Oil herp derp

[evoboy]

Used to run top quality stuff in my old zx6....then it was written off so for the last 20k of its time with me it was ran on whatever oil was cheap at the time in 10w40 or 15w40. ( not Magnatec or any of the long life oils mind).

Engine was still brilliant at 67k and many trackdays.

I just use Semi Synth 10w40 bike oil now as, lets be honest, its not that much more at £20 for 4 litres. (Motul 5100, Rock oil Guardian etc). Unless ASDA start selling Castrol GTX for £10 for 4 litres again, then i stock up.

In my experience, 'car' oil has never caused an issue with the clutch on any bike Ive put it in.
____________________
Suzuki GT250 x7------- Fazer 600------CB250RS------Aprilia Rally 70----- Bandit 600

APT Motorcycles

[Vracktal]

I've had car oil in my bike before, was in a bind and it was all I had to hand- It was the right grade and the bike ran okay, but after a few weeks it turned into this-

https://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j328/Vracktal/IMG_0472_zpsd45ab175.jpg
https://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j328/Vracktal/IMG_0479_zps62b30fab.jpg

The majority of the oil was okay, draining the oil showed most of it was clean and pure, but for some reason it seems more susceptible to condensation and turns to wank juice everywhere away from the sump. Since then I refilled the bike with bike specific rock oil and it still does it though, so i'm not sure if it's the car oil to blame or (more likely) my bike is suiciding again.
____________________
2007 BMW R1200R: On road
2009 BMW G650X Challenge: On road
1975 Norton Commando 850: Off road, awaiting recommissioning

[Bomberman]

Was that not just that it was cold weather/short runs though?
____________________
'Allo! My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!
'89 TZR 125 - '94 GPZ500s - ZK3 GSXR600 Alstare

[goodlifefarm]

The emulsion is caused by water in the oil. Could be short runs, the oil never getting hot enough to get rid of the water, make sure the crankcase breathers are clear. if the bike is water cooled, it could be more serious.

[Acemastr]

[Copycat73]

here is a LONG article about "Motorcycle Oils vs. Automotive Oils".
https://www.nightrider.com/biketech/oiltest1.htm
i`ve used car oils in bikes and had no issues.

@Vracktal. i had that happen over the winter of 2010/2011, very cold year, turned out it was the engine breather pipe to the air box was full of semi cured grease blocking it.
____________________
Whatever I post I have no citation and no intention of providing one..
caveat emptor

[numpty2]

Actually there is a reason why our colonial US cousins need to be a bit more careful. USA oils & EU oils aren't necessarily labelled or formulated to the same standards. There is more to it that just the SG 10w-40 etc etc. In particular, some US car oils have special friction modifiers that can mess up wet clutches in bikes.
There has even been a legal ruling in favour of one of the oil companies such that some oils that are called synthetic in the USA are in fact just purified mineral oils, and as such couldn't be called synthetic in the EU.
I know of a number of US bikers who are very happy with Mobil 1 fully synthetic car oil.

[Rogerborg]

Eh, Yanks have been indoctrinated that they need to ignore manufacturer service intervals and change their oil at most every 5,000 miles with super-omni-hyper-slikk, or their vehicle - be it bike, truck or car - will immediately explode.

They have a problem dealing with lakes of barely used engine oil, and some of the ecomental States are asking people to please knock it off and accept that 10k+ service intervals are not a sinister conspiracy by devious car manufacturers to wreck engines and sell new vehicles.

So I'd take any oil advice with a huge pinch of Slick-50.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[P.]

[goodlifefarm]

[P.]

[goodlifefarm]

[P.]

Previous thread, was teh lols.

Not a pop, just merely stating people that blab on about good oil have been brainwashed by the man.

[Islander]

The only really important thing to remember is not to mix vegetable (castor) based and mineral based oils.

[stinkwheel]

Other than 2-stroke, I haven't used a "motorcycle" oil in a motorcycle for the last 10 years.

I usually use Halfords own brand semi-synthetic, especially when they were giving you free screwdrivers.

I use Morrisons own brand diesel oil in the enfield engine because it makes a lot of soot and diesel oil can cope with it.

I use dexxon 2 automatic transmission fluid in the primnary drive of the enfield (so clutch, alternator and primary chain). Clutch does not slip.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[goodlifefarm]

[Shinigami]

I just empty the chip pan into my bike after it's had it's use making crispy potato treats,

Sometimes top it off with a bit of grease from my hair.

I've actually used bike oil everytime however i've switched to cheap car oil now and noticed zero difference whatsoever
____________________
Current: Honda City Fly CLR125 2003 Honda CB600F Hornet 2008 Yamaha FZ6 S2 + 1991 Kawasaki GPZ500
"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense.

[nowhere.elysium]

Big ol' barrels of Costco 10w40 oil. Does the job, and does it cheaply. I have had no engine problems whatsoever, and that's been used to refill five different bikes, multiple times.
____________________
'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[iMark]

I use car oil, it's working fine for me.. No clutch slipping.

The only thing I read about car oil is to make sure it doesn't have "Energy Conserving" in the bottom half of the API Doughnut declaring what grades the oil is, as it is that stuff that causes the clutch slipping. (apparently)

https://i.imgur.com/Lv2yjaP.jpg
____________________
K8 GSXR 1000
"G" : you got him to have a look at a forum which seems to have established a picture of an erect penis in a cat's mouth as it's mascot and thought he might consider it ok?

[P.]

[Shinigami]

[weasley]

I can tell you with 100% certainty that bike oils are not all the same as car oils. Some may be, but not all and certainly not the famously-branded performance bike oils. This is not to say that in many cases a given bike (or number of bikes) won't work perfectly well with a common-or-garden car engine oil. A few musings from me:

- 10W-40 is a commonly recommended oil for lots of bikes. Car engine oils that are 10W-40 will not be formulated for extra fuel economy, so will almost certainly not contain the dreaded 'friction modifiers' that may or may not cause your clutch to slip.

- bike-specific oils will always avoid using clutch-buggering additives, and will typically make use of more 'shear stable' additives, particularly the VI improver (viscosity index improver - a long chain polymer whose job is to prevent the oil getting too thin when it gets hot; it's effectively what makes a multigrade a multigrade). Long polymers can become physically sheared (broken up) in high shear environments, such as a gearbox or clutch. Different VI improvers have different resistances to this effect and typically the better ones will be used in bike oils.

- there are no useful performance specifications for bike oils. Manufacturers rely on decades-obsolete API engine oil specifications and a couple of largely irrelevant JASO tests (irrelevant in the context of modern engine and clutch designs and power transfer requirements).

- semi- and full-synthetic oils WILL outlast a mineral oil and will almost certainly protect the engine better. However, a good mineral oil probably offers enough performance to protect an engine/gearbox/clutch under real life conditions, so the better oils' incremental performance is essentially over-engineering UNLESS you stretch the oil change interval, really muller the bike or keep it for aeons.

In the end people will make decisions based on what they believe. Men didn't walk on the moon, the earth is flat and all oils are the same. You will have your own experiences and you will satisfy yourself about your choices.

I have been working in oil product development, technical support, analysis, marketing and now technical training for over 20 years. My personal choice is to use a bike-specific, semi-synthetic 10W-40 from a reputable brand because I believe, from what I know, that this will offer the best long-term protection for my bike. I know that many people use car oil and have no problems - great, well-played. However, in many cases you simply do not know what effect an oil has had on your bike, nor how much better or worse a different oil would have been. You make your choice, you get away with it, you move on.
____________________
Yamaha XJ600 | Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat | KTM 990 SMT | BMW F900XR TE

[weasley]

[weasley]

[P.]