help! put the wrong oil in!

[sc125]

right firstly i accept im a numpty, have a 99 hornet 600 and i am a mechanic so i thought i would change the oil and filter at work, used the oil we had there (euros stuff in a big drum) ever since i changed it ive noticed my bike doesnt feel as quick. went down to my workshop and asked my mates advice and straight away he said 'did you use motorcycle oil' forgetting the clutch sits in the oil so it has to be correct? so ive been riding it like it for 100 miles or so and changed it for castrol motorcycle stuff yesterday. question is will it eventually sort itself? ive noticed now and again on the way home it felt quick again but only now and again, any advice? thanks

[MarJay]

You might need new clutch plates, because car oil has friction modifiers in that can contaminate wet clutches.

What I'd do is take the clutch plates out and soak them in motorcycle oil overnight, then put them back and see if it is any better.

You can do this without draining the oil on some bikes by laying the bike on its side on a mattress or similar.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[sc125]

thanks, so theres no chance of it sorting itself out through riding it then? i have already drained the car oil and emptied the oil filter, feel like a complete twat lol

[jimspeed]

is the clutch actually slipping tho? if its not then don't worry lots of folk just use normal car oil in their bikes and have no probs (I think its usually the more expensive car oils that cause the probs).
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Hyosung cruise 125(passed test on, sold) Kawasaki el 252 (better than expected but sold on) Kawasaki GPZ500S first "big"bike.(sold) ZZR600 E5..Z750 2007,ER5, currently on a 2008 Enfield bullet electra x and loving it..
,"Alpha-9: Is there any correlation between dyno rod and dyno kits?"

[devojunior]

so when you go to say ( halfrauds) and you see 10w 40 as it says i need for my bike i cant use the car stuff it has to be motorcycle specific ?

[MarJay]

[Pete.]

Don't panic - just change the oil and it should improve. Most car oils contain friction modifiers and the long-life stuff used in the most modern engines is very slippery, but if you just change it all should be fine. I actually use diesel engine oil (not long-life) in my bikes and it never causes any problems.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Brick_Top]

[sc125]

well thats the problem the clutch isnt slipping. i assumed because it uses a multi plate system you wouldnt notice it like you would in a car. its just definetly not as quick as it was. only since i did the oil change tho. going for a 25 mile ride in a bit so will kick its arse and see if it improves. thanks for all the input guys.

[chris-red]

I put Cheapo Castrol GTX in my TDM and it ran like a bag o shite. Many people say car oils are fine but my experience says stick to bike ones.
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Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
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[Pete.]

[chris-red]

How do the gears feel? heavier or lighter to engage?

What weight oil did you put in it? What weight oil does your bike take.
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Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[koolio]

Don't know about new bikes, but many old bike manuals pre-1980s instruct removing the plates and soaking them with kerosene (paraffin over here) which cleans them, then drying, then inspecting and finally re-installing.

[sc125]

i put 10w-40 car oil in and my bike takes that grade, replaced it with 10w-40 motorcycle oil, the gears do seem slightly heavier but again that may be in my heeed. just took if for a blast and it still doesnt seem right to me, just doesnt seem to pull as hard as it used to as if im having to push it rather than it pulling itself round the revs. and surely if i used a more 'slippery' oil once it gets hot it wll get thinner and then cause more friction between metals?. i always use the 99 octane fuel too. feels quicker with it and i get more miles for a few pence more. wouldnt because a problem would it? never has before

[sc125]

coolio was thinkng the same, have loads of thinners a white spirit etc at my workshop so was gonna clean the plates down with that or something.

[Pete.]

[Brick_Top]

As I said before you should be able to tell easily if the clutch is slipping as the revs will surge without the bike accelerating in proportion to the revs going up.

The oil thinning out 'slowing your engine down' is complete and utter nonsense.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Clutch slip is possible but not that likely and should be very obvious.

If it has made that much of a difference I would suspect the most likely things are the oil level being far too high or oil getting spat onto the air filter through the breather (possibly from the oil level being far too high).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[carvell]

With regards oil, all you need to know is this:
https://shaftdrive.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/api-circle.jpg

Any old oil is fine, as long as it doesn't say 'energy conserving'.
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Yamaha TDM 850

[unitynotsocri...]

Seems a main difference with car oil is its not really got gearboxes in mind wheras bike oil (4 strokes)is designed to work as a g/box lubricant as well so it might be a little thick when it spews in the gearbox on a motorbike.It may affect the viscosity,car oil may stay a bit 'thicker' than bike oils and drag abit on the g/box.?????
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[weasley]

Nah, viscosity is viscosity. I doubt very much that the wrong oil of the right viscosity will make any discernible difference, especially if the clutch isn't slipping. Red herring inducing paranoia effect.
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Yamaha XJ600 | Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat | KTM 990 SMT | BMW F900XR TE

[Kickstart]

Hi

Not really. Some car makers just specify normal engine oil in gearboxes anyway.

However engine and gearbox oil viscosities are not the same. 10W40 engine oil is equivalent viscosity to something like 75W90 gearbox oil (they are not directly comparable).

The viscosity chosen (ie, the OP used 10W40 which is probably what Honda specify) then that is the oil thickness.

EDIT - pretty much what Weasley said.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[flumpy7]

Whenever my bike feels too slow i just sell it and get a faster one
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2012 Sinnis apache

[czakal]

I once made a post about the topic of car vs bike oil. I used car oil in my Kymco Pulsar for its first oil change and so far it seems fine. The most common advice I got was that for a 125 it doesn't matter so much. Is it also possible to use car oil in bigger bikes?

[serlant]

grrrr i'll get a pic of the clutch in my XJ600 that still didn't slip after riding about 12000 miles on car oil...
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04 CBR1000RR, 1995 Husqvarna TE410, 1998 VTR1000(Sold), 1990 XJ600(sold), 1996 KH125(dead and sold)