Oil type

[BRadGS]

Quick and easy question....
What type, brand, and viscosity oil do you use in your bike?

[slipperymongoose]

The search function will help you to find a treasure trove of threads on this topic. Same with fuel and spark plugs too.

[adidasguy]

Suzuki OEM oil 10-40
Now switching to AmSoil 10-40. It makes things just a tiny bit better. Through a friend I get Amsoil for $35 a gallon.

[bombsquad83]

Valvoline 10w-40 motorcycle oil.  Cheap, made for motorcycles (wet clutch protection), and available at advance auto parts.  Zero problems so far.

[BRadGS]

Reason I ask...
I can turn a wrench, however primarily only done so on cars/trucks. Same basics and have no problem doing repair/maintenance. My Uncle took his bike to the shop today for the clutch slipping. They told him that due to the oil he was using (Valvoline 10w40) that it is not designed to use for wet sump situation on clutches. Now his clutch needs replaced.  I did not see anything regarding this in my Clymer manual prior to using it in my bike (which I just changed the oil in as well and used Valvoline as this is what I run in all my vehicles). Want some insight on this so I know if I need to change my oil again.
Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks.

[weedahoe]

Ive got Royal Purple in mine. I also use it in the engine and trans on my truck

[Funderb]

wet sump situation

btdubs, there are almost no dry sump vehicles on the road.


any oil that says "high milage" or "low friction" ie has friction modifiers in the oil is going to wreck the clutch operation.

if you do end up accidentally putting some in there, cleaning the clutch plates off with kerosene will probably bring them back to life.
however, this does involve some disassembly.

any full synthetic 10w-40 with no "special" indicators is going to be perfect for your bike.
I recommend against your typical mineral (dinosaur-based) oils, these bikes rely on oil for cooling and lubrication.
At the much higher temps where our bikes operate, being air cooled, typical dino-oil tends to break down, and it stops doing the latter of its jobs more quickly than temp-resistant synthetics.

[BRadGS]

I used to run full synthetic Mobil 1 in my car. Would this be ok to run?

[slipperymongoose]

Pretty much with the GS stick with 15w40 and find the oil that gives you the smoothest changes, and minimal oil consumption. I've run Mobil 1 and loved it, and I'll be putting Mobil 1 in my f800 which is a dry sump.

[craigs449]

I run Shell Rotella 15W-40 in mine with no issues. It's good cheap oil that can be found at the local wally mart.  I run Mobil 1 10W-50 in my KTM supermoto.

[jestercinti]

Chevron Delo 400 15w40 diesel conventional. Inexpensive and quality. Used it for years.

In very cold weather use 10w40 motorcycle oil.

[twocool]

How many miles on this bike?

I ran car oil... 10-40 for the first 15,000 miles or so, now Valvoline MC oil for the next 15,000....

So 30,000 miles and no clutch problem...

Cookie

Reason I ask...
I can turn a wrench, however primarily only done so on cars/trucks. Same basics and have no problem doing repair/maintenance. My Uncle took his bike to the shop today for the clutch slipping. They told him that due to the oil he was using (Valvoline 10w40) that it is not designed to use for wet sump situation on clutches. Now his clutch needs replaced.  I did not see anything regarding this in my Clymer manual prior to using it in my bike (which I just changed the oil in as well and used Valvoline as this is what I run in all my vehicles). Want some insight on this so I know if I need to change my oil again.
Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks.

[Suzuki Stevo]

I have 6 bikes and they are all turn key, so my mileage is spread over riding 6 bikes, Mobil1 claims to have an anti corrosive additive for when bikes sit during the off season, some of my bikes have oil in them from 3 years ago (divide any and all mileage by 6) so...Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10W-40 in all of them.

[mister]

I'm with steve.... Racing 4t mobile. Gear changes are so smooth I hardly feel them.

[gsJack]

Most 5W--30 and 10W-30 oils used in current US cars are energy conserving and have the friction modifiers in them making them unsuitable for our wet clutches.  Most 10W-40 oils do not have the modifiers in them and are OK.  Look for the API circle with viscosity grade in it for the energy conserving note. 



I used Mobil 1 full synthetic 15W-50 for the first 50k miles in my 97 GS then switched to Rotella T 15W-40 dino juice.  It ran cooler and held up just as well as the Mobil 1 did.  I've only used the Rotella T or equivelant in my current 02 GS for it's full 97k miles.  Rotella T has the JASO MA rating indicating it's approval for wet clutches.

[gsJack]

Chevron Delo 400 15w40 diesel conventional. Inexpensive and quality. Used it for years.

In very cold weather use 10w40 motorcycle oil.

I use the 15W-40 heavy duty aka truck aka diesel oils in my GS year around here in NE Ohio in temps down to 20F.  Well actually I did up to a couple years ago when I cut it off at about 32F due to advancing years.  Must be warmer down there in southern Ohio.   

[007brendan]

Chevron Delo 400 15w40 diesel conventional. Inexpensive and quality. Used it for years.

In very cold weather use 10w40 motorcycle oil.

I use the 15W-40 heavy duty aka truck aka diesel oils in my GS year around here in NE Ohio in temps down to 20F.  Well actually I did up to a couple years ago when I cut it off at about 32F due to advancing years.  Must be warmer down there in southern Ohio.   

Similar oil type.  I use Rotella T truck oil.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Most 5W--30 and 10W-30 oils used in current US cars are energy conserving and have the friction modifiers in them making them unsuitable for our wet clutches.  Most 10W-40 oils do not have the modifiers in them and are OK.  Look for the API circle with viscosity grade in it for the energy conserving note. 



I used Mobil 1 full synthetic 15W-50 for the first 50k miles in my 97 GS then switched to Rotella T 15W-40 dino juice.  It ran cooler and held up just as well as the Mobil 1 did.  I've only used the Rotella T or equivelant in my current 02 GS for it's full 97k miles.  Rotella T has the JASO MA rating indicating it's approval for wet clutches.

weird i had used standard car oil in my gs' never had problems. also in my hd, and hte old bmw. but jack i take your word. you dont bs

[jestercinti]

Chevron Delo 400 15w40 diesel conventional. Inexpensive and quality. Used it for years.

In very cold weather use 10w40 motorcycle oil.

I use the 15W-40 heavy duty aka truck aka diesel oils in my GS year around here in NE Ohio in temps down to 20F.  Well actually I did up to a couple years ago when I cut it off at about 32F due to advancing years.  Must be warmer down there in southern Ohio.   

Why yes it is warmer down here in Cincinnati.  I used to live near Youngstown for a while.  Colder in the Winter.  10W40 helps cranking in cold weather.  You can use 15W40, but I found that for cold weather starts, 10W40 worked a bit better.

[Worm]

This last oil change I tried Castrol RS Racing 4T 10w-40. Shifting seems a bit rough. Will probably go back to Rotella T, it's a lot cheaper and the shifting is smoother.