re: kz750 ltd h2 1981 - best engine oil

hi kzr's

good question this!

the approved standard for motorcycle
oil is JASA MA.

my local united kingdom z shop advises
'only use mineral oil in your bike!'
they recommended rock oil gamma 10w40.

i was also advised by an lubricant
dealer/motorcycle shop distributor that
'you can use semi synth., full synth.,
and also diesal engine oil works perfectly!'

q) is this valied credible advice riders?

q2) what do you riders use in your steel
horses please?

why pay for expensive oil, when you don't
need too?

many thanks for your advice kzr's!

Angel

the

Most riders are using Shell Rotella in T-5 or T-6 (oil thickness).


Best Oils To Use In Your Bike (Just My Opinion)

Engine oil : The commercial grade oils are clearly superior to the mass market oils. For the best protection in your bike or car, use Shell Rotella Synthetic, available at Wal-Mart in blue containers . For the best petroleum oil you can buy, get Shell Rotella T, Mobil Delvac 1300, or Chevron Delo 400, available at any auto parts store. On the back of most oil cans is a circular stamp with the certification. Avoid oils that say "energy conserving" in the bottom half of the donut.

These oils contain friction modifier additives that could cause clutch slipping over time. The EPA mandated certain gas mileage, so the auto makers turned to the oil manufacturers who came up with friction modifiers of the oil to meet these new standards. All XXw-20 and XXw-30 oils are energy conserving, and should not be used in your motorcycle. Don't buy any oil additives like STP or Slick-50. Here's several listings on all about oil justifying these conclusions.

The Recommended Synthetic Oils :

Shell Rotella Synthetic
5w-40 Delvac 1 Synthetic
5w-40 AMSOil AMF Synthetic (pricey, but it’s your money)
10w-40 Golden Spectro Synthetic
10w-50 Motul 5100 Synthetic
10w-40 Mobil-1 Synthetic
15w-50 Mobil-1 MX4T Synthetic

The best synthetics are: (in no particular order)

Shell Rotella-T Synthetic 5w-40 (blue container is synthetic, not white which is dino), gallon at Wal-Mart.
Mobil Delvac-1 5w-40 (grey container is synthetic, not black which is dino), gallon at Petro stations, gallon at Farm and Fleet.
Mobil-1 SUV 5w-40, qt anywhere.
AMSOil AMF 10w-40 synthetic motorcycle oil. (again, pricey)
Golden Spectro Supreme, (no price).
Motul 5100 Ester, (no price).

Mobil-1 automotive oils all contain small amounts of moly - about 100 to 200 ppm. This can cause clutch slippage in some motorcycles. I've only heard of this being a problem in Honda Shadows.


The Recommended Petroleum Oils

Chevron Delo 400 15w-40
Delvac 1300 15w-40
Shell Rotella 15w-40

The best petroleum oils are: (in no particular order)

Chevron Delo 400 15w-40 (blue container) gallon at any auto parts store, gallons at Costco.

Mobil Delvac 1300 15w-40 (black container) gallon at any auto parts store, gallons at Sam's Club.

Shell Rotella-T 15w-40 (white container) gallon at Wal-Mart or any auto parts store, gallons at Sam's Club.

Castrol 15w-40 (Green container) gallon at Wal-Mart or any auto parts store, gallons at Sam’s club.

hi mfolks

many thanks for your really informative
reply. you Gurus know your machines
requirements!

sadly being in gloomy uk, you can't
buy a lot of the.recommended oils.
i find it amazing that z power uk, advised
the mineral oils, 10w40 yet, these aren't
the best for the bike.

i'm a member of costco, they might've
a drum of one of your list in there.
would the us or canada costco, sell similar
oils?

thanks again mr mfolks, you're brilliant,
like the other Gurus on here. i can't thank
you all enough! i've done some beneficial
things for animal charities, to pay back
what you kzr's have done/doing for me and
others. what a wonderful team of people
you all are!

high fives all round!

regards and endless thanks!

Angel

As forum members, our collective knowledge base can be scarry some times.

MFolks wrote: As forum members, our collective knowledge base can be scarry some times.

:laugh: - Your collective knowledge base is scary!

steelhorseangel wrote: sadly being in gloomy uk, you can't
buy a lot of the.recommended oils.

Just be very careful to avoid any oil that has "energy conserving" on the label as this will have moly in it which can ruin your clutch. You can probably run any good 10-40 oil, even oil which is not motorcycle specific. However, using car oil you might want to change at a shorter interval because the gears the oil runs through tear up the viscosity increasing additives quickly. I have run car oil in my KZ750 for 33 years no problem, but I do change at shorter interval than most people.

You may also need to add ZDDP as most new oil does not have it anymore and old bikes need it.

hi bounty

thanks for your message!
great to hear from you!

re: Shell Rotella T6 full synthetic 5-40w

*************
warning from shell uk
*************

i contacted shell uk today.
i asked about shell rotella in motorcycle
engines. they told me that you risk
seriously ruining your engine, due to
to the harmful additive pack!

the sales guy from shell actually
said 'there is no way i would put that
stuff in my bike, just check the spec.
sheet!'

yours concerned

matey Angel

personally, i would not worry to much . there is no reason not to use good old 10w40 dino oil .
just do the regular oil changes.
it seems to be common to develop oil seeping or wicking from the seals when u use synthetic oil in these old bikes.

hi mark

thank you for your message!

***********
is this a fact kzr's?
***********

that using semi or full synthetic
causes your seams to weep dudes?

to lose oil is not a perfect scenario?
you spend over two years sourcing parts
for your project bike. then put in synthetic
oil that effects your gaskets!

is this fact or fiction, if so there must
be a lot of leaky bikes over there!

any constructive advice, greatly appreciated!

regards and thank you!

Angel

This is what Jeff from Z1Enterprizes reports. Jeff has talked to hundreds of z1 owners over the years. he says that he often hears this report, from kz owners that make the switch. that doent mean they will all leak, just that he has heard it enough to think it must be considered.

steelhorseangel wrote: then put in synthetic
oil that affects your gaskets!

is this fact or fiction, if so there must
be a lot of leaky bikes over there!

I think it's a myth, the oil makers say it's a myth, but a lot of people keep saying it. I have run it in my '79 KZ750 with no change in oil usage or seepage.

Mine seeps oil at the seal on the shifter shaft, so I went to valvoline semi-synthetic high-mileage oil (because it is supposed to have stuff to help old engines) and the seepage went way down compared to regular mineral oil.

R

steelhorseangel wrote: hi bounty

thanks for your message!
great to hear from you!

re: Shell Rotella T6 full synthetic 5-40w

*************
warning from shell uk
*************

i contacted shell uk today.
i asked about shell rotella in motorcycle
engines. they told me that you risk
seriously ruining your engine, due to
to the harmful additive pack!

the sales guy from shell actually
said 'there is no way i would put that
stuff in my bike, just check the spec.
sheet!'

yours concerned

matey Angel

Bummer.....just bought five quarts as I'd read rotella was perfect