[mossdahaus]

I was wondering if the automotive Mobil 1 works in our bikes? I have read that in certain bikes with certain oils (automobile), it will cause the clutch to slip. Does anyone have an answer or experiance? I would rather pay the $3.xx rather than the $8.xx per quart!

[lanbrown]

EC oils have moly which that weight does.

[mossdahaus]

So...we cannot use oils with moly? Is that what you're saying?

[bettingpython]

Mobil 1 for cars is an energy conserving oil it could likely cause clutch slippage.

Now I ran it in my 83 GL1100 for over 90,000 miles and never had an issue with it.

[hobz929]

I have always used GTX 10w-40 for cars and have never had a problem. Just stay away from synthetic or blends for they will cause slippage once they saturate the wet clutch. On that note MotorKote says that it will work in a wet clutch application but I have not that the guts to try that one. My friend FUBAR his wet clutch with Mobile 1 synthetic and I have been gun shy ever since.

[mossdahaus]

Thanks guys! I guess I'll just go with the motorcycle specific stuff...

[oldnslow]

Originally Posted by hobz929

I have always used GTX 10w-40 for cars and have never had a problem. Just stay away from synthetic or blends for they will cause slippage once they saturate the wet clutch. On that note MotorKote says that it will work in a wet clutch application but I have not that the guts to try that one. My friend FUBAR his wet clutch with Mobile 1 synthetic and I have been gun shy ever since.

Are you saying that car synthetic oil will ruin a clutch or that all synthetic oil will?

[mossdahaus]

car synthetic probably...at least thats my guess

[lanbrown]

Originally Posted by mossdahaus

So...we cannot use oils with moly? Is that what you're saying?

Yes, that is what impregnates the clutch plates and causes the issue.

Originally Posted by hobz929

I have always used GTX 10w-40 for cars and have never had a problem. Just stay away from synthetic or blends for they will cause slippage once they saturate the wet clutch. On that note MotorKote says that it will work in a wet clutch application but I have not that the guts to try that one. My friend FUBAR his wet clutch with Mobile 1 synthetic and I have been gun shy ever since.

Synthetic has nothing to do with it. Honda does sell a blend and a synthetic. There are also plenty of synthetics that are out there. I use one and have never had an issue.

I would also stay away from Castrol as their marketing is very misleading and they can classify and conventional oil as a synthetic.

[lanbrown]

Originally Posted by mossdahaus

car synthetic probably...at least thats my guess

Please do not give advice based upon a guess.

[mossdahaus]

I was saying that based on that fact the automobile stuff DOES have moly. The honda oil (blend & full synth) states that it doesnt have moly right on the front of the container.

[zakim]

i used castrol gtx m tec 10w 30 in my rc51 2000 for about 8000 kilometres without a problem.so slippage whatsoever . rode 400km non stop & back the next day average speed 150km/hr . any comments guys.

[CBR400RR]

Originally Posted by mossdahaus

I was wondering if the automotive Mobil 1 works in our bikes? I have read that in certain bikes with certain oils (automobile), it will cause the clutch to slip. Does anyone have an answer or experiance? I would rather pay the $3.xx rather than the $8.xx per quart!

You should always use only motorcycle oil in a motorcycle and car oil in a car as they have different setups and different needs. If you were to use car oil on a bike and something went wrong even if it was not the oils fault the manufacture could void your warranty. Cars have separate oil for the clutch or trans so they usually have a lot of cleaners and a high molly count which can cause a motorcycle clutch to slip.

[slammp]

I use automotive 10-40 all the time and have never had clutch slippage issues. I generally use Castrol Syntec. My last bike was a Kawi 636 and I had around 10k miles on many of them done on clutch wheelies. I really really never had a slippage issue and have never even heard that until now?

[JAMAIL]

plus I was told by motorcycle accessories store that you should only use motorcycle oil only cuz bike RPM are so much higher than car just my 2cents

[lanbrown]

Do formula 1 cars use motorcycle oil? What about a car engine that revs to 9400 RPM? Would you use car or motorcycle oil?

Don't trust the dealers.

[rc30sp1]

motorcycles create more shear forces on the oil than cars.shear forces caused by your engine oil also lubing your gears thus the oil is sheared bythe gears teeth. car oils are not designed to withstand these forces. i also saw a demo of a bearing lubed using car oil under high load until failure another bearing using motorcycle oil no failure.i know if using correct oil prevents engine damage what i will be using,woulnt want my bike seizing at high speed could be painfull. what you think.

[Kvidalin]

There are 2 reasons not to use Automotive oil; clutch and gearbox which automoive oils are not designed for. Clutch can slip and gearbox can foam up auto oil.

[curt248]

I spent about 4 hours or so last weekend researching the motorcycle oil question.

If the oil says energy conserving, there is a chance that it may make your clutch slip. There have been various reports from no slip to quite a bit. It also is dependent on how you use your clutch and your riding style.

The general consensus that I and others came down to was to use car motor oil that is not energy conserving. That said I might still try EC auto motor oil and see what happens if I couldn't find a non EC in the oil I needed (10W40 ect.).

The reason to use car oil is because all of the studies done so far on oil use in motorcycles has shown auto oil to outperform motorcycle specific oil. Even the worse car (think discount stores cheapest) oil outperformed the best motorcycle specific oil.

Another consensus has been that auto motor oil has been improving by leaps and bounds lately, even in the last 4 years. If you look at the letters on the oil it should say S (gas not diesel) and then another letter such as J. The second letter states the minimum standard for that oil. The farther down the alphabet the more current (better) the oil. If you look at motorcycle specific oils they are almost always 1 to 3 letters behind the auto oils.

From the studies out there (really only 2). They have shown full synthetic to have the most reserve (loose less of it's original viscosity at the same number of miles of use). That being said, conventional oils have held up fine if changed at the recommended oil change interval. If you wanted to extend the interval some, synthetic might be the way to go. I was thinking of trying synthetic in my next oil change since I usually go the whole summer and about 7000 miles in between changes. I guess I'm just lazy.

In my opinion from my research, it seems that getting the biggest range might be the best bet. The first number in the oil rating is it's viscosity when cold (say 5W or 10W). The second number is it's viscosity when at operating temperature (warm say 30 or 50). At start up you want the oil to be thiner (less viscous) so it can quickly coat the engine surfaces that are dry (read metal to metal is bad). When warmed up, you want the oil to be more viscous so the engine can run more efficiently. Imagine the pistons trying to move bathed in pudding.

I hope this helps.

Curt

[MACI4LIFE]

ok people, i'm starting to get tired of these types of threads. please start using the search function on the board. you will find a lot of opinions and information about the topic.

[MACI4LIFE]

Originally Posted by Kvidalin

There are 2 reasons not to use Automotive oil; clutch and gearbox which automoive oils are not designed for. Clutch can slip and gearbox can foam up auto oil.

a: see the above posts before yours regarding slippage, b: where's your proof about oil foaming up??

c: the automotive castrol 10w40 that i've been using for the last 80 000km's seems to be holding up pretty well i must say.

[curt248]

I misspoke earlier about the reason for wanting your oil to be more viscous at high temperatures. The reason you don't want it too viscous is because it could be less efficient (like pudding). The reason it should be more viscous than at start up is so that the oil stays on the parts longer and doesn't run off too quickly. At very high rpm's if the oil is slung off, it leaves bare unprotected metal. This is a problem even if it only happens for a split second.

[jonathan]

Originally Posted by curt248

I misspoke earlier about the reason for wanting your oil to be more viscous at high temperatures. The reason you don't want it too viscous is because it could be less efficient (like pudding). The reason it should be more viscous than at start up is so that the oil stays on the parts longer and doesn't run off too quickly. At very high rpm's if the oil is slung off, it leaves bare unprotected metal. This is a problem even if it only happens for a split second.

Not correct.

oil 10/40 - has the viscosity of 10 grade oil at room temperature and the viscosity of 40 grade oil at the 100 degrees celsius .

However the viscosity of 40 grade oil at 100 degrees is lower than that of 10 grade at room tempurture - there goes the theory....

I had graph on this - I'll try to get it.

[curt248]

I agree with Jonathan.

What I said is still true though.

You wouldn't want the viscosity of 40W oil at start up or the viscosity of 10W at 100 degrees. This is the whole reason for oils going away from single weight oils. It's still important for oil to be relatively thinner (less viscous) at start up and thicker (more viscous) at higher running temps. By relative I mean as compared to another wt oil at the same temp.

[Ol' Gravy Leg]

Originally Posted by MACI4LIFE

ok people, i'm starting to get tired of these types of threads. please start using the search function on the board. you will find a lot of opinions and information about the topic.

i agree with MACI4LIFE. these are getting to weekly now. and this topic has been rehashed so many times!

do a search, or i'll have MACI4LIFE squish you like a bug!

[MACI4LIFE]

Originally Posted by Ol' Gravy Leg

i agree with MACI4LIFE. these are getting to weekly now. and this topic has been rehashed so many times!

do a search, or i'll have MACI4LIFE squish you like a bug!

don't make me send Fedor after you!!

[Kvidalin]

Originally Posted by MACI4LIFE

a: see the above posts before yours regarding slippage, b: where's your proof about oil foaming up??

c: the automotive castrol 10w40 that i've been using for the last 80 000km's seems to be holding up pretty well i must say.

b: a little eduucation on lubrication: All lubrications intended for gears,gear boxes, differentials, transmissions etc. have an additiitve to reduce potential of foaming. Auto engine oil does not, good Motorcycle lube does.

[curt248]

What is the additive?

What does foaming do to your bike? Any problems?

Not one of the studies I found in my research on oil in motorcycles even mentioned foaming. I'm assuming it's not a concern or doesn't happen. Educate me.

If you have them, please include references.

Damn evidence based research. It will get you every time.

Thanks.

[jonathan]

Originally Posted by Kvidalin

b: a little eduucation on lubrication: All lubrications intended for gears,gear boxes, differentials, transmissions etc. have an additiitve to reduce potential of foaming. Auto engine oil does not, good Motorcycle lube does.

A must 2 part article and research by Sport Rider 1 2.
You'll see in comperison of actual oils no significent benefit identified as far as scaring the metal is concerned (actualy the car oil did better ).
I use/used car oil on my current and previous Bikes every 3000Km with no clutch slipedge. The ZX done more than 50000Km of sport only riding.