Oil suggestions for '82 Xj650 Maxim

I just bought a 1982 Yamaha XJ650 as my first bike at the end of last season.

I was wondering what oil people would suggest would be the best?

I've been told Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10W-40 is the best. Would like to hear suggestions.

Thanks

Johnny

 

I'd avoid full synthetics, even those that claim to be for motorcycles.

Best bet is a conventional motorcycle specific oil; 10W40 in cooler weather, 20W50 in warm weather. Castrol 4T is readily available.

Just be sure that whatever you use is motorcycle oil, not "car" oil.

 

Why?

 

Even motorcycle-specific full synthetics can cause issues with a slightly worn starter clutch.

We've had more than one member freaking out about having to split his cases to replace a starter clutch, only to "fix" the problem with a couple of oil changes.

You can mess around with synthetics once everything else on the bike is right, and see if it gives you any problems. But I wouldn't add that variable to a newly-acquired bike; it's going to present enough challenges as is.

 

The starter cluth on these bikes don't seem to like the full synthetics

 

For many years the best Oil was Castrol GTX 20W/50.
The formula was SAFE for Bikes with Wet Clutches.

Castrol changed there formula rendering GTX not recommended for Bikes with WET Clutches.

Not wanting to lose the MC Market Castrol formulated 4T.
Recommended for MC's including Bikes with Wet Clutches.

Most Synthetics :::>> Unless it SAYS -- "Safe for use in MC's with Wet Clutches" -- have Friction REDUCERS which will contaminate the Friction Pads on Wet Clutches and cause the Clutches to prematurely slip.

Yamaha & Harley~Davidson Oil is Motor Oil in Bottles made for charging more for Oil.

 

Thanks for the detailed responses. Our XJ650J has been sitting for three years. We plan on having her on the road for the summer, I'll be doing an oil and filter change soon, so I guess I'll stick to conventional.

I'm fairly technical minded, but am pretty green for now when it comes to our XJ. I thought a synthetic would be ok to use as long as it was JASO certified? But you say synthetics are no good for the starter clutch in this bike period?

I would never buy Harley oil or anything else from them for that matter. Had to buy a spanner from them for the rear shock on my 250 ninja though My old man had a converted 1200 sporty. Nice bike, way over priced and needed all the seals replaced. I'm pretty sure the XJ would run circles around it.

 

FULL synthetics, even JASO spec, have been known to cause starter clutch slippage in some bikes.

Some folks are running them successfully, in the same years/models of XJ. I suspect the degree to which the starter clutch components have "polished" each other is probably the determining factor; but this would be impossible to prove without tearing down a lot of otherwise solid motors.

Like I said, if you want to try a full synth, wait until everything else on the bike is 100% first. That way you're not introducing a possible issue into your recommissioning. Once the bike is squared away, try it and see; but then you'll have a solid frame of reference to know if it causes a problem.

I'm currently evaluating Castrol's SEMI synthetic ACT>EVO X-Tra 4T, "high-revving inline 4" flavor, in one of my 550s; but I didn't make the switch until the bike had been fully operational for a season on conventional oil. So far, so good but it's harder to find and more expensive than conventional Castrol 4T.

Now about that "on the road" thing: I hope you've visually inspected the rear brake shoes for delamination: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15874.html we had yet another member post just the other day that when he pulled the rear wheel the completely delaminated linings dropped out.

You also need to fully rebuild the front brake if it hasn't been done yet. The original lines had a four-year recommended lifespan, caliper and master cylinder seals, two years. Even acknowledging a certain designed-in safety margin, 30 years is way past that.

Don't trust your life to old brakes. Take the opportunity to upgrade to stainless steel lines.

 

On the advice of this thread, I've been trying to find Castrol 4T locally for my upcoming oil change, and the closest I can seem to find so far is "Castrol Grand Prix Motorcycle - Four Stroke".

I read the back of the bottle and it didn't say anything for or against wet clutches. I had experienced some starter clutch slipping last season so I wanted to make sure I'm running the most appropriate oil. I used a standard car oil last change.

Is the above an equivalent product, or should I hold out for "Castrol 4T" specifically?

Thanks.

 

I get Castrol 4T from the local Wal Mart here in Ontario Fishizzle.

 

Same stuff, different (old) packaging.

 

Since it's an active topic, I recently put in 15w40 RotellaT, and have been happy with it so far. Autozone sells it cheap in the gallon container for less than $20 ($17 or something)(locally, anyways, in at least two cities in Texas).

 

The Standard for High-revving Bikes used to be CASTROL GTX 20-50.
But Castrol ADDED a Friction Reducer to GTX rendering it unacceptable for Multi-disc WET Clutches.

Not wanting to lose the Bike Market, ... Castrol developed "4/T"

There are a many alternatives suitable for protecting a Bike Engine with Wet Clutches.

You need to shop for a 10/40 ~ 20-40 0r 20-50 Oil that is NOT formulated with Anti-slip or Anti-friction or Friction reducers.

With your Clutch at risk for being damaged by the wrong choice, ... it's a wise decision to buy a product that has SAFE for MC Wet Clutches stated on the container.

 

And I've been feeling betrayed ever since. And so has my Norton, after nearly 30 years and then THIS!

The "Castrol Grand Prix" motorcycle oil Fishizzle was asking about IS the early packaging incarnation of 4T; notice the big "4" in the graphic. It's motorcycle oil. I suspect a regional warehouse with some older stock.

 

this is ridculous but how many quarts of oil fills a xj900r?

 

I don't know if the new branding has made it to western Canada yet. I checked numerous places, including Walmart, and it's all branded as "Castrol Grand Prix 4 Stroke" here still.

Since it's the same stuff, I bought it from Walmart as it was cheaper than anywhere else, so it definitely didn't hurt to look there. 8)

 

same out here on the Canadian East coast. Its "Castrol Grand Prix 4 Stroke" here. Been using it for many , many years and will keep using it