Recommended wet clutch oils, NOT MC OIL!

[makenzie71]

Nate, it's important to keep in mind that some synthetic oils will cause that issue, and that some will not.

[galahs]

Synthetic oils that are too thin (0W or 5W) or friction modified oils are most likely to cause slippage.

[natedawg120]

yeah it is possible, but i would think that if you stick to an oil that meets the specs required for viscosity you should be alright.  I know that castrol is friction modified but i have never had a problem with it at all. 

[vorBH]

I am in Toronto and we get hot days in the summer....but our Spring and Fall are cooler....which oil is best (ie. 10W-40)....and what do those #'s mean?

[makenzie71]

I ride year round and see that...summer I'll be riding 105*f out and winter when it's well under freezing.  In the summer I run 20-50 in my GS750 (15-40 would probably be better in the GS500) and in the winter I lighten it up to 15-40 or 10-30.

[ecpreston]

im not sure but i think once you go syntetic you have to stay with it because other oils wont mix with it and will cause the oil to break down but im not sure just something i think i have been told.

nope. I hear there used to be compatibility problems, but that's WAY long gone. I have mixed many times without issue.

FWIW, to add another safe full synthetic to the list (that is also a little cheaper than "MC" oils), the regular 10W-40 Amsoil that I put in a week ago seems to be working out just fine. The specs on the website mention "AMSOIL Premium Protection Synthetic Motor Oil contains no friction modifiers, making it ideal for motorcycles...", and sure enough, it is. Personally I stick with synthetic, even for this bike, but only because I take mine to the track. If I didn't, I'd probably be running rotella or other cheap semi-synth.

[galahs]

I am in Toronto and we get hot days in the summer....but our Spring and Fall are cooler....which oil is best (ie. 10W-40)....and what do those #'s mean?

I'll try to make it simple. The numbers do with how viscous (easy to flow = thin) the oils are. The higher the number the thicker the oil.


All oils get thinner as they get hotter.


A long long time ago there were only sigle grade oils ie. SAE 40


Then they developed multigrade oils such as 10W-40

The benefit of muligrade oils are:

It is as thick as a cold SAE 10 weight oil when cold
It is as thin as a hot SAE 40 weight oil when hot

So basically it can start of thinner, but doesn't thin out as much as a single grade oil would when heated.

[Bluesmudge]

Synthetic oils that are too thin (0W or 5W) or friction modified oils are most likely to cause slippage.

What is the problem with thin oils? I just changed mine with 5W-40 Rotella "synthetic" because it is pretty cold right now and I thought it would help the engine warm up. I don't know much about oil so let me know if I could be damaging my engine.

[galahs]

It wont do any permanent damage what so ever and if the weather is getting cold, it might actually be a good change.

If you notice the clutch slipping (engine revs raise but the rise in acceleration doesn't match) then consider going back to 10W-40


Did the oil bottle have written on it "Energy Conserving" or "Friction Modifiers"

[Bluesmudge]

Nope, I was sure not to get that stuff.

[galahs]

Then you'll most likely be fine