Automotive or Motorcycle Oil?

OKC_Kent wrote:

...sometimes Shell Rotella, or maybe a bit of convenience store oil if I'm on the road. I change it every 1,500 miles because I believe by that time the tranny has done it's best to break it down.

I cannot put it any better than this.

All modern car oils are formulated for "smooth bearings" ie between connecting rods and wrist pins. In any car motor there are no forces which break down the polymers under normal driving conditions. Anyone who has been to the oil shelf at any parts store knows that motor oil is different than gear oil and different from manual transmission oil. So why not run the motorcycle specific oil? I had always ran GTX and never had any problems until I looked down through my oil site glass and saw nothing but foam. GTX is/was supposed to be the good stuff back in late 70's on up through the 90's. They changed the formula for the more modern car motors, ie adding teflon. To risk a $3000 motor over 4 quarts of oil is downright stupid. just my 2 pennys on oil.

Prune1 wrote:

So why not run the motorcycle specific oil? I had always ran GTX and never had any problems until I looked down through my oil site glass and saw nothing but foam. GTX is/was supposed to be the good stuff back in late 70's on up through the 90's. They changed the formula for the more modern car motors, ie adding teflon. To risk a $3000 motor over 4 quarts of oil is downright stupid. just my 2 pennys on oil.

I've never noticed foamy oil on the 650. What is that caused by?

I have 61,000 hard miles on my KZ1000.
Used Castrol GTX 20/50 since 1979.The
engine has never had an oil related
failure.It is apart right now,no sludge,
cam lobes look good,shims look good.I
have had no clutch issues.Untill I notice
a change,I will keep using it.My Husaberg
was very oil sensetive.It beat the crap
out of most auto oils and many so called
motorcycle oils. The 20/50 Valvoline
motorcycle oil held up as well as some of
the 7-8 buck a quart stuff.I changed the
oil every ride.If the Castrol scares you,
I recommend the Valvoline motorcycle oil.
It is available at most Meijer stores.

OKC_Kent wrote:

Prune1 wrote:

So why not run the motorcycle specific oil? I had always ran GTX and never had any problems until I looked down through my oil site glass and saw nothing but foam. GTX is/was supposed to be the good stuff back in late 70's on up through the 90's. They changed the formula for the more modern car motors, ie adding teflon. To risk a $3000 motor over 4 quarts of oil is downright stupid. just my 2 pennys on oil.

I've never noticed foamy oil on the 650. What is that caused by?

Well I checked on the web for foamy oil, and it comes from either water/antifreeze or too much oil getting whipped to a froth by the crankshaft. Since we have air cooled engines that could mean you had too much oil in there, or maybe somehow water got in it, or possibly fuel. Any other ideas?

i'm with DUCK, i also use the cheapest oil the store has on hand and have not had a problem. The H-D and the BMW have separate tranny oil so they do not get that abuse, but the Kaw's and the Hondas dont seem to mind the cheap stuff.

flht1997 wrote:

i'm with DUCK, i also use the cheapest oil the store has on hand and have not had a problem. The H-D and the BMW have separate tranny oil so they do not get that abuse, but the Kaw's and the Hondas dont seem to mind the cheap stuff.

Pretty much...

The nice characteristics of synthetics aside, it's worth remembering that the el-cheapo oil on the rack at your local Starvin' Marvin is probably a fair bit better quality-wise than the stuff they ran in 2,000hp air cooled radials back in WWII.

Unless you're Lorcan himself, or WiredOOd on a nitrous binge, plain old 10W-40/20W-50 from any decent label will do just fine.

CHANGING your cheap oil more often and using a quality filter makes a lot more sense to the motor than trying to wring every last mile out of the 10 buck a quart stuff.

OK guys ,,,

I guess I'll put in my 2 cents worth ,

The SAE rating is the weight of the oil (viscosity)

The API rating is for what it goes in .

C* is for diesels
G* is for gearlube including the "NEW" gearboxes in cars
S* is for gas engines

Just read the label.

And I use 20/50 Kendall GT-1 when I can find it or Valvoline Racing when I cant .....and a Fram filter.

I'm with Duck on this. I use whatever oil is on sale. I have 148,000 miles on the lower end of my KZ650 and no problems. I just change the oil every 1500 miles.

looking back to the AMI days, we were taught to use only motorcycle oil. The difference between a car and a bike are the clearances. Motorcycles have tighter clearances. Now i dont know if the manufacturers do anything diffrently to motorcycle oil than car oil, it is the safest bet to use motorcycle specific.

Well I checked on the web for foamy oil, and it comes from either water/antifreeze or too much oil getting whipped to a froth by the crankshaft. Since we have air cooled engines that could mean you had too much oil in there, or maybe somehow water got in it, or possibly fuel. Any other ideas?[/quote]

Well it definately wasnt from the oil pressure...my buddies kz1000 does it also. could be that there is water or fuel in the oil...but i doubt it. bike runs great, motor only has 12xxx miles on it. Motor showed little wear when adjusting the valves. just worries me about the foaming in the window

from what i have learned is that car oil viscosity is different it is not desighned to run in a constant mesh transmission like a motorcycle has , wich cause it to break down quicker, also it has antifriction modifiers in it, wich does not bode well on motorcycle cluches, you may use car oil a long time and never have any problems, but is it worth the risk after all the time and money and effort you spend on your bike to risk it