engine oil

I've currently got Castrol GTX in my bike. Anything that meets the specifications and is produced by a well known brand (Valvoline etc.) would do nicely. If you want the extra quality or get a little more for the FZR, get Castrol GTX2. <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_cool.gif" alt="" title="Cool" /><!-- s -->

 

Castrols a good brand, but I run with Shell Ultra fully synthetic 10W-40. It costs a little more but is worth it.

 

ditto on the shell 10w40

 

I run the shell as well. I have read that different bikes will vary greatly in how they 'respond' to certain oils. I assume that each bike model will react the same, but perhaps not. So if one type of oil works for you, then stick with it! If it doesn't feel to be making a difference (or you just want to try something else) then try, but always compare with what you had used previously.

 

Dont use car oil in bikes guys.. They contain friction modifiers. Motorcycle Engine Oils do not. Friction modified oils dont work all that well with the wet cluch system that motorbikes have..

 

Dont think my bike likes synthetic oil. Oil light keeps popping on every so often. Can dodgy oil reduce performance? I'm using Shell Advance VSX4.

 

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^^ Good resource

 

I use Golden Specto.

 

im using castrol activ for 4T. its specially designed for 4 strokes high rpm bikes. Im using 20W (for hot regions). 10w is for cold regions. its a fully synthetic oil.

if u change your oil, dont forget to change the oil filter. and observe the used oil if it has a trace of water (milky).

 

I use a Halfords branded 5W-40 fully synthetic car oil for all my bikes. In the FZR250RR I change it every 1000 miles. This oil is rated for both petrol and diesel car engines, this means that it had an important property of being highly detergent. This makes for a cleaner engine, and keeps things like piston rings from gumming up.

I've never had a clutch slip when using this stuff either.

 

Thought Castrol Activ 4T was a stock standard cheap mineral based 4 stroke oil? Coz thats what I was using in my fzr. Then I took daves advice and went to a penrite 20w-60. Reduced oil burning by like 70%. Great stuff!

 

Have you had problems with slipping clutches when using car oils, or did someone just tell you not to use it?

 

It is a general recommendation not to use car oils because many will contain friction modifiers which have a tendency to cause clutch slip (not all car oils will contain these modifiers though). In short - friction modifiers should not be used with a wet clutch. If you do a search in google for "friction modifier motorcycle oil" lots of links will appear saying to avoid oils with friction modifiers in it.

However (and I am not sure whether the oil you use has friction modifiers in it) with your oil change frequency you may not have an issue with it. I only change my oil every 5000 k's...

 

Read the back of the bottles, they should state whether the car oil contains friction modifiers in it. Pentrites one of few car oils that dont have friction modifiers.

 

I should think it does have friction modifiers in it, as it's a Synthetic 5W-40 SL / CF rated car oil. It doesn't make the clutch slip at all on my FZR, Bandit or CG125. The Bandit has done 60,000km on this oil (apart from inital running in), the CG has done 26,000Km on the oil (apart from running in), and my FZR has so far done 3000km, again without slipping.

 

Car oil's sweet

Here's a good read on engine oils.

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To give a quick summary, it says there is no reason (apart from good advertising) to pay 120-185% more for "motorcycle oil" instead of using car oil.

 

Ahh, yes... that's an article I'd seen before, and interesting read I thought. I've since had words with the people I know who use car oils in their motorcycle, and only one had problems. It turned out that he had a bad clutch anyway, and it stopped slipping when he replaced the plates. <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s -->

By the same token, others still won't run car oils because of what it says on the bottle.

 

Another good read:
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Go to the section on "You want proof" - has details of of a study published by the Society for Automotive Engineers talking about what they observe when using low friction (SH car oils) vs. SE, SF, SG oils. It does indicate that this study - in 1996 - was done when SH oils were "then-new", so that first link (published in 1994) may not have accounted for SH car oils with friction modifiers.

 

What about 2stroke oil? Does that mean I can use car oil in that? <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: --> <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: -->

Guessing not? lol