Can car motor oil be used in a bike ?  What are the cons ?

Yes it can be used.

Pro...  easily accessible at every autoshop.
Con...  Engine goes *KABOOM* eventually???



I seriously don't know, but why would you wanna do that anyway?

I used Walmart's cheapest auto oil in my commuter GS, and I never had a problem; it was cheap (just like my bike!  ). I've used moto oil in my '06 SVS due to the warranty, and due to the fact that I'm paranoid about my new baby. 

Car Oil,Cycle Oil it's all the same.Oil is Oil.Get some Pennzoil,Quaker State ETC.ETC.

Quote from: Jughead on January 03, 2007, 10:24:45 PM
Car Oil,Cycle Oil it's all the same.Oil is Oil.Get some Pennzoil,Quaker State ETC.ETC.

And then you have 2 identical GS's that used different oils, and one owner says to the other, why does my bike emmits blue smoke and yours doesn't.

I believe that oil quality matters if you push the bike often. If you just commute sure it will do, but if you find yourself often in the upper third rev range, using cheap oil will shorten engine life. But you wont have any "problems", just shorter life expectancy.

Quote from: domas on January 03, 2007, 11:03:49 PM

Quote from: Jughead on January 03, 2007, 10:24:45 PM
Car Oil,Cycle Oil it's all the same.Oil is Oil.Get some Pennzoil,Quaker State ETC.ETC.

And then you have 2 identical GS's that used different oils, and one owner says to the other, why does my bike emmits blue smoke and yours doesn't.

I believe that oil quality matters if you push the bike often. If you just commute sure it will do, but if you find yourself often in the upper third rev range, using cheap oil will shorten engine life. But you wont have any "problems", just shorter life expectancy.

The GS was designed almost 20 years ago using technology even older.  It's engine doesn't even come close to the performance of modern engines which require synthetic.  The cheapest 10-40W from Costco or Wal-Mart will do just fine.  Your post is a complete psychological rationalization with little evidence to support it.  The biggest difference between most cheap oils and most expensive oils is marketing.

The Great Oil Debate will never end.Why? Because of all of the Marketing Gimmicks.On the Two Stroke boards there is always a Debate on wether to use Synthetic or regular Dino Oil.It just Keeps Going and Going and Going.What Most don't realize is that the Cheap oil Sold today is Much better than the stuff when the Bikes were sold 25-40 Years Ago.I've used El Cheapo Valvoline thats less than 3 Quart for Years in everything that I have and Have Had No Problems at all..The Only thing that I havent used it in is my T500 with Oil Injection which I will switch to Valvoline Injector oil when I finish off the Tank of Suzuki CCI.The First Time I have Problems is the Day I will Switch to the Super High Dollar stuff.

Car oil is what I use. I typically use 10W40 accel make available at wally world for $1.24 a qt. Its rates SF. Right about what was the latest and greatest when the GS was first made (89). It doesn't cause anything to smoke or do anything. Its better than any other damn thing out there. More of the better additives and less of the gas saving crap in it.
Only problem is, its available only as 10W40. No other multi weight is available.
Cool.
Srinath.

The only thing in car oils you may want to avoid are "Energy Conserving" additives.  It should be labled on the bottle if these are present.  Many car oils have them these days, but some of the cheapo stuff (like Srinath's Accel from walmart) won't have these.  Energy conserving can be bad for the GS's wet clutch, though it would take a quite a while for the effects to show up, unless the clutch is already worn out. 

In summary, car oil is just fine for the GS, IMHO

Yep like "man.." said avoid the energy convserving oils as they contain an additive that the wet clutch may not like. Other than that automotive oils will be fine.  The oils marketed may be different, but there are really no GARBAGE oils.  Various manufacturers add different chemicals, but if the oil meets the SAE rating stamped on it, then is meets the minimun requirement for that rating. Here is some light reading for you that will probably not answer your questions so much as give you enough information to ask new ones.

http://www.xs11.com/stories/croil96.htm

http://www.motorcycleproject.com/motorcycle/text/motoroil.html

Regards
Graham

do a seach for "bob the oil guy" good oil reference

This one is a really good read.  There is another one out there that I cannot find right now that talks alot to zinc or ash benefits in aircooled motors, flashpoints etc..  

http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html

Regards
Graham

Quote from: ajaxgs on January 04, 2007, 09:34:46 AM
do a seach for "bob the oil guy" good oil reference

Some issues with bob the oil guy IMHO.
He used a drill and churned up that Lucas oil additive in the gear machine and said that it was foaming up and sticking to walls.
He forgot to include a temperature rise, and forgot that cylinder walls just rely on stuff sticking to them ... he also didn't quite use the 3 to 1 oil to lucas ratio where oil probably stopped it from foaming up so bad.
Cool.
Srinath.

Quote from: seshadri_srinath on January 04, 2007, 11:03:59 AM

Quote from: ajaxgs on January 04, 2007, 09:34:46 AM
do a seach for "bob the oil guy" good oil reference

Some issues with bob the oil guy IMHO.
He used a drill and churned up that Lucas oil additive in the gear machine and said that it was foaming up and sticking to walls.
He forgot to include a temperature rise, and forgot that cylinder walls just rely on stuff sticking to them ... he also didn't quite use the 3 to 1 oil to lucas ratio where oil probably stopped it from foaming up so bad.
Cool.
Srinath.

i've got a lucas oil display thingy here at work and if you spin the lucas side up the air doesn't come out of it ,the oil side doesn't get air in it

I've read everything people had to say about car VS m/c oil and decided to just split the difference. I now use 1/2 m/c 10w40 and 1/2 car 10w40.

-ash

Quote from: ashman on January 04, 2007, 02:15:12 PM
I've read everything people had to say about car VS m/c oil and decided to just split the difference. I now use 1/2 m/c 10w40 and 1/2 car 10w40.

-ash

I've read in so many places how bad synthetic is, and how bad dino oil is, so I just quit using oil altogether.  As bad as it is, it can't be good for the engine.

Quote from: Egaeus on January 04, 2007, 02:23:53 PM

Quote from: ashman on January 04, 2007, 02:15:12 PM
I've read everything people had to say about car VS m/c oil and decided to just split the difference. I now use 1/2 m/c 10w40 and 1/2 car 10w40.

-ash

I've read in so many places how bad synthetic is, and how bad dino oil is, so I just quit using oil altogether.  As bad as it is, it can't be good for the engine.

i saw this infomercial one time where they put this special stuff in the oil then drained it all and the car drove around just fine. lets use that stuff. we are so freakin smart.

-ash

Quote from: ajaxgs on January 04, 2007, 12:29:16 PM

Quote from: seshadri_srinath on January 04, 2007, 11:03:59 AM

Quote from: ajaxgs on January 04, 2007, 09:34:46 AM
do a seach for "bob the oil guy" good oil reference

Some issues with bob the oil guy IMHO.
He used a drill and churned up that Lucas oil additive in the gear machine and said that it was foaming up and sticking to walls.
He forgot to include a temperature rise, and forgot that cylinder walls just rely on stuff sticking to them ... he also didn't quite use the 3 to 1 oil to lucas ratio where oil probably stopped it from foaming up so bad.
Cool.
Srinath.

i've got a lucas oil display thingy here at work and if you spin the lucas side up the air doesn't come out of it ,the oil side doesn't get air in it

Yes I know. Here is a couple questions.
Heat that apparatus. To about 250 F. Now tell me air is staying in lucas and for how long. Is it 1 part lucas and 3 of oil (like you're supposed to use) and is it nicely mixed in like 100 miles worth.
Then item 2. Why is foaming up bad. It can separate oil from the pump if it clings to the wall and can end up sending air through the oil galleys - called cavitation.
Effectively its bad for plain bearings and only plain bearings.
All the rest cam lobes, cylinder walls, ball bearings, valves and stems and guides etc love it cos they want sticky and cushiony and not pressure. And cavitation is bad if you have several large pockets of air not if you have foam like tiny pockets. So in effect I am thinking its clinginess will help most parts, and possibly do as much harm as good for plain bearings. I however suspect its probably do nothing in plain bearings after it develops oil pressure, but before it develops oil pressure (cold start up) its great.

Now for running no oil ... plain bearings are the first to get screwed. On a savage 650 the bike only has like 3 or 4 plain bearings all of it in the cam shaft. You can run it forever (OK like 30-40 miles) before it will die.
Cool.
Srianth.

General consensus from all motor vehicle companies is that oil additives should be avoided where possible.

Just use a high quality engine oil and you'll be fine