Which oil?

[keith h]

Hello all, I have been looking through the posts regarding the correct oil for my 05 650s.
Owners manual says to use a good quality 10w 40 motor oil but does not insist it must be for motorcycles only.Somewhere the Haynes book mentions bike oil.
I have just changed the oil & filter on the bike & refilled with car oil.
Wondering now whether to put in bike oil as quite a number of replies mention various additives in bike oil, particularly where the clutch is concerned.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks.

[aadeyc73]

Due to the different properties between bike and car oil there is a possibility that your clutch might start slipping.

[Razor]

avoid castrol magnatech

[orose]

I'd check that rating as well - my K6 takes 10w40. I think it does suggest other grades for weather even more inclement than ours.

[xXBADGERXx]

Got mine from Halfords , don`t see the point in lashing loads of money on oil , I was sat there pondering the aspects of certain oils and some random guy came up to me and said "I use the Halfords oil in my TL1000 and my 1200 Bandit" , that was all I needed to justify it .

[thedonal]

I have just standard mineral 10w40. A few people have said that for road riding, it's all you need. Don't worry about semi synthetic unless you're using it really hard on a track

Interestingly, Honda dealers (Tippets near me) are now recommending 10w30 for the majority of their bikes. How would this affect my SV?

[Razor]

Semi-synth for the road, full synth for the track. I put the Halfords motorbike 10w40(semi-synth) in my last 3 bikes...

[Dangerous Dave]

10w40 Semi Synthetic which is designed for motorcycles, doesn't matter who makes it as there is little or nothing between the brands!

[Woz]

Asda are shifting Castrol GTX for £11 for 4 litres at the moment. A bargain if you ask me.

[Tim in Belgium]

Interestingly, Honda dealers (Tippets near me) are now recommending 10w30 for the majority of their bikes. How would this affect my SV?

It doesn't affect your SV, it's not a Hond@! As it's for new Hondas I'd stick with what Suzuki advise.

[thedonal]

It doesn't affect your SV, it's not a Hond@! As it's for new Hondas I'd stick with what Suzuki advise.

Agree- was just wondering what difference 10w30 would make in the SV...

[custard]

just been doing a bit of reading bout his on other sites. people seem to think that its not a good idea to start using fully synth until your motor is totally broken in as it offers too much protection and can hamper the bedding in process. it also seems that "fully broken in" can be anywhere from first service to 11k....
there are also stories of people using diesel engine oil and car oil without any adverse side effects...

will be sticking halfords 10w40 jobbie in my sv1 03 when i finally get round to doing it....


the ratings are all about temperature operating ranges as far as i can tell but am no expert.

[keith h]

Thanks to all who replied.
This is a subject that never dies away as everybody has their own ideas.
we all know that regular oil & filter changes extend engine life so i thought a good quality 10w-40 was all i needed but reading through some forums a few of you have suffered clutch problems using motor oil so its this that prompted me to ask.
We only have the oil companies word that its the correct oil with various additives especially for bikes but at £25+ ( even more at main dealers)they would say that wouldnt they.
I would hate to think that I had clutch problems due to ignorance on my part & reluctance to shell out a few more quid for piece of mind.
When I was an apprentice engineer & messing around with the old brit bikes in my rocker days in the 60,s my boss would say " any oil is better than no oil "
thanks to all. keith h

["G"]

I use Mobil extra 4T 10W/40 semi syn , but whatever your choice be certain its motorcycle specific . as car oils contain friction modifiers & that will wreck the clutch operation , Motul 5100 is good stuff also ..

[timwilky]

I just don't understand it. People are prepared to spend a few grand to buy a bike, and then skimp on the oil.

FFS people. Buy motorcycle specific oils, it is not just the friction modifiers, but the breakdown the oil is subjected to within the gearbox as well. A semi synth costs about £25 for 4 litre, is it worth skimping to save a tenner and potentially ruining your engine

[yorkie_chris]

I seem to remember seeing results of a study which actually compared some top car oils to bike oils on the basis of viscosity at temperature after x000 miles. Showed little difference despite the apparent "shearing" going on in gearbox "chopping up the hydrocarbons" :rolleyes: Saw very little difference...

There's also various rumours about bikes having different additive packs due to not needing catalytic convertors, the differences are tiny...

Sounds like, and is, a lot of marketing which gets people spending money. That said... whenever I change someones oil I refill it with motul 10w40

[northwind]

I use Castrol GPS (bike specific) because it's a pretty colour.

A lot of the US guys swear by diesel oil (SV Rider loves Shell Rotella) which sounds daft at first, but apparently the stress characteristics are pretty comparable.

[metalmonkey]

This too I am wondering.....okay so know the difference between the own brand of oil that Hein Gerike sell and Moutol? They are both 10-40w oils and semi.

[sam anon]

Asda are shifting Castrol GTX for £11 for 4 litres at the moment. A bargain if you ask me.

But thats car oil isn't it?

Keith, I did the same, and yes the oil I put in (Castrol GTX) met and exceeded the standards listed in the Clymer manual I have. In the end I decided to cut my losses and drain out the car oil, change the filter (again), and refill with bike oil. I sold the car oil to a friend!

[yorkie_chris]

Is motul actually semi synth though? Say's it's ester based on the can, which is the expensive sort of synthetic...

Doesn't really matter as it's 10w40 bike oil and JASO MA, works fine like...

[thedonal]

For the people who have switched from mineral to semi synthetic- have you noticed any difference in the amount of oil your bike burns?

[yorkie_chris]

It's plausible

[keith h]

These oil threads make great reading. Thats it, a bike oil is going in first thing at home.
I was up at the HeinGericke store in Newcastle early on but never spotted their own oil, I have one of their points card things so will use it for what its worth.
A friend runs a BMW sport tourer, when he asked his servicing dealer what oil they used they said "dont know as its delivered in bulk"
Thanks everybody for your comments, keith

[yorkie_chris]

I think I'm going to try some of that shell rotella stuff if I can find it, seem to remember the helix stuff being similar. 5w40 full synth anyway.

[keith h]

:DHello all, got some 10w40 semi synthetic from Halfrauds, drained off the car oil & filter,replaced the filter & filled up, job done & contented now.
Local Yamaha dealer always uses bike oil, " wouldnt use anything else" they say.
Thanks to you all for your replies, happy & safe riding, Keith h

[embee]

Just doing a bit of swotting up and was looking at the Exxon/Mobil (US) site.

There is quite a lot of useful FAQ stuff but also a table of the different Mobil-1 specs.

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Files/Mobil_1_Product_Guide.pdf

A significant aspect of the bike spec oils is the amount of phosphorus, low level oils are at 800ppm but the bike oils are 1600ppm. The low levels are for catalyst life.

Phosphorus is used in the form "ZDDP" (zinc dialkyl dithio phosphate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_dithiophosphate ) principally as anti-wear protection at extreme pressure contact areas typically at cam/follower but also in transmission gearteeth in bikes.

In short, "car oil" won't necessarily give the transmission (or even valve train) the required wear protection in a bike engine/gearbox.

[northwind]

Can you do the same for diesel oils? That's something that always intrigued me... Feel free to say no :)