It is a basic fact that motorbike engine oil is quite a lot more expensive than car oil. I have been told that by using car oil in a bike can cause clutch slipping.
I have a scooter with a dry clutch. What would happen if I used car engine oil as oppose to motorbike engine oil (10w40 fully sythetic); £25 vs £18 is the difference in price.
Feedback would be appreciated
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I use Castrol GTX in my Honda 125cc 4stroke engine. Have done for years. Not had any probs so far.
Oh, yes, and the reason being, it's cheaper to buy 5 litres of GTX than it was to buy the Castrol dedicated oil that the motorbike shop was selling.
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Clutch slipping with bikes whose primary drive oil is shared with the engine may experience slippage with the friction modifiers present in car oils API SJ and later. Fossil oil aimed at motorcycles is therefore rated SG as a rule.
You don't have this situation so if your ride is just an average one and not with special requirements, go ahead and use car oil. Don't mix synth with fossil oil tho'.
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Some of the bike mags were wittering on about sheer stresses on the oil as it gets a hammering in the bikes gearbox. I dunno, but I've just bought a couple of Halfords offer packs of fully synth stuff for my bikes.
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Hate to contradict Growler but it is vegetable oil that should not be mixed with mineral oil. Synthetic and mineral mixes OK.
You can even buy semi-synthetic.
My bike has separate gearbox oil and a dry clutch.
I asked the question some months ago about why motorcycle engine oil had to be a different spec. Any answers apart from the potential clutch problems?
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As far as I know the only problem is the clutch slippage, and even then it is as you say "potential". Some say that on bikes where the gearbox and engine share the same oil (not yours obviously)the stresses on the oil is higher than that experienced by cars therefore bike specific oil should be used. Personally I will continue to use car oils.
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This is a perennial topic on my local motorcycle forum. Consensus is go for dino or synth, but not both, unless in an emergency.
Yes, motorcycle engine requirements do differ from those of cars:
www.rotella.com/answerresult.php?rowid=81
H-D themselves recommend this approach, in fact.
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I play it by the book with my Honda Hornet (600cc and 13,000 RPM of pure fun) and use fully synthetic oil to the spec recommended in the handbook. As originally posted, this ain't cheap.
I do however know of another Hornet owner who has run his machine for EIGHTY FIVE THOUSAND MILES (which is intergalactic in most high revving bike engine terms) trouble free miles on......Castrol car oil (Magnatec, I believe) from the cheapest source he can find.
Makes me wonder if I'm the mug, having paid far more for my bike's oil in just twelve thousand miles, though I don't have the courage to experiment!
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More important than almost anything is changing the stuff regularly.
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Can diesel engine oil of the same viscocity as petrol be used in a petrol scooter or motorbike. What is the difference between the two?
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Check the "rotella" link above. Many of our local racing fraternity use diesel engine oil on account of it's greater anti-shear properties.
It also depends on your usage. I ride fairly hard and fast in high temps: 30 C and up. With a V-Twin like a Harley the rear cylinder gets very hot, especially in traffic, and my oil temp gauge regularly gets up to the 250 F where ordinary dino oil is slated to break down. One reason why Harley has its own oil similar to diesel engine oil.
I have a 200 cc Honda trailie which I use to go down to the pub, to the mall etc. That gets the cheapest oil on the supermarket shelf, in my case Valvoline 20w/50.
So it's all down to usage and what the manual says. If in doubt you can always call the manufacturer.
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I've got a CG125 which does 40 miles EVERY weekday (including today at -6C) and it's now on 32,500 miles, sweet as a nut and 118mpg. I change every 1,000 miles (15 mins, mesh filter) and use the cheapest 10W40 I can find - Rotella reckons this is ok, better than car oil. I have also put Slick 50 in occasionally and the clutch (wet, original) has NEVER slipped (touch wood). Don't believe all they tell you!
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My hat is off to you, Sir. Anyone able to rack up that kind of mileage on that bike is deserving of respect. I rode one of those while doing my CBT and I was in tremendous pain in less than 20 miles. My rear was numb, my back ached and my right forearm was cramped from the effort required to keep the throttle cable taut. Your MPG figures do make me wish I could live with one though.
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Richard Huddleston, does you CG125 use any oil between oil changes? On my scooter, when I change at 1000 miles, it use no oil whilst if changed as advised by book i.e. 2000 miles it does?
It only uses oil at higher speeds for 100 miles plus, but not in town.
Please advise.
greg
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Question on car oil in motorcycle (expert)
I brought this question up, and concluded that in my case I can use car oil in my scooter 125cc (4 stroke).
My manual says to use anything above API SE and not to exceed spec CD. I am currently using shell 10w40 fully synthetic API SG SAE.
My questions are:
1. Why can I not exceed spec CD?
2. Will Castrol Magnatec be ok. Is it a fully synthetic?
3. What make and type of oil would suit my needs best, and where can I buy the oil? I have noticed that Halfords is a bit pricey and product range is poor. HJ recommends to use millers. Where can I buy it? I am in Brighton, does anyone know of a good oil retailer?
Thanks again.
GREG
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Can anyone give advise to the above?
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The issue is clutch slip as stated above. Many modern oils since API SH have used friction modifiers to obtain better fuel efficiency. To counter this the JASO (Japanese Industry)organisation set up a friction test and oils that meet their premium standard are labelled MA, others are MB. Look for an MA oil or try a car oil at the risk of having to change it. Synthetic or mineral is not the main factor here.
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ROB MEWELL: my scooter uses a dry seperated clutch so the slipping is not an issue in my case.
My question is what CAR oil can I use that will not exceed CD and is a good oil? My manual says not to exceed this and use anything above API SE.
Hope someone can help?
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