motorcycle oil

[KeypoX]

I just moved to a small town and they local shop says they dont use semi synthetic yamaoil or whatever and its just hype they said they use regular castrol 20 50 and it works as well if not better for everyday use?

I thought that motorcycles needed special oil different to car is this not true?

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: KeypoX
I just moved to a small town and they local shop says they dont use semi synthetic yamaoil or whatever and its just hype they said they use regular castrol 20 50 and it works as well if not better for everyday use?

I thought that motorcycles needed special oil different to car is this not true?

You don't do your own oil changes?

Personally, I think "motorcycle" oil is a gimmick, but certain oils will work better then others.

What kind of bike is it? I'm guessing with 20/50 you have a cruiser?

EDIT: You'll get much better answers in motorcycle forums or one for your particular model.

 

[mordantmonkey]

use whatever the manufacturer suggests. I'd trust the engineers that designed the engine over the local shop guy.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: mordantmonkey
use whatever the manufacturer suggests. I'd trust the engineers that designed the engine over the local shop guy.

Yep! Whatever rating your owners manual calls for.
I'd use decent oil and change it every 90 days.
Change the oil filter in the Spring.

 

[KeypoX]

i have a yamaha yzf 600, i have never done my own change is it hard or require special tools

Also they recommend like SAE 20w 40 or yamalube

anyone know of any yamaha forums?


I manly use it to goto school though cause there is no parking here (At UF), and motorcycle parking is everwhere

 

[nakedfrog]

You're probably fine with whatever.

 

[Hannover]

One of the most heavily debated topics on motorcycle forums...

Lots of people (myself included) use a high quality auto oil without any problems. The main thing to look out for is that the oil does not contain (energy conserving) friction modifiers. The friction modifiers can cause the clutch to slip. Previously, I used Mobil1 (red cap) synthetic; the formula has changed and I've switched to Rotella Synthetic.

Do some research and come to your own conclusion. http://www.gadgetjq.com/Oil_Articles.htm

 

[RGUN]

No its not a just marketing hype, your motorcycle does need special oil if it has a wet clutch. The friction modifiers in some automotive oils will cause severe slipping in your wet clutch and lead to premature clutch wear and overheating. Make sure whichever oil you buy doesnt have the energy conserving decal on it, I believe thats the one that means it has friction modifiers.

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: RGUN
No its not a just marketing hype, your motorcycle does need special oil if it has a wet clutch. The friction modifiers in some automotive oils will cause severe slipping in your wet clutch and lead to premature clutch wear and overheating. Make sure whichever oil you buy doesnt have the energy conserving decal on it, I believe thats the one that means it has friction modifiers.

That means basically DO NOT USE any # -30 oils.

I had a yzf600r a little whiles back, great bike. I love my new rr, but well, when the GF is in the back, we both miss the 600r.

Look, go out to your local sears and grab a set of mechanics tools (maybe 50 bucks and make sure it comes with metric), then head over to the local walmart and pick up a gallon jug of Shell Rotella synthetic (blue jug) 5-40 and an oil filter wrench, and finally to your yami dealership or home depot to pick up a new crush washer. After that, resort to your service manual, PM me, or head over to the friendly folks at http://www.yzf600r.com/phpBB2/ for any help needed.

Oh, and here is a good page with some filter info and some links on the side that'll help you with oil. http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/FilterXRef.html I personally use the Purolator Pure One's.

EDIT: For DO NOT USE

 

[herbiehancock]

There was a very comprehensive pair of articles in Motorcycle Consumer News comparing a lot of 30 motorcycle oils vs. automotive oils. The upshot was motorcycle oils are sometimes very different....much higher TBN than car oils (the car oils topped out around 9 TBN for synthetics and lower for dinos, while some motorcycle-specific oils reached to 17.) There was sometimes a vastly different blending of the antiwear additives of Zinc and Phosphorous, different choices of acid neutralizers (most centered on one or more of these three: Boron, Calcium, and Magnesium)....even between car vs. bike oils from the same manufacturer like Castrol or Mobil 1, differences in resistance to heat aging and stability. Then there is the question of moly content......do you want it or not. Redline High Perf. oil had the highest concentration of moly at 900ppm, with several others having less, but significant amounts. Many have so little they may as well have none. Mobil 1 car oils and Castrol Syntec car oils have around 100ppm while their respective bike oils tend to have none. But a lot of car oils had none, too.

Interestingly, some of the best performing oils, at leat in heat stability and aging, were the "old" style synthetic car oils, such as Mobil 1, Castrol Syntec, Redline, and Amsoil.

An interesting note.........there is supposed to be a 1000ppm limit on phosphorous concentration in car oils, but without exception, every one was over the limit. Why is too much phosphorous bad? Too much phosphorous can combine with the water in your engine and result in phosphoric acid.....not too good for your engine.

The car oils tended to be higher in calcium levels than bike oils, too.

The final word...........use what you like. I use Mobil MX4T in my bikes.....and it was one of the best performing bike oils in the study.

 

[KeypoX]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick

Originally posted by: RGUN
No its not a just marketing hype, your motorcycle does need special oil if it has a wet clutch. The friction modifiers in some automotive oils will cause severe slipping in your wet clutch and lead to premature clutch wear and overheating. Make sure whichever oil you buy doesnt have the energy conserving decal on it, I believe thats the one that means it has friction modifiers.

That means basically DO NOT USE any # -30 oils.

I had a yzf600r a little whiles back, great bike. I love my new rr, but well, when the GF is in the back, we both miss the 600r.

Look, go out to your local sears and grab a set of mechanics tools (maybe 50 bucks and make sure it comes with metric), then head over to the local walmart and pick up a gallon jug of Shell Rotella synthetic (blue jug) 5-40 and an oil filter wrench, and finally to your yami dealership or home depot to pick up a new crush washer. After that, resort to your service manual, PM me, or head over to the friendly folks at http://www.yzf600r.com/phpBB2/ for any help needed.

Oh, and here is a good page with some filter info and some links on the side that'll help you with oil. http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/FilterXRef.html I personally use the Purolator Pure One's.

EDIT: For DO NOT USE

Hey thanks everyone for the replies. The did goto the yamaha dealer and get the oil filter but i dont think i will do the change my self this time but probobly next time. The oil that the shop will be using is castrol 10w 50 is that going to be ok? or should i buy my own oil (no discount still $30 for the change) from walmart or something?



Does the change require taking off the farings? or need for a garage because i can't drive to my parents to use theirs.

 

[RGUN]

Originally posted by: KeypoX

Originally posted by: Kelvrick

Originally posted by: RGUN
No its not a just marketing hype, your motorcycle does need special oil if it has a wet clutch. The friction modifiers in some automotive oils will cause severe slipping in your wet clutch and lead to premature clutch wear and overheating. Make sure whichever oil you buy doesnt have the energy conserving decal on it, I believe thats the one that means it has friction modifiers.

That means basically DO NOT USE any # -30 oils.

I had a yzf600r a little whiles back, great bike. I love my new rr, but well, when the GF is in the back, we both miss the 600r.

Look, go out to your local sears and grab a set of mechanics tools (maybe 50 bucks and make sure it comes with metric), then head over to the local walmart and pick up a gallon jug of Shell Rotella synthetic (blue jug) 5-40 and an oil filter wrench, and finally to your yami dealership or home depot to pick up a new crush washer. After that, resort to your service manual, PM me, or head over to the friendly folks at http://www.yzf600r.com/phpBB2/ for any help needed.

Oh, and here is a good page with some filter info and some links on the side that'll help you with oil. http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/FilterXRef.html I personally use the Purolator Pure One's.

EDIT: For DO NOT USE

Hey thanks everyone for the replies. The did goto the yamaha dealer and get the oil filter but i dont think i will do the change my self this time but probobly next time. The oil that the shop will be using is castrol 10w 50 is that going to be ok? or should i buy my own oil (no discount still $30 for the change) from walmart or something?



Does the change require taking off the farings? or need for a garage because i can't drive to my parents to use theirs.

Depends on the bike, on my Kawi Ninja I could do it without taking any fairings off and without any special tools. On my GSXR1000 I had to remove one side of fairings (very simple), and the oil filter is pinned right up against the header (which sucks since you have to warm the bike up before an oil change.. those headers are HOT!). Still a very simple process. One thing to be VERY careful of is that you have an aluminum oil pan (most likely if its a newer sport style bike) and over tightening can easily strip the threads out causing you to require a helicoil. GOOD LUCK