What Oil?

[sprint]

Recommendations for oil. i am not looking for expensive/exotic oil just something for general use.

Are semi synthetics such as Castrol Magnatec, 10/40W or their GTX 15/40W suitable?

[ZedHead]

Don't use car semi synthetic. It is not designed for wet clutch use.

Blatant plug for the one I sell which has all the right approval for 4 stroke bikes

http://www.saisei-europe.com/Shop/Produ ... -1040-4lt1

[chrisu]

halfords semi synthetic motorcycle oil.

[KWACKERZ1]

look for JASO on the can to make sure its wet clutch compatible.

[Coose]

Don't use car semi synthetic. It is not designed for wet clutch use.

Blatant plug for the one I sell which has all the right approval for 4 stroke bikes

http://www.saisei-europe.com/Shop/Produ ... -1040-4lt1

Wow, that's cheap enough! Motorex is normally hideously expensive*!

(*Information obtained from many, many KTM owners who still insist on using it as it's what KTM recommends. It's not like KTM will have a deal with Motorex or anything like that. )

[zed1015]

I use.
Silkolene super four 10/40.
Castrol GTX 10/40.
and Rock oil TRM 20/60 in the tuned motors.
Also any of the supermarket brand 10/40's are good enough for these motors especially if you have one that burns a bit and needs topping up regular.

[garyd]

I think I've said in the past, I went to school with a guy who ended up being head of shell in eastern euprope when the wall came down.

He told me that all mutigrades break down within a few hundred miles, so for normal road use get the cheapest well known oil you can get and change it between 1000-2000 miles. Gives the best protection and works out cheaper as I have only ever down a max of 6k miles a year.

[Charlie]

Wow, that's cheap enough! Motorex is normally hideously expensive*!

(*Information obtained from many, many KTM owners who still insist on using it as it's what KTM recommends. It's not like KTM will have a deal with Motorex or anything like that. )

That'd depend on what you call a "deal". If you mean it's price fixed, no they haven't.

If you mean that some of the KTM motors have a precious metal nitride coating on their main bearings, which is washed away leading to premature main bearing failure if Motorex Cross Power or Power Synt is not used (which is the only oil having the correct detergent additive as Motorex invented/patented/developed it alongside the KTM motors it goes in) then you are right

A bottle of the correct spec Motorex fully synth oil at circa 55 quid is still a lot cheaper than a complete engine rebuild at about ten times that though ....using anything else does reduce main bearing life. I have the KTM T.I. bulletins showing the same from independent tests

That 4T semi that Saisei is advertising for buttons is different to the KTM oil, but still a really high end semi synthetic. I run it in my Z650 and my ZRX1200. I also used it in my ZX10R and Daytona 675.

[ZedHead]

Wow, that's cheap enough! Motorex is normally hideously expensive*!

(*Information obtained from many, many KTM owners who still insist on using it as it's what KTM recommends. It's not like KTM will have a deal with Motorex or anything like that. )

That'd depend on what you call a "deal". If you mean it's price fixed, no they haven't.

If you mean that some of the KTM motors have a precious metal nitride coating on their main bearings, which is washed away leading to premature main bearing failure if Motorex Cross Power or Power Synt is not used (which is the only oil having the correct detergent additive as Motorex invented/patented/developed it alongside the KTM motors it goes in) then you are right

A bottle of the correct spec Motorex fully synth oil at circa 55 quid is still a lot cheaper than a complete engine rebuild at about ten times that though ....using anything else does reduce main bearing life. I have the KTM T.I. bulletins showing the same from independent tests

That 4T semi that Saisei is advertising for buttons is different to the KTM oil, but still a really high end semi synthetic. I run it in my Z650 and my ZRX1200. I also used it in my ZX10R and Daytona 675.

[andyb1962]

Use any cheap motor oil mineral type
It will better than any produced in the early 70's
If you don't race or thrash your motor you will be fine.
Just drop it every year and change the filter

[jimmock]

I tend to believe that the old fashioned mineral oil, (like Castrol GTX) is best for what we run.

1,000m oil and filter changes.

Just saying.

[Charlie]

It is true to say that the crap oil that was about in the early 70's did a limited job as that was all there was.

The cheap shite that some of you refer to at threepence a bucket full is probably on a par with the crap oil that went in back then.

BUT - time marches on and better oils are now available.

Where as you could replace a clutch or rebuild a motor for a few quid back in the day, now its a hell of a lot more expensive even if you can source the correct parts.

Do you still wear cork helmets, army store gauntlets, Derri boots and Wrangler/Levi jackets too - or have you seen sense and use the better protective gear that 2015 offers ?

If you do, then see sense and do the same for your engines.

Fcuk me - 22 quid for a gallon of quality oil is not breaking the bank is it ?

You ride about on bikes that are worth up to maybe £10K ? - Come on peeps get a grip and use a proper semi-synthetic oil, not some recycled supermarket tat that saw it's best 3 lifetimes ago ....

[nicomkii]

Castrol for me, but as has been said anything is an improvement on oils of days gone by. All the engines I've stripped I've never found extensive gunk in sumps nor excessive wear and who knows what went into the engines and how long between changes as everyone isn't as anal at changes as enthusiasts were/are, so whatever oil that did go in did some sort of job.
I buy mine in 20litre drums, works out cheaper.

[ZedHead]

The way I look at it is this. Look at the mileage that bikes used to do in the days before, at least, some top end work was needed. Then look at mileage modern bikes do now.

[jimmock]

Do you still wear cork helmets, army store gauntlets, Derri boots and Wrangler/Levi jackets too - or have you seen sense and use the better protective gear that 2015 offers ?

How the hell do you know how I dress??