[wazoonumber2]

I was at the Yamaha dealership the other day buying a filter and they told me that regular car oil would eat up the clutch. Is this true?? And if so is there any other oil that I can buy besides the spendy stuff at the dealership?

 

[bud8fan]

dont know about yahamies but i have a '98 kawa bayou 4 wheeler that i use 10w40 castrol in and have not had a problem with it or the clutch.i think they are designed about the same....

 

[bob917]

Car oil is ok in your motorcycle. Don't use any oil identified as "Energy Conserving" in the identification circle on the back of the oil container. "Energy Conserving" oil can cause clutch slippage. I have been using Mobil One 15W50 in my Vulcan 1500 with no problems. ALL oil companies recommend their motorcycle oil because its 2 or 3 times as expense as car oil. As far as I am concerned, Mobil One may be an expense car oil but a cheap motorcycle oil.

For more info, read the following:

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

http://www.ducatimeccanica.com/oil.html

From the old guy on the old bike

 

[Curt]

The articles above sound accurate to me. I wish I had read them a year ago.

I use Castrol Act Evo 10W40 fully synthetic motorcycle oil. At the time I bought it, I was told I shouldn't use automotive oil in a motorcycle, because in a motorcycle, the clutch and engine oil are mixed, and you wouldn't want reduced friction automotive oil on a clutch.

I bought mine direct from Castrol (http://www.proformanceusa.com/). I bought two gallons of oil and a can of chain wax, and I got free shipping.

Motorcycle oil certainly costs a lot more than automotive oil if you look at the percentage difference. But percentages don't matter. Dollars matter. If you look at the dollar difference, it's only a few bucks. I'd be surprised if it makes more than $100 difference over the life of the motorcycle. Is it $100 you could have saved? Probably. Would you worry about it? Probably. Is it worth it? That's up to you.
Curt

 

[Paco]

Thats all propaganda crap, a conspiracy by the
motorcycle manufacturers and oil companies.
In 28 years of riding bikes, I have always used
20-50 or 30 weight oil. As long as you stay away
from energy conservinng oils. Which is another
conspiracy.

 

[Texun]

For whatever this is worth, I changed the oil in mine and used Castrol Syntec 20-50 car oil and I could swear the engine runs smoother. I know it shifts much better. I'm not ready to jump up and say everyone needs to go Synthetic though, it might have just needed an oil change. Got it used so I don't know when the last change was done.

 

[Curt]

I doubt that synthetic oil gives significant performance gains over petroleum oil. But suppossedly synthetic oil sticks to the metal parts a tiny bit better than regular oil, especially when the engine sits for a few hours or days. And suppossedly, startup is when you get the quickest wear on the engine. So I figured that synthetic oil should be a teeny bit better than natural oil. Like I said before, it's not really much dollar difference, so if it makes me feel a little bit better, what the heck, eh?

A prize-winning cow gets the best hay, so why shouldn't my Ninja get spoiled rotten?
Curt

 

[Ken Spring]

Ive been running the Mobil 1 red cap auto oil... recommended by a group of other Vulcan fourms... smooth operation with no issues... but, a bud of mine runs the Mobil V-twin syn... he works for mobil and swears by it... so, do you run what works for you or do you spend the extra 2 bucks and get what is "designed" for the air cooled V-Twins???... its all personal preference... but... seems to me it all works!!! :roll:

Ken
Spring

 

[Texun]

... so, do you run what works for you or do you spend the extra 2 bucks and get what is "designed" for the air cooled V-Twins???... its all personal preference... but... seems to me it all works!!! :roll:
Ken
Spring

This sums it up pretty good. I walked a hole in the floor at Autozone going back and forth, trying to figure out which one I should get, then it hit me that I was quibbling with myself over a difference of $6 for the oil change. I felt like a dummy. I paid the extra $6 just to punish myself. The bike seems to like it. Just wish it would have cured that noisy clunk at idle. :roll:

 

[vaporgas2000]

I ran 20w50 Castrol in my bike for the first 2 oil changes, then I started having clutch grab. The bike would lurch when I put it in gear. Since then I use Spectro and no more lurching. I'm not saying car oil won't work, because I've used it in all the other bikes I've owned with no problems, it's just that the one I have now doesn't like it.

 

[G_Loc]

I ran 20w50 Castrol in my bike for the first 2 oil changes, then I started having clutch grab. The bike would lurch when I put it in gear. Since then I use Spectro and no more lurching. I'm not saying car oil won't work, because I've used it in all the other bikes I've owned with no problems, it's just that the one I have now doesn't like it.

I hear a clunk in my Vulcan 750 when I go down into first from neutral and the bike feels like its pulling a bit... The dealer put 20w-50 in there, should i change it?

 

[vaporgas2000]

G_loc

The 20w50 is fine to use as long as you aren't riding in cold conditions all the time. The clunk and the slight pulling sound like what I was experiencing. I am no expert on this subjuct but will pass along what I was told by a local dealer who is also a friend of mine and he has been riding and racing since he was 5 he is now 40.

The oil picks up dirt and debris in the engine and transmission.
In the the case with automotive type oil it can deposit some of this "trash" on the clutch plates resulting in more friction so you have a little "grab". The clunk you are probably feeling and the pulling is probably a result from this. It would be like shifting into gear without totally engaging the clutch.
He went on to explain that motorcycle oils are formulated better for the wet clutch applications and also to withstand the meshing of the gears in the transmission better.
I know alot of guys will say that they tell you this just to sell a more expensive oil (higher profits) but in my case I get the oil at his cost.
Like I said in my previous post I have used automotive oil in other bikes with no problems, but in the case with my previous bike switching to motorcycle oil worked.
Hope this helps, sorry so winded. :lol:

 

[bikeaholic]

re

i agree with vapor-i have always used 10w40 motorcycle oil and never
had a problem-but have seen some clutch grab problems using off the shelf
auto oil in the vulcans :wink:

 

[micktttt]

bike oil vs car oil

I splurge on my ride by using Mobil 1 MX4T10-40 full synthetic. Under stress /shear in the engine & clutch I opt to pay more for what I feel confident is the best. My differencial also runs Mobil 1 90 wt. My 1500FI get 45-49 mpg on the interstate trips to CO. I figure the extra miles on a tank full help pay for the higher oil price.

 

[Blackrider]

oil on vulkan 800

Now i use Valvoline 10w40 halfsynthetic,and seems to be ok,but my friends recomended me 15w50 or 20w50,for summer days.
I dont ride to much on winter.



Blackrider

 

[Roger]

Ken,
I don't use the Mobil 1 Red Cap myself, but I've heard from others that Mobil just recently changed it to being an "energy conserving" oil. I guess it has happened within the last month or so. You may want to look on the back of the bottle next time you buy it.

 

[heineken]

Has anybody ever tried the Lucas Oil additives they make for cars? It's supposed to enhance the lubrication quality and make the oil stick better to the internals. Just wondering.

 

[Texun]

Ken,
I don't use the Mobil 1 Red Cap myself, but I've heard from others that Mobil just recently changed it to being an "energy conserving" oil. I guess it has happened within the last month or so. You may want to look on the back of the bottle next time you buy it.

Since my last post I changed the oil and went with the Red Cap because many others said it would work as well as the V-Twin oil, which is harder to come by where I live.

I ran it for about 100 miles and drained it. No slippage, but it shifted like crap so I drove a few more miles out of my way and got the V-Twin oil again and that's what I'm staying with. I had planned to stick with it anyway, but with so many Mobil1 Red Cap users saying it worked as well I took a shot. I've heard Shell Rotella T is also great but I think I've learned my lesson - I'll stay with what works.

 

[ZX-2R]

It's all in your manual

You can use 1-40--20-50, but wait till you have about 3,000 miles on your bike to toss in synthetic...youhave a computer read the recommendations, read what the oil companies advertize...then go freeze or go outside and try burning some oil on some cheap pans from the salvation army or good will...I've been to the AMS-OIL challange and my second year I boutht my own oil to throw them off...I showed my dealership license and where I lived...so that they knew aht I wasn't a shoe in or doing a plug for them...my unopened oils with the receipt was poured into beakers with wooden stir sticks...Penzoil, Quakerstate, Castrol, Harley Davidson oil, Havoline, mobile 1, 8 total and then they put MY unopened bottle (not theirs) of oil into beakers and then poured liquid nitrogen from the tank into the stainless steel tray...AMS-OIL was the least like honey in the entire bunch...ten we went on break, in hte same room and watched as we ate sandwiches and drank coffee had desert all at AMS-OIL cost, and they took and put gas torches to the bottom of the beakers,,,I thought the glass would melt...but the oils turned black an done by one they reached flash point, boiling...except Mobile 1 and amsoil. I am NOT an AMSOIL dealer and that was 4 years ago. I still use amsoil in everything from my weedeater, car, truck, tractor...and I will until ther eis something else showing me an aviation oil used from over 140 degree surface temp runways to the negative degrees at flight altitiiudes---temperature extremes, that aircraft go through. You can believe in Valvoline, havoline, quaklerstate, Royal or even srtaight automatic transmission fluid...in an engine...Untill I see something better I'm sticking with AMS-OIL...

 

[Classic800]

I put Castrol 10W-40 in my 800 after 500 miles. Now I'm at 750 miles and I looked in the glass where you check the level. It's very, very black. So black that I can't even see through it as you normall can. It's rated SL and is not energy conserving. Any ideas? Is this normal? I've never noticed it before, but I always used synthetic in my other Vulcan.