Choosing the correct Oil for a wet-clutch Motorcycle

Interesting...... Doesn't surprise me at all. Hmmm, I wonder who the BIGGER umbrella is that makes the castrol--- lol

 

Funny that you ask. British Petroleum bought the Castrol brand in 2002.

 

Sorry. Remove post if possible, please.

 

Almost makes one wonder what other favorite brands are by the same company, and then also who all are under the other " big three" (or what the few big ones are)

 

Matt, hit the "edit" button, then backspace to delete everything, then type something else in if needed, then submit. Sometimes I can submit with nothing in, sometimes I have to think of something to say that will work

 

Top Brands changed at regular intervals you can't go wrong. On that note i do stay away from Pennzoil. Oil of choice in my vehicles is Castrol then Valvoline. Personal choice. I would also add any clean oil is better then a good dirty old oil!

 

Unless you choose the wrong specification of oil, which is the reason for this thread.
Brand does not actually matter. If it meets spec, the cheapest off-brand oil will be more than adequate.

 

Here ya' go. Remove it your own self

 

Hello! I'm a complete newbie to the world of motorcycles and riding so please excuse my ignorance of what I would imagine might be considered a "dumb" question. I just purchased my first bike, an '81 XJ 65oH Maxim and I'm a bit unsure of which engine lubricant to use, and changing the oil is at the top of my maintenance to do list. The PO was told by their local Yamaha dealer to use Yamalube 10W 40 four stroke all purpose engine oil. However, the manual calls for 20W 40 so I'm wondering what the disconnect is here or maybe I'm just over thinking it, which is entirely possible. I do live in Chicago so I'm wondering if the difference is due to climate, in which case deviating from the manufacturers recommendation would be ok.

What do you all think? Any insight is greatly appreciated.

 

10w40 vs 20w40 depends on the temperature you ride in. 20w40 if riding above 41 degrees and above 60 degrees 10w40 below 41 degrees up to 60 degrees
I use Shell Rotella oil 15$ a gallon

this link has haynes manual down load free 650 and 750
XJ750 manuals

 

Thank you for the info! So to be clear, if I'll be riding predominately in 50+ degree weather, then the 20W40 is the way to go? Seems like the rotella is the fave among the forum members.

 

yes if you are a warm weather rider 20w40 is fine
my last ride was 12/25/15 as long as it is above 33 degrees I keep riding

 

I recently purchased 10-w40 motorcycle oil for my XJ750. I am more comfortable knowing I have an oil that doesn't have the cleaning additives that some oils contain.

 

Unless you bought a non-detergent oil, then it has the same cleaning additives that all other modern (e.g. post WW2) oils have.
Sludge is a bad thing. Detergents prevent sludge.

 

I'll have to check. I assumed, from a bit of research, that all motorcycle oils were free of detergents. It seems there is a lot more to this than I realized. Either way, I will be glad to have the oil changed this weekend.

 

Yes there is.
Without detergents you would have to tear-down and decoke your engine every 1500 miles or so.
The linked article covers all of the things that (to varying degrees) are components of engine oils.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/whats-in-your-motor-oil/

Is the oil that you boght JASO MA rated?

 

This is what I purchased. Please feel free to state any opinions against it.

Hope it comes out OK.

 

Yes, it was purchased from a Suzuki dealer. The oil filter, however, was purchased from a Yamaha dealer.

 

Other than the high likelihood that you overpaid, it's a perfectly fine oil and it meets the JASO-MA standard.
Motorcycle manufacturers don't make oil, but they do mark-up what's made for them.

 

I went back and forth between Castrol car oil and one branded for bikes. I figured at $5 a quart, it couldn't hurt to get one branded for bikes. Might go with Castrol next year though, since a lot of folks here seem to like it.

 

Great article, K-moe. Simple enough that even I could understand it.

 

I suspect you're thinking of the friction modifiers that many later car oils contain too much of for bike clutches.

 

I always wondered if I would have clutch problem on my first XJ 750j. It had about 7k miles when I got it in 91 and had about 85k miles when the odometer stopped working years later. I know I rode it for close to 15k miles after that. It had 100k miles or close to it in the end. It had sat a lot before I got it.
Never had any problems with the clutch. Had to replace a pick up unit once and dealt with carb problems. I once cleaned out the carbs beside the road.

It had been sold by a salvage place after it had been layed down and towed years before. It had been sold a few times and no one ever got it titled. I got the original court order they used to sell it and got it titled after I bought it for $400.
It ran perfect for years. Having sat in the rain alot before I got it eventually did the exhaust in and the tank had rust.

I've put about 20k miles on my current Xj750j and use Valvaline motorcyle oil now. Working out carb problem at the moment.

 

Fine oil!

 

So I saw an ad for Shell, and it stated that they were reformulating Rotella. Has anybody else heard this, and if so, do you know what the changes are? Will it still be okay for our bikes, or should I stock up before the new stuff gets here? 5 gallon pail is on sale this week... should be enough for almost 8 changes.

 

Read all about it at Shell http://rotella.shell.com/products/pc-11.html

More here: http://www.equipmentworld.com/new-heavy-duty-diesel-oil-standard-what-you-need-to-know/

Personally I'm not worried about the change. The new anti-wear additives look to be pretty near equivalent to ZDDP. The change is industry-wide, so there has been a ton of R&D done. If this new standard causes increased wear in diesels it will likely cause the financial ruin of the lubrication industry, so I'm fairly confidant that the new oils will be just as good as the old ones.

Even so, time will tell. Maybe buy a case or two now if it's on sale, but I don't think hoarding oil is necessary.

Give a think about this: a group of 100+ year-old motorcyces are currently on the last legs of a coast-to-coast trip across the U.S.
Every one of those machines has been running oil that is far better than what was available when they were new. Most of the machines have required fixing along the way (some daily). Not one of the breakdowns has been caused by oil (a few by lack of oil, but not one because of the oil being used).

 

Hmm.... according to the links, the new oil will hold up better at high temperatures. Should be good for air cooled engines, no?

 

Yes.

 

I was looking at some Rotella t3 oil the other day at Walmart and I noticed that it didn't have the Jaso certification anywhere on the jug. I have seen it before. Is that part of this new change also?

 

The new oils aren't out yet. T3 isn't the same as the T Triple Protection. T3 is the fleet oil, and has (to my knowledge) never been JASO MA certified.

 

Oh then that explains it. I was looking at the wrong Rotella. Glad I didn't buy it

 

Too many kinds of oil! Screw it, I'm going with vegetable oil!

 

Castor oil is fine, so long as you're not planning on riding hard, or for very long between decokings.

Show of hands. Who has torn down an engine JUST for the purpose of removing carbon and sludge?

 

Rotella (nor any Shell product I can see) is on the PDF dated Nov 1, 2016. As k-moe mentioned maybe they didn't pay for the cert anymore. However did go hunting for JASO MA compliant oil.

Currently picked this up (as written on the side)...

Shell
Rotella
T4 Triple Protection
SAE 15W-40

On the back panel the bottle states "*Compared to prior Shell Rotella Triple Protection 15W-40" and later states, "Meets the performance requirements of: ... JASO MA/MA2 ..."


Given the notes and compliance listing, seems like the right thing.

 

It is. Shell is above-board when it comes to their claims.

 

K-Moe what is the weight that you would use for shell rotella on an xj750??
Thanks Chris

 

Conventional Rotella Triple Protection only comes in the one weight; 15W-40.

 

Why does no one recommend a 5W-40, or a 5W-50....if available, surely, that specification gives THE most protection/cold start protection.....cold start is, supposedly where 80% of engine wear occurs...I have always used the broadest range of protection available?

 

5W is for cold cold weather riding like below freezing

 

Thats a very common misconception though, the 5 part is ONLY applicable upon cold start, like any modern multigrade, once the engine warms up...the 5W, 'magically' becomes 10W, then 15W, etc, etc, until it reaches 40 or 50W........IE: the broadest range of protection !

Just wondered why no one else uses or likes a 5W-40 (or 50...if thats even available on this spec) multigrade oil.....?

 

yamaha spec is 10w30 for colder weather
and 20w40 for warmer weather

you can run what you want but do you really need the 5w spec?

it gets minus 20 here I do not start my bikes over the winter

 

Lol!
I HATE oil threads too, but, just curious as to why no one would consider a 5W-40 spec, thats all!

Well, even though NY Winters can be pretty horrendous, most every cold start, unless the height of the Summer could be classed as cold...cold weather, that is, thus I'd always want that precious golden liquid to be flowing quickly, and freely around the engine.....cold start's ( allegedly) are where 80% of engine wear occurs...!

 

what do you pay and brand of your oil?

I use rotella T3 Tripple (discontinued)and will be going to T4 when my case of oil runs out at 14$ a gallon.

 

I've been using Shell Rotella Diesel, for as long as it's been available, in 15-40 but lately 5W-40..although I DO think the sulphur content has gone down

 

You say you used to use Rotella T4 15w-40, but now use 5w-40? Is that 5w-40 stuff you use simply another variant of Shell Rotella? I am curious what that oil you are using is and how much it costs.

I'm literally heading to Wal-Mart right now and I am going to pick up a gallon of Shell Rotella T4 15w-40 for about $14.

 

Yes..
the 'Old' Shell Rotella was a 15W-40.....which was fine, but I always thought it would be 'better' if it was a 10W or even a 5W
lo and behold, the 'new' Shell Rotella is a 5W40... although, supposedly the sulphur content has gone down

I've been using it for a few years now.....

 

A lower sulphur content is not a bad thing. It does nothing to help lubricate, resist shear, or improve longevity of the oil.
You may be thinking of ZDDP, which has been lowered, but not enough to be of concern for us.

 

That MIGHT be it, i thought sulphur was good for (coating?)cam bearing surfaces, and the like?....but, i might have gotten that confused with ZDDP......

 

Seems lik you did. Sulphur is a naural component of crude oil, and is removed (to varying degrees depending on the end product) as part of the refining process.