area of the round emblem is blank (it's the lower half of the outer circle; upper half has the API Service rating [SF, SG, or SH typically]; inner circle carries the viscosity rating). If it doesn't specifically say 'Energy Conserving" there should be no problem using it in a motorcycle.

[Hotblack]

That's funny, I just changed my bike oil today. This is the second change i've done on my bike, the first time I used a couple cans (remember those?) of old Castrol 10W40, and almost a bottle of new. This time I wanted to use synthetic, but every bottle of synthetic I looked at said 'energy conserving', in 10W40. I ended up just putting regular Castrol in, as it seems to have been fine for the last change. I was going to pick up some Amsoil at the bike shop around the corner from me, but as that area is still evacuated due to a propane tank explosion last Friday (still burning last I heard) that's out. That was about 4 doors down from the shop - I hope their still standing!

[lberkhei]

Hotblack,

Not sure if the "Energy Conserving" label has exactly the same basis with synthetic oils as it does with the petroleum based oils; the explanation I went through is how I understand it with respect to petroleum based oils. I got my information from info I read at a couple of different web sites; implication is that the "Energy Conserving" label is the same for both types, but I'm not absolutely sure. Check out this site; article written by a retired oil company chemist who rides a motorcycle:

https://www.yft.org/tex_vfr/tech/oil.htm

In fact, I just checked it out, and it's been updated since I had last read it; I think it addresses the issue even more clearly than before.

For what it's worth, based on my experience with my Honda CB500 back in the 70's and 80's (used mostly Pennzoil Motorcycle oil, as it existed then), my experience with Pennzoil in my cars, and the above article, I intend to start using Pennzoil Long-Life 15w-40 in my GS on the next oil change (first since I bought it). Hope this helps clear things up.

[Hotblack]

Thanks, that was a good article. I'm still unclear on whether the energy conserving rating is the same from dead dinosaurs to fake dead dinosaurs, but I'm pretty at ease with the automotive oil after that read. I'll have to go back and re read for the rating clarification.

[Anonymous]

That subject has always created quite a roar on the forums.