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Affect of Engine Oil on Engine Noise


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Has anyone noticed the engine runs quieter with one oil over another?
 
I used to use Mobil 1 in my ST1300, and the bike ran super smooth with that oil.  I subsequently tried it on a Triumph Explorer and the triple seemed to hate it.  Among other things, the engine was noisy as hell.  I switched to Castrol and that alone made a big difference.  The engine ran much quieter with a different oil.
 
I also noticed the synthetic Yamalube is marketed as reducing engine noise.
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Over the years, about 60 of them now, riding since 6 1/2 years old, 1st minibike, 2.5 HP motor. I've noticed different motors have different noises. When i get a new motor I listen and learn the noises it makes. Just natural at this point, guess it has been for years. Yes, the triple has more vibration as it slings 2 pistons up then only a single. Not near the vibration as my CR500 Honda 2-smoke single but hey, different motor by far. Not near the smoothness my Honda CB400 four I had back when I was 17 riding it from Louisiana to California 2 times. I just ride the bike and when I hear different noises that I haven't heard it make before is when I take notice. You have Ducatis that have dry clutches. I have friends with VMaxes that have them bored out to 1500s with flat slide carbs chattering away. I've noticed a few on the forum that chat about the different noises or vibrations the motor makes. I've ridden the bike about 3,000 miles so far and have changed from Yama-lube to Castor oil. I didn't notice a difference. I'll probably continue to use Castor Oil motorcycle oil since it's about 8.99 a quart at Advance. Ride the bike, enjoy it and when the motor says something strange listen. So far I'm really enjoying this motor!

Ain't no fun when the rabbit gets the gun!

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I don't mean to complain about engine noise. It is not a problem with this bike, and it wasn't a problem on my Triumph either. I just noticed some oils seems to really quiet my 3 cylinder Triumph engine down, and I guess I liked that effect. I also noticed some oils seem to run better in a 4 cylinder than a 2 cylinder, for example. And I'm not sure what would run best in a 3 cylinder, except, again, I really liked the Castrol synthetic in my Triumph.
 
P.S. I also don't mean to start another annoying oil thread. I'm not looking for anyone's opinion on the "best" motorcycle oil (synthetic v. conventional, expensive v. cheap, 10w40 v. 20 w 50, car v. motorcycle, etc.). I'm just curious if anyone noticed a difference in how a specific oil performed in this 3 cylinder engine v. a different engine.
 
That may or may not make sense, and this could all just be my imagination. I'll probably just try Castrol in my FJ since I had a good experience with it in the Triumph. I just thought I'd ask around first....
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I'm not sure, that's interesting though. I imagine the engine noise will change with different oils though. Never sat down to really study it though. Plus I can't hear shit so if I had...

'15 FJ09

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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 months later...

when my bike arrives, i have to live with YAMALUBE for 2 years during the warranty period ! likely will stop visiting them after 1 year if there are no engine issue which in my search on the web, these engine are durable. prefer to DIY myself and get back either Maxima Triple Esther or Mobil 1

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2 hours ago, WKE002 said:

when my bike arrives, i have to live with YAMALUBE for 2 years during the warranty period ! likely will stop visiting them after 1 year if there are no engine issue which in my search on the web, these engine are durable. prefer to DIY myself and get back either Maxima Triple Esther or Mobil 1

I don't think that is true, I have 4 year Y.E.S, don't use Yamalube and have never had the dealer change my oil. 🤷‍♀️

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***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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On 10/27/2018 at 6:03 AM, tktplz said:

SNIP

. Yes, the triple has more vibration as it slings 2 pistons up then only a single.

SNIP

. I've ridden the bike about 3,000 miles so far and have changed from Yama-lube to Castor oil. I didn't notice a difference. I'll probably continue to use Castor Oil motorcycle oil since it's about 8.99 a quart at Advance. Ride the bike, enjoy it and when the motor says something strange listen. So far I'm really enjoying this motor!

Couple comments, in the interest of sharing knowledge: 

first, our engine is called a CP3 because it has a Cross Plane Crankshaft, and NO 2 pistons are at TDC at the same time. This is by design. It does however, have a different vibration/sound at certain RPMs that is not like any other engine out there due to its design. 

secondly, whatever engine oil you run, make sure it is motorcycle specific so that the clutch plates receive the correct lubrication during operation  

-Skip

 

Edited by skipperT
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19 hours ago, skipperT said:

whatever engine oil you run, make sure it is motorcycle specific so that the clutch plates receive the correct lubrication during operation

Always good info Skip!   👍

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Ain't no fun when the rabbit gets the gun!

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  • 1 month later...

After my first oil change (done at the dealer, that used semi-synth Yamalube), I started using my usual Motul 7100 10W-50 synth oil. Shifting got a lot smoother and handlebar vibrations reduced considerably, but this come as no surprise for me, as that's always been the case when using Motul synth in all of my motorcycles (even for 2-strokes)

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On 7/2/2020 at 1:19 PM, skipperT said:

Couple comments, in the interest of sharing knowledge: 

first, our engine is called a CP3 because it has a Cross Plane Crankshaft, and NO 2 pistons are at TDC at the same time. This is by design. It does however have a different vibration/sound at certain RPMs that is not like any other triple out there due to the design. 

secondly, whatever engine oil you run, make sure it is motorcycle specific so that the clutch plates receive the correct lubrication during operation  

-Skip

 

Snip is referring to 180 degree motor, think 70's Laverda. MT09 is a 'conventional' 120 degree motor. As in, the big end journals are 120 degrees to each other (not 180). CP3 is simply marketing nonsense carried over from the CP4 R1 engine, which is indeed a 'crossplane' engine; every big end journal is in a 90 position to the others when viewed down the length of the crank (hence 'cross'). I think they even call the 07 a crossplane don't they? Again marketing nonsense. 

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No, I was referring to our 120 degree crankpin triple motor. It is a bit of marketing lingo on Yamaha’s part, but remember that they to call it a “crossplane concept” engine design. The FZ/MT/XTZ07/XTZ12 is indeed NOT marketing nonsense as the crankpins are 90 degree.

i’ve edited my original statement since most triples do indeed use 120 degree crankpins as you pointed out.

My original intent was to correct a previous bit of mis-information within this thread about pistons being at TDC at the same time (doesn’t happen on the CP3 engine.)

Here’s some other good reading:

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The Geek answers the question, what is a...

and:

img-facebook.jpg

Introducing the stories behind Yamaha...

there’s loads of info out there if one has the time...

-Skip
 

 

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