Lets talk oil

[OlderHuskyRider]

hi i've just bought my first husky(2007 te450) and me and my friend have ordered a case of elf 10/50w synth between us he runs his ktm(is this swearing?) on this grade with no probs and just wanted to know would this be good for my bike too? has anyone else used this brand? thanks, sean

10w50 will be fine in the Husky.

 

[uk007]

Not disagreeing with you on the mobile 1 but I have first hand experience with car oil in my bikes back in my younger days. I went threw 5 clutches on a dr 650 back in 94" and all I ran was Racing valvoline 20-50 and castrol 20-50 , awesome oil but even with a Barnett heavy duty clutch kit only 1500 miles she would start slipping on the pavement, learned why years later. I had to test the friction modifier theory again this time in 2001 with my 1200 Suzuki Bandit decided to throw in some GTX 20-50 before a 360 mile trip to Santa Rosa, bike had about 5k miles on it and never noticed a slipping clutch untill 200 miles into the ride and got my proof. ..... MotorX makes the best oil on the planet for bikes ! No no no on the car oil !

I've run Castrol GTX 10W-40 in every street motorcycle I've ever owned. RD350, CBR600, GSXR750, CBR900RR (fully tricked out for endurance racing) and finally my current CBR600 .... never had an issue. I change oil/Filter every 3000Miles. Never had a clutch issue. Sure it wasn't another issue?

btw... My2011 TE449 manual says 10W-40... going Castrol Power RS, 10W-40 4-stoke for that.

 

[Zomby woof]

FYI, the automotive oils that will cause clutch problems are the ones that say "energy conserving". They will have a little starburst symbol, with those words on or near it.

 

[Tinken]

Almost all of the professional racers down here run Shell, Amsoil and Mobil automotive oil products. Most run Motorex stickers for the contingency.

 

[Coffee]

...Many heavy duty diesel motor oils now show the Jaso-ma/ma2 certification. Mobil Delvac is also another favorite of many husky riders and also is safe in motorcycles.

I give up, which ones are MA or MA2 rated?

(not trying to cause trouble, I seriously am interested, and those types of oils are hard to come by in this area)

 

[Tinken]

Yes, but good wines are plentiful!

 

[Rearwheelin]

I've run Castrol GTX 10W-40 in every street motorcycle I've ever owned. RD350, CBR600, GSXR750, CBR900RR (fully tricked out for endurance racing) and finally my current CBR600 .... never had an issue. I change oil/Filter every 3000Miles. Never had a clutch issue. Sure it wasn't another issue?

btw... My2011 TE449 manual says 10W-40... going Castrol Power RS, 10W-40 4-stoke for that.

My experiences with car oils goes back to 1994 and stopped in 2003 except for the use of some RotellaT and Dello 400... I used a 20-50 grade and not the 10-40 wich could have been the reason . The bikes I road back then were higher torque luggers too . Since running motocycle oil never any clutch issues.

Recently there was a major player in the atv rental industry over in Oceano, Ca who a oil rep sold a drum of Shell bike oil too and within a week he had 3 engine failures. It's no surprise to me people like to pinch pennies with there bike oils or coolant or whatever . Some machines are perfectly fine running low grade stuff.

 

[BadMotoWeazal]

Rotella Dino in the SM 610 & Rotella Syn in the KTM "280cc Cheater Bike"

 

[Rearwheelin]

Let's just all put a MotorX sticker on our bikes and go try to win a race and cash in from the guys who make the good stuff ! ...... Good to know that's how they do it.... Maybe everyone needs to start running the wallmart stuff and maybe we will start seing walmart signs at our local racing events. ! ..... Yeah , I want to see a Wallmart graffic kit for our bikes with some Castrol signs on it and maybe a peak coolant sticker... Kind of like Mcgraths CR125 back in the early 90's ....

 

[Tinken]

I give up, which ones are MA or MA2 rated?

(not trying to cause trouble, I seriously am interested, and those types of oils are hard to come by in this area)

I'm not sure which ones exactly. The oils that the racers use down here don't even have a Jaso rating on the bottle. That synthetic Rotella in the other thread you guys are chatting in looks like a great deal. I prefer Mobil, but they are both great brands for much less money.

 

[Coffee]

I'm not sure which ones exactly...

ok, sounds good.. I will scout out these types of things in my travels, just interested from a technical viewpoint.

 

[Mike-AK]

If your motorcycle manufacture recommends 60 weight oil, then 60 weight oil @ 302°F makes a film thickness to match your clearances inside your engine. These clearances are usually based upon mineral oil. Because synthetic has a stronger tinsel strength than mineral oil, a lower weight oil may be used, but only one weight down.

So for your particular case, if your manufacture recommends a 60 weight mineral oil, you may use a synthetic 50 weight oil or a 60 weight oil.There is nothing wrong with 40 weight oil, but it is too far out of specification for you to use safely.

To answer your question on engine life, most wear on engines happens at start-up. The first number on your grade will determine your flow when cold. A lower first number will flow better when cold than a high number. For example, a 0w60 grade oil will have a much higher flow rate when cold than a 20w60 grade oil (0w is actually 250 times thinner than 20w when cold, but has an actual viscosity of 40 and not zero).
The higher the flow at start-up will determine the wear amount. When your engine is at normal operating temperatures, there is absolutely no difference between a 0w60 grade and a 20w60 grade, they are both 60 weight oil.




Mobil1 15w50 is an excellent oil. I have read the MSDS specs on it and the viscosity indexes of Mobil1 are as good or better than even the next grade up.
(note: 2010 te450 specifies 10w-50 synthetic, therefor 15w-50 matches perfectly to the manufacture recommendation)

Hope this helps.

So what would you think about running Amsoil 10W40 in a TE310 that specs 10W50? The viscosity at 100c is just above 14 vs 17 for the Castrol 10W50, but the HT/HS viscosity is 4.5 on the Amsoil vs 3.7 on the Castrol.

 

[Tinken]

The thinner oil will have a higher flow rate but will develop less pressure. If the pressure was still high enough, then it would work better than the thicker oil. I've seen synthetic 10w40 used in 310's.

 

[turboslacker]

Just tried Amsoil 10-40 motorcycle oil in my 2009 TXC250. Holy cow does it shift much much smoother. Amazing how different oil types change the feel of a bike. Expensive stuff though. Up for trying Rotella syn and Mobil 1 next time to compare the feel.

 

[Tinken]

 

[Tigero]

I trust Motorex CrossPower 10W-60 on TE250, change every 5 or 6 hours of race. It does seem to hold up its consistency well even after very high stress and definently keeps the clutch working beautifully.

 

[duggoey]

The thinner oil will have a higher flow rate but will develop less pressure. If the pressure was still high enough, then it would work better than the thicker oil. I've seen synthetic 10w40 used in 310's.

10w40 (synthetic motul) is all my 310 has seen and there is almost no signs of engine wear after nearly 3 years/ 6000km of hard trail use

 

[Mike Rotella]

I'm using the synthetic Castrol the manual tells me to. Its mid-priced and i can get it on Amazon delivered to my house for free.

 

[baz-r]

hi everyone just a few pointers on oils from an automotive engineer

1.car oils are NOT sutable for wet clutches found in motorbike engines additives in them will stop the plates gripping and soon burn it out and yes i have found out the hard way (even my childhood dt50 field bike with 3hp burnt its clutch using car oil!). and meny car oils can withstand gear shear here in europe meny cars run engine oils in the gear box some even like classic minis share the same oil for engine and gearbox (dry clutch)

2. multigrade oil ratings are stated as an equilvent to a mono grade's thickness @ the same temp so a 10w60 is the same as a 10 when cold and a 60 when hot this is the same no mater if its mineral or synthitic base. wider grades are almost always made from synthetic base oils as it is beyond the capabilitys of minrals.
you may get away with upping the w(cold grade) a bit in very hot climates or dropping the upper (hot) grade in very cold climates but oil grades are spec'ed by makers for a good reason and i would advise you to stick with them.

3. bikes like our huskeys or any other dirt bike need wide range oils as there is no thermostat or cooling fan in the cooling system so the engins running temp range is very wide compared to a road spec bike. it will take longer to heat up and may run hotter so the oil needs to be able to provide lubrication at all times.

hope this helps a few of you

btw im sticking with 10w60 in my bike even @ £50 for 4l here in the uk! probably cheaper in the long run than the repair bills

 

[James Patton]

Many "car" oils here in the U.S. do carry the same rating as motorcycle specific oils.
My husky does have a cooling fan and a thermostat. As long as the oil meets specifications
I don't see any logical reason for a high priced motorcycle specific oil.
I am not an engineer, just a guy who has worked as a certified motorcycle mechanic and been
An avid rider, owning many brands, for over 40 yrs. I have never had a clutch or engine failure
In all that time. I do regular maintenance and keep clean oil in my bikes.