Oil question

[Grimace]

I went to buy sg grade oil, and ended up with mobil 1 v-twin oil. It is synthetic, but it also is SG. Will this hurt my clutches? I am noticing a little clutch slip getting on the highway when the bike is still cold (just rolling into the throttle, not pinning it). After it is warm, I can speed shift all the way to high gear with no problems, and no slip. Thanks,
J

[Dragonrider]

Check the API symbol on the bottle...if the bottom half of the circle is empty, it won't hurt clutches.

[GNEPIG]

.. somone in another thread is testing oils in his bike and submitting his reveiws.. one of the oils he tried was Valvoline motorcycle oil and said he liked it , he gave it a real good reveiw so i thought i would give it a try
.. i have recently put Valvoline 4 stroke motorcycle oil 20/50 in one of my rides and i like it very much.. i noticed a difference right away .the valve noise that i had just blown off as the nature of an old beast got way quieter , it seems to run smoother, the trans shifts way better now also and the clutches dont slip!.. cost: $3.25 per qt
.. i think i have found a new motor oil

[GNEPIG]

05-30-2005 02:41 PM

Czekus21
XSive Maximus

Registered: May 2004
Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Posts: 637
I've read the links on this forum about the difference of oils, the pros and cons of synthetics verses regular oils. Then I've done my own tests. ( actually useing the oil in my bike ). All of the viscocities were 20-50.
Castrol,; Noisy engine, valves rattlin, slight clutch slippage under hard acceleration.
Yamaha lube,; Same thing, Not so much slippage in the clutch.
Kawa-chem,; Not so noisy engine, Still a little bit of clutch slippage but liveable.
Rotella "T",; very noisy engine.
Havoline,; Will never use agian. Noisy engine, Oil needed changed after only about 1000 miles.
Currentlly trying out Valvoline's new motorcycle oil. Engine is quiet, and no clutch slippage. Still clean after about 200 miles since change.
I will be trying out Amsoil next.
After that will be Royal Purple.


__________________
S.R.Czekus
79sf ( MIYAMI )
81kz305 (unnamed)
82xj (parting out )

Just do it !!!!!

[81xsproject]

Well, speed it up GNEPIG. I got a slipping clutch and an oil change coming...

[jakeman]

Grimace, I don't want to hijack your thread but I have an oil question myself and if I am being rude, I apologize.

Phillips 66 has recently come out with an aviation oil that is 20W50. I fly Cessna's for a living and use this oil and it is good stuff. I wanted to try in in my bike but my airplane mechanic advised me not to, saying that aviation oil is made to a different standard than automotive oil. I can see what he means when I pour some from the bottle of Phillips and then pour from a bottle of Castrol in the same weight. The phillips is way thicker coming out of the bottle. The Phillips doesn't have the circle on the back, but states that it is SAE standard j1899.

So, what do you guys think?

[Grimace]

I am also an airplane mechanic and I say don't use it. It is not the same as car oil. I would stick with something that had an appropriate rating for a motorcycle.

You didn't hijack my thread it was a good question. The aircraft oil is much thicker than regular oil of the same "weight" rating. I don't know why, because oils are measured with a viscosity rating. Viscosity is defined as "A substances resisntance to flow". It is not measured in weight.

This was copied from www.howstuffworks.com

"Multi-weight oils (such as 10W-30) are a new invention made possible by adding polymers to oil. The polymers allow the oil to have different weights at different temperatures. The first number indicates the viscosity of the oil at a cold temperature, while the second number indicates the viscosity at operating temperature. This page from the Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ offers the following very interesting description of how the polymers work:

At cold temperatures, the polymers are coiled up and allow the oil to flow as their low numbers indicate. As the oil warms up, the polymers begin to unwind into long chains that prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. The result is that at 100 degrees C, the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number indicates. Another way of looking at multi-vis oils is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 weight oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot"

That is why multi-weight oils are so popular. A straight 50 weight oil has almost the same viscosity at cold temps as "Motor hunny" (the quick cure for valve rattle or a bad bearing). Aviation oil isn't multi weight. At least not the stuff we use. We put straight 50 weight in the smaller planes that we see. They have high torque, gear reduction starters to help overcome the thickness of the oil when it is cold. After a plane (like a cessna 182) warms up to operating temp, it can be re-started without the starter "dragging". The turbine oils we use are about like 10 weight. They are mineral oils that are very thin.

Sorry this got long, all I really wanted to know was will the mobil 1 synthetic oil have any effect on my clutches? On the bottle, it says "This oil is designed specifically for air-cooled engines, transmissions, and wet-clutch primaries". I was just worried about the slippage I am getting when the bike was cold. After
I warm it up, no problems at all.

[jakeman]

Thanks Grimace, I will heed your advice, airplane oil goes in the airplane engine, motorcycle oil goes in the motorcycle engine.

Thanks,

[UncleSpot]

I, like GNEPIG, have tried Yamaha lube, and Kawa-chem, and both made my engine noisey... unfortunately I didn't notice if my clutch slipped or not...
Then I used Valvoline 4 stroke motorcycle 20w/50 oil about a year and half ago - the engine was a LOT quieter, and it seemed to run a little cooler.

I ride 363 days a year and normally change my oil every 2000 miles so I've changed the oil about 7 times using Valvoline. I have no reason to try any other oil (now). I highly recommend it.

[GNEPIG]

.. i am sorry to cause any confusion but i copied the post from Czekus21 from another thread ..i have not tried all of those other oils for i am to cheap to buy the yamlube or kawlube or what ever, i have mostly used the casterol 20/50 ..but sence they have started putting the new antiwear additives in them over the past few years i have noticed my clutches slipping more and more and on more bikes
.. i have just started using the valvoline oil and so far i like it,
just like UncleSpot has said i will have no reason to try another oil

[Czekus21]

I've been asked to give an update on my oil testing. I've been pretty busy with work and honey do's, that I havn't had much time for anything else. I've also been waiting for the first real blast of cold air. Well, the blast of cold air is here. I'll be doing some cold weather riding this coming up weekend and will update some findings on sunday.

[xj11john]

czekus21,

Yeah I imagine you are getting a cold blast about now,

I used to live in Sturgis, and know what you mean. I guess no snow yet, hmm.. must be a mild one there this year.

I remember riding all over the Black Hills especially up to Lead and Deadwood, thats a fun ride from Sturgis. If you havent made that ride you should.

When the snow gets to really blowing on the plains there with a full moon and 0 visibility , we'd turn out the head lights and just stay on the hump of the highway-since everything was so flat.

You'd just see white and two big humps the side of the highway you were on and the other hump was the opposite side of the highway going the other direction.

Good luck on your ride and oil findings,

[Czekus21]

I'v been waiting for it to get really cold and it did. Here is my final findings for the Valvoline motorcycle oil.
So far, the Valvoline motorcycle oil is my oil of choice. Start up on warm days, No problem, slight valve tick for about 2 seconds, Throughout warm up, aprox 3 psi oil pressure loss due to oil thinning compaired to aprox 15 psi with Kawachem and Honda hp4. ( this is measured from the oil pressure gauge installed awhile back and at idle. )
Cold weather start up, ( 10 degrees ) Jump start with battery charger ( due to 4 year old battery and not starting for a few weeks. ) Slight valve tick for about 4 seconds. same oil pressure loss as listed above.
This oil was put in in late spring and has got about 1500 mile on it. oil color is dark but not black. Still smells like oil not gas as associated with break down. No clutch slippage XSept on hard acceleration ( WOT ) And then very little slippage happens. ( liveable by my standards ) I will keep this oil in until spring. Next oil change, I will be installing the Spin on oil filter adapter. So far, I think I will stay with the Valvoline. I may test the Royal Purple in the Kawi 305 before putting it in MIYAMI.
In my opinion and use, My oil use ranking will go as follows.
#1. Vavoline Motorcycle oil
#2. Kawachem
#3. Honda HP4
#4. Rotella T w/XLT Diesel oil 15/40
#5. Castrol GTX
#6. If your stuck in the middle of nowhere and NEED oil, Whatever you can get to get you home. But look for an oil that is made for a diesel engine without added stuff, ( like teflon or additives to enhance it's " slipperyness " ) Regular car oil would work in a pinch.
All oils that I've put through the ringer were 20/50 unless stated otherwise.

[Czekus21]

Yes I know about the great riding in the hills. I'm going to do some riding in the badlands in 06 and try to come up with a few runs that that can be made on a special without running out of gas. After this, I'll determine if I'll host a rally in 07. Eastern SD is just to flat and boring unless all ya want to do is run in a straight line really fast.

[GNEPIG]

bump