What Engine Oil do you use?

[Jaxorama]

Motorex is not readily available in all parts of Canada. Could someone start a poll as to what kinds of oils are preferred? My KTM dealer also sells Kawasaki bikes and they recommend the Kawasaki synthetic 15w50. But they are a 30 minute drive away. I'd rather find a brand that is still good and that might be available at a closer dealer. Anyone? How about Amsoil products?

Jax.

[17"wheeler]

Never use full-syn oil...its no good

I always use semi-syn oil (Motul 5100 20w-50)and tranny works smoothly

[hvyw8t]

I use torqo 5w-50 full synthetic in my 2005 525sx. Works very well. Its what my dealer runs in his.

[TecateRay]

Go with the MAXIMA Oil products. You have your choice of full synthetic or blended synthetic. I've been running MAXIMA in my '02 400 EXC since new - no problems with clutch or tranny. I've got at least 4000+ miles on this bike running MAXUM 4 Extra 15-50 (full synthetic).

[ktoom]

Full synthetic kills ur clutch. I had a friend of mine that replaced his clutch 10 times in a season and he found out that it was the full synthetic oil. It makes the fibbers on the clutch plates wear very quicky.

[Cactus73]

Never use full-syn oil...its no good

I always use semi-syn oil (Motul 5100 20w-50)and tranny works smoothly

That is a ridiculous statement, especially since KTM recommends a fully-synthetic JASO MA oil in the owners manual. Any JASO MA fully synthetic oil will be fine. I know of a few guys that use a JASO MA semi-synthetic oil, but they change their oil more frequently.

[Cactus73]

Full synthetic kills ur clutch. I had a friend of mine that replaced his clutch 10 times in a season and he found out that it was the full synthetic oil. It makes the fibbers on the clutch plates wear very quicky.

I don't buy this either. I have 70 hours on my bike and the clutch is perfect.

[wrooster]

Full synthetic kills ur clutch. I had a friend of mine that replaced his clutch 10 times in a season and he found out that it was the full synthetic oil. It makes the fibbers on the clutch plates wear very quicky.

this is complete and utter nonsense.

please read the following post:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=605364#post605364

jim aka the wrooster

'01 wr250f

[ktoom]

Well good for u then. i should give u my buddies number and u can ask him why he needed a new clutch in '05 525SX? Go ask a mechanic who knows about bikes, he will tell u that synthetic oil is no good. Thats like putting the same oil in ur bike as u do ur car.

[ktoom]

even better, go call a company like Pro circuit and ask them

[Cactus73]

Well good for u then. i should give u my buddies number and u can ask him why he needed a new clutch in '05 525SX? Go ask a mechanic who knows about bikes, he will tell u that synthetic oil is no good. Thats like putting the same oil in ur bike as u do ur car.

I copied this from the Amsoil website:

It is important to note that as an oil classification is superseded by a newer one, that the newer one provides improved benefits over the older one in such areas as high and low temperature deposits, wear, rust and corrosion for example and is perfectly suitable for use. All quality motorcycle specific oils should also carry the JASO Motorcycle Specifications, which are either the JASO-MA specification (no friction modifiers) or the JASO-MB specification (with friction modifiers). The JASO-MA rating specifies that no friction modifiers are used. Note that the JASO-MB motorcycle does have friction modifiers, but is designed for motorcycles that specify the JASO-MB specification. If the oil does not carry one of these specifications, even if the other specifications listed above are present, We recommend finding an oil that has the proper JASO specification clearly labeled on the bottle.

Petroleum or Synthetic?

On the subject of whether or not to use a petroleum or synthetic motorcycle oil my recommendation is to use a premium quality synthetic. There is absolutely no comparison between the two. Synthetic oil has been proven to resist high temperature breakdown and shearing effects at higher engine operating temperatures for a much longer time period than petroleum oil and as a result allows the oil to stay in the specified viscosity grade much longer. Synthetic oil is more uniform in molecular structure and will reduce internal friction and thus provide for lower engine operating temperatures as well as provide for smoother shifting.

I suspect that your buddy used a JASO MB synthetic oil and as a result he had clutch problems.

Who said anything about automotive oils? JASO MA = Motorcycle specific, without moly.

[cfoxtrot]

Full synthetic is fine as long as it contains no molybdenum additives. It's the moly that kills clutches. Oils with moly additives will have an energy conserving rating on the API circle on the label. For wet clutch use, stay away from any oil with the API energy conserving rating.

[wrooster]

Go ask a mechanic who knows about bikes, he will tell u that synthetic oil is no good.

i am a mechanic who knows about bikes.

i also have a degree in mechanical engineering.

i am telling you that, without a doubt, synthetic oil (in the right flavor, i.e. with the correct additive package) is the best possible lubricant for your bike's engine and clutch pack. this is not stipulation -- this conclusion has been demonstrated by real world testing and evaluation of engine oils.

you have incorrectly branded "synthetics" as the problem, which is simply not the case. your friend used an oil which had an additive package which did not agree with his clutch. i've said that in plain english as it seems you missed the point of my linked post above. your friend could have just as easily used a conventional oil with the wrong additive package, and the results would have been the same. the fact that the base oil is synthetic has no bearing whatsoever on his problem -- the additive package had everything to do with it.

as an analogy... what you have described is like avoiding cranberry juice, because at some point in time your friend got violently sick from drinking 7 vodka-cranberry mixers at a party. did you stop and think that maybe the vodka additive was the problem, and not the base cranberry juice?

ps

for 5 years, i have been running full synthetic in two high performance wet clutch off road motorcycles (yz250f and wr250f), to the tune of perhaps 6K miles total. i have not replaced the clutch nor any internal engine parts, save for reshimming the valves. my experience is not unusual, as many 4 stroke bike owners use full synthetic oil with no ill effects whatsoever.

if you have further questions or concerns regarding synthetics, you can come over to an industry forum on lubrication, where you can hear direct from the mouths of many lubrication experts what the benefits of synthetics are:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php

there is a motorcycle-specific forum as well, with several TT members contributing VOA and UOA data on a number of automotive and motorcycle synthetics. e.g. this thread:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=9;t=000468

(ps: sunruh is the moderator of TT's YZ/WR250F forum)

as an aside, i would estimate that the most widely used oil on TT is Mobil 1 15W50 full synthetic, formerly known as "RED CAP" but now packaged a bit differently as "Extended Performance" (and with a gold cap). the new flavor has nearly the exact same makeup as the old, and both are safe for use in wet clutch motorcycle applications.

ref:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=270883

and also see

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=002712

jim aka the wrooster

'01 wr250f

[wrooster]

For wet clutch use, stay away from any oil with the API energy conserving rating.

comparison time:

http://losdos.dyndns.org:8080/public/motomisc5/IMG_0359_sm.jpg

oil good for bikes:

http://losdos.dyndns.org:8080/public/motomisc5/IMG_0361_sm.jpg

oil not good for bikes:

http://losdos.dyndns.org:8080/public/motomisc5/IMG_0362_sm.jpg

top oil is the old mobil 1 15w50 "red cap" (now comes with a gold cap).

bottom oil is the old mobil 1 5w30 "blue cap".

top oil feeds a YZ250F and a WR250F

bottom oil feeds a bmw 3 series and a toyota tacoma.

jim aka the wrooster

'01 wr250f

[hvyw8t]

Wrooster, very well said. Excellent post!! I love it when people make these blanket statements with with nothing to back themselves up. I love the comment on calling procircuit to verify some bullshit idea.It makes me chuckle. Anyway again excellent post. Thankyou.

[dezracer9]

is anyone using spectro sx4? ive heard nothing but good things..

[ktoom]

Sorry fualks, my retarded brother signed on my name and wrote that crap. I think he was sayin that its bad cuz they say not to use the same oil that u would put in ur car. or something like that. I don't know. Don't wurry fualks, i slapped him in the back of his head.

[fishnbc]

Synthetic oil no good for bikes??burn up your clutch?? Any mechanic that tells you that is smokincrack or doesn't know a motorcycle from a wheelbarrow... Listen to wrooster. Amsoil and Klotz for years without a problem. I don't know anyone who doesn't run synthetic. You can get Amsoil or Mobil One MXT4 at most crappy tire stores if theres not a shop nearby. Call me cheap but I refuse to pay $18-20 liter for motorex or silkolene. Non synthetic motorcycle specific won't kill it either imho

[Chas_M]

There are many folks who use semisynthetic and petroleum based oils, including many on the KTM factory racing team. This comes from Mike Rosso, Tech Advisor for the KTM Factory Racing Team. Also, all of the auto clutch manufacturers recommend petroleum based diesel oils for their auto clutches.

[superdavebmr19]

True, True. I'm running a semi-synthetic...Maxima. When you guys change your oil, check the long screen filter right in front of the shift lever. Mine wasn't installed properly and was kinda twisted when I removed it.