Don't use auto oil in your motorcycle

[maximNikenGT]

Was going to perform oil change in the Niken GT today and as I was refreshing my memory on any other service checks before winter settles in when  I noticed the specs for the Niken specify Yamalube 10w40 or 10w50. 
I then ran across an article where it indicated that motorcycle oil and engine oil   are not the same by virtue of the fact that in a car you have separate oils for engine and transmission with different  viscosity characteristics for each.  

https://bikerestart.com/motorcycle-and-car-oil/

This is corroborated by separate articles for Mobil1, Motul, Castrol and other oil manufacturers. Although there may be bias involved, they're at least all saying the same thing. 

In addition motorcycle engines also have to act as coolant for the clutch and gearbox and have low ash content and less detergents than one formulated for a car. 

Can't believe I've been riding all these years doing motorcycle oil changes all wrong using automotive oil. At least they've always been Mobil1 or Castrol Syntec but not the motorcycle versions. 😖😫😩

Do folks have a preferred regular or synthetic motorcycle oil? I'm leaning towards Yamalube since it's about $7.50 USD per quart. 

Edited November 12, 2021 by maximNikenGT

[draco_1967]

As long as the oil meets the proper JASO MA/MA2 label, and it meets the proper weight specs, you can use whatever oil you want. The main issue is the additives in auto oils to reduce friction will cause issues with the clutch plates in a motorcycle engine. JASO oils don't have these additives. 

Unfortunately, like most other motorcycle things, companies charge more just because it is for motorcycles. 

I have been using Shell Rotella T6 (synthetic) in my bikes for several years, and 10's of thousands of miles with no adverse affects. The main issue is the additives in auto oils to reduce friction will cause issues with the clutch plates in a motorcycle engine.

Sometimes O'reily, Pep Boys, etc. have Castrol brand motorcycle oil that is reasonably priced. 

[texscottyd]

Oooohhh!  An oil thread!  

[maximNikenGT]

This would probably  explain why my motorcycle  oil is super black in color after not too much distance  e.g. About 200 miles of riding is all it takes to turn from golden yellow to dark black oil.  

Edited November 12, 2021 by maximNikenGT

[TomTracer]

Follow the spec, not a specific brand. Follow the change frequency, not the color after 200 miles. Do not obsess about it. And remember oil threads are like many others-ignore most of them.

[Husqy]

Rotella T6 for 3 years now. Know many many riders who have used it for dozens of years between them... yeah I'll stick with it

[fddriver2]

It takes 2.8 qts with a filter to change the oil. Is price really that big of deal? I drove a personal diesel truck for decades that took 13qts and still paid for SYN. 🙄

 

[whisperquiet]

Stick with me and only use these oils and chain lube……trust me👍
 

 

[Husqy]

4 hours ago, fddriver2 said:

It takes 2.8 qts with a filter to change the oil. Is price really that big of deal? I drove a personal diesel truck for decades that took 13qts and still paid for SYN. 🙄

 

I do all 3 of my vehicles with Rotella T6 - it is a full synthetic oil. I buy the giant drum of oil (19L or 5 freedom gallons) and they often run a $25 rebate through Shell so it definitely makes a dent in the maintenance bill compared to buying the 'recommended' oil for each.

[Garz747]

Why does Yamaha expressly say not to use diesel oil in the tracer 900 owners manual? I know many bikers are using Rotella diesel.

[TomTracer]

If you search using diesel oil in gasoline engine the result indicates you can, provided the spec and viscosity match the engine requirements. Yamaha likely suspects most of us wouldn't check that. Just a guess though. 

[daboo]

Like others, I use Rotella T6, 5W-40.  It's not exactly per the spec viscosity, but after a minute or so, it's warmed up and no longer a thin 5 weight oil.  At 80,000 miles on this bike with no oil usage between changes, it seems to be okay.  

I look at the manufacturer's description of the reason for the oil to be a "motorcycle" oil, and to me it is just a bunch of marketing hype to get me to pay a lot more for a "motorcycle" oil, than engine oil.  My Subaru's turbocharged engine gets hot...probably just as hot as my motorcycle engine does.  And I can't believe the lubrication requirements on the turbocharged engine are any less than those on my motorcycle's engine are. 

One thing I've noticed over the years, is we motorcyclists tend to baby our motorcycles.  Got to check those valves right at the maintenance interval.  Got to have the perfect oil in it.  Etc.  But our cars?  Valves?  Who checks those?  Just get in the car and start it up.  Oil?  Whatever Jiffy Lube wants to put in it, is great.  And the cars commonly run 200K or more if we keep them long enough.

Chris

[maximNikenGT]

18 hours ago, daboo said:

Like others, I use Rotella T6, 5W-40.  It's not exactly per the spec viscosity, but after a minute or so, it's warmed up and no longer a thin 5 weight oil.  At 80,000 miles on this bike with no oil usage between changes, it seems to be okay.  

I look at the manufacturer's description of the reason for the oil to be a "motorcycle" oil, and to me it is just a bunch of marketing hype to get me to pay a lot more for a "motorcycle" oil, than engine oil.  My Subaru's turbocharged engine gets hot...probably just as hot as my motorcycle engine does.  And I can't believe the lubrication requirements on the turbocharged engine are any less than those on my motorcycle's engine are. 

One thing I've noticed over the years, is we motorcyclists tend to baby our motorcycles.  Got to check those valves right at the maintenance interval.  Got to have the perfect oil in it.  Etc.  But our cars?  Valves?  Who checks those?  Just get in the car and start it up.  Oil?  Whatever Jiffy Lube wants to put in it, is great.  And the cars commonly run 200K or more if we keep them long enough.

Chris

I thought the same thing for years since I agree that my car shouldn't be "hotter" than my motorcycle nor should it require different viscosity oil - except for the fact that the one thing that I finally realized was that my car has different oil requirements for transmission vs. engine oil. 

Ex. My 2018 Audi SQ5 has the following specs:

2018-2020 Audi SQ5 3.0L Turbo 24V models use VW 508 00 oil spec. Recommended engine oil is any synthetic oil with the following viscosity:

a. SAE 5W-40,

b. SAE 5W-30 or

c. SAE 0W-40. 

For the differential use a 75w90 for front and rear differential. 

Because motorcycles share the oil used for both the engine and the transmission each system has slightly different viscosity requirements for both as a shared system. Too high a viscosity (thick oil) and the engine won't get the optimized lubrication at where the engine oil needs to flow to (especially since motorcycle engines are much smaller than auto engines). Too low a viscosity (thin oil) and the transmission components may wear sooner since it requires a higher viscosity to operate optimally. Additionally the increased metal shavings in the transmission could cause additional damage to the engine since it's a shared lubrication system on a motorcycle. 

The balance is made more complex in that in general, the thinner the oil, the less the engine needs to work at speed resulting in higher efficiency/better mpg. 

Since I plan on keeping the Niken GT at least 8+ years, I'll be using dedicated motorcycle oils here on out. 

 

[daboo]

I'm sure your Niken will do fine with "motorcycle" oil. 

Does your Audi have an automatic transmission?  If you've ever looked at automatic transmission oil, it looks different.  It smells different.  It even pours different.  It's a totally different animal to any kind of engine oil.

And it is totally unlike anything you'd put in your Niken's transmission, even if the transmission oil were separate from the Niken's engine.  It's a different animal entirely.  There's a lot more to oil than just viscosity.  

 

For those of you who get highly concerned about what to put in your motorcycle, let me ask this question.  How many miles do you plan to put on it before selling it?  10,000?  20,000?  100,000?  If you're on the low end of the mileage spectrum, about the only thing you could do to damage the engine and gearbox would be to get an oil that will make the clutch slip.  I don't think any of us can point to an engine failure of any kind where the oil was a factor.

It's the marketing folk's job to make us feel we need something special.  Otherwise, they couldn't justify getting paid.

I'm more on the high end of that mileage range.  At 80,000 miles already, I will be knocking on the door of 100,000 miles this time next year.  My bike doesn't use oil.  Is that because I use great oil?  Or is it because the manufacturers make great engines?   

In the meantime, I'll keep using Shell Rotella T6.  It tastes good. 

Chris

[fddriver2]

An oil thread doing the oil thread thing........ 🤣