Engine Oils

[srikany]

There is lots that goes into why a diesel engine oil, can be used in a motorcycle. I'd suggest, plainly, why don't you go ahead and try using the same? If you zero in on the oil with respect to the grade for the bike.

Cheers!
VJ

I have changed the Gearbox oil in my Samurai about a month ago ( The old oil was Shell AX 5 - replaced with Servo CF-4 15 W 40 Diesel oil). I have covered more than a thousand kilometers since and everything is as usual. From what understand any diesel oil what is API CI-4 or before standard does not cause the clutch to slip. These oils have a very high ZDDP content as additive which is supposed to keep the engines super clean. Please remember to use this only at your own risk. In my case, its a two stroke bike so only gear box is lubricated by the diesel oil being used.

[s1d]

Though others can correct me if I am wrong, oil in and of itself doesn't degrade easily, but yes it degrades. If you intend to park your bike for six months, do so. But upon reviving the engine, and after a warm up, check how the bike behaves, harshness in shifting gears, engine sound etc, all these are tell tale signs that your oil should or can be replaced.

Cheers!
VJ

there is a difference in storing the oil in the sealed container and 'storing' it in a bike's crankcase so there is definitely some 'degradation'/break up (or whatever the term is) if the oil is left for a long time in the bike unused. But if the bike is used almost every other day for a couple of km, then its ok to leave the oil for around 3 months (i have done this)
but if you are storing the bike for a looong time (beyond 1 month) then its better to drain the oil before storing it and get new oil when resuming usage.

[muztariq]

there is a difference in storing the oil in the sealed container and 'storing' it in a bike's crankcase so there is definitely some 'degradation'/break up (or whatever the term is) if the oil is left for a long time in the bike unused. But if the bike is used almost every other day for a couple of km, then its ok to leave the oil for around 3 months (i have done this)
but if you are storing the bike for a looong time (beyond 1 month) then its better to drain the oil before storing it and get new oil when resuming usage.

Never store your vehicle without oil(that is what my opinion is, expert mechanics opinions may vary)

Why store any equipment without oil when you can store it with oil and drain the unused oil after you resume using the equipment. Will save you from accidentally starting the bike without oil. Will also leave your vehicle usable in case of emergency.

Do not fear sludge build up. If you plan to store your vehicle for more than 3-4 months, put fresh oil and store.

Oils doesnt degrade all by themselves in short span of six months or so. You can regularly use oils for 12 months easily in any car. Bike oils are more shear stable than cars. There is a specific JASO test which is much stringent than API test.

If you want to keep a vehicle for 12 months, just replace the oil, drive home and keep the vehicle. Once you resume usage(even after three - four years), check oil level, use the vehicle for 100-200 kms and then replace oil. This will help clean the engine of surface rust etc developed overtime. Even silver rusts when unused.

If you wish to drain the oil and then store, this rust and surface impurities generated overtime will mix in the fresh oil.

[Midhun.akd]

Is it good using castrol power1 racing fullysynthetic 10w50 (gold colour bottle)in my pulsar150 ug4.5 (odo 35250).?

[pixantz]

can i use 20w-40 grade diesel engine oil in my pulsar 150 classic...i read in karizma ownership thread as it increases smoothness and acts as engine flusher

Allow me to be as logical as I possibly can. It should be first understood that a specific oil is made for use in specific engines for a very good reason by scientists, engineers,r&d people, etc, in short, people who are highly qualified in the field(lubricants) and who mostly spend their life testing, determining, and working to create the best and safest oil for a specific engine. They take into consideration various working conditions of that specific engine like working temp, oil pressure engine stress, clutch type and a lot more and formulate the oil accordingly. So when they say that a specific oil is made for a dump-truck, he meant dump-truck. It's not our position and standing to contradict that prescription. To put things simply, you can experiment with different oils only after being sure that they meet the various critical standards recommended by the vehical manufacturer, like for bikes its JASO MA, JASO MA2, SMJ, etc IF YOU WANT YOUR ENGINE TO BE HEALTHY AND LIVE LONG. Deciding that an oil is good just because it feels "smooth" and gives you "butter smooth gear shifts" is not really very smart. It might be f**king up your oil seals, piston rings, etc and you might never know its because of the oil and keep on enjoying the butter smoothness. An oil is meant to be good primarily for THE ENGINE and then for the rider. Just a piece of brotherly advice. Hope it does you and everybody else some good.....


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[muztariq]

Is it good using castrol power1 racing fullysynthetic 10w50 (gold colour bottle)in my pulsar150 ug4.5 (odo 35250).?

Why wait.. Try it out.

Allow me to be as logical as I possibly can. It should be first understood that a specific oil is made for use in specific engines for a very good reason by scientists, engineers,r&d people, etc, in short, people who are highly qualified in the field(lubricants) and who mostly spend their life testing, determining, and working to create the best and safest oil for a specific engine. They take into consideration various working conditions of that specific engine like working temp, oil pressure engine stress, clutch type and a lot more and formulate the oil accordingly. So when they say that a specific oil is made for a dump-truck, he meant dump-truck. It's not our position and standing to contradict that prescription. To put things simply, you can experiment with different oils only after being sure that they meet the various critical standards recommended by the vehical manufacturer, like for bikes its JASO MA, JASO MA2, SMJ, etc IF YOU WANT YOUR ENGINE TO BE HEALTHY AND LIVE LONG. Deciding that an oil is good just because it feels "smooth" and gives you "butter smooth gear shifts" is not really very smart. It might be f**king up your oil seals, piston rings, etc and you might never know its because of the oil and keep on enjoying the butter smoothness. An oil is meant to be good primarily for THE ENGINE and then for the rider. Just a piece of brotherly advice. Hope it does you and everybody else some good.....

Firstly we are living in India.. Most of the oil companies are befooling us. Have a look at 80% oils on the maket and you would find that they dont comply to API or JASO spec you mentioned. What is mentioned is 'meets or exceeds the requirements of xyz standard'. There is a particular format which needs to be placed when the oil conforms to these specs. You can read more about it on respective sites of these standards. A circular logo for API and rectangular for JASO.

Secondly, An X oil for every rider, to be changed in every 3000 km (whether he is riding in the hills at high rpms or he is riding in the rajasthan summer).. Its all the same.

Thirdly, there is no mention of important information like chain lubrication after every water wash and you see ppl complaining about chain and sprocket change at as low as 10K kms.

Fourthly, Someone riding his machine is stop go traffic of metros and someone riding his bike daily on mumbai pune highway require different oil and different drain interval (though I agree that 3000 km is sufficiently balanced for most commuters)

We are misusing FS oils. They are not desinged for normal usage. We all (nearly 99.9% bikers) are using these oils just for smoothness. Oils like 300V are track specific oils.. Motul themselves ask you to use different oils it has for stop go traffic and not 300V

I have quoted this website before.. here it is again:

300V or 8100/6100 ? Make your choice :
Oil choice depends on your use :
300V are especially designed for racing, Motul is providing to end-
consumers the lubricants set up for the teams : that is to say that the
products you can find on the shop shelves are the same as products used
by the teams for races.
These lubricants have to be strong enough to resist at very high
temperature, provide the best lubrication, reduce friction… In one word,
meet all the stringent requirements for racing.
8100, 6100… are designed for common daily use : in this case, you will
ask your car to start every morning, drive it in the stop-and-go traffic
to go at work, and drive it back to home in the evening. To complete that
you will not be agree to go for service too often.
Requirements for daily use are different from racing.
Motul 8100, 6100 … are made for that. In these conditions and with these
lubricants, you will be able to follow the car maker recommended drain
intervals without any trouble.

From - Motul info - evolutionm.net

Clearly, Many oil companies are providing suboptimum products which does not meet any of these specifications. The oil should provide comfort to both rider and the engine.. and FS oils should not be used for comfort!! Any track racer here!? @Midhun.akd - are you taking the 35XXX km run pulsar 150 to the track!? Then why waste 800-900 bucks on the oil!? Just for comfort no? What about 200 Rs product here - 4T Engine Oil - 4T Engine Oil Manufacturer, Distributor, Supplier, Trading Company, New Delhi, India its 20W40 and contains ashless dispersants!

[adityajohanan]

I burned my stock engine oil in my rtr 180 on less than 1k kilometers. Which oil do you'll suggest me to go in for.? Stock doesn't last long enough and gear shifts become rough in no time..

[pixantz]

I burned my stock engine oil in my rtr 180 on less than 1k kilometers. Which oil do you'll suggest me to go in for.? Stock doesn't last long enough and gear shifts become rough in no time..

Stock oils are not to be taken seriously. I personally never used them in my bike. Use the same grade but of a better brand.


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[Honda_CBF]

Allow me to be as logical as I possibly can. It should be first understood that a specific oil is made for use in specific engines for a very good reason by scientists, engineers,r&d people, etc, in short, people who are highly qualified in the field(lubricants) and who mostly spend their life testing, determining, and working to create the best and safest oil for a specific engine. They take into consideration various working conditions of that specific engine like working temp, oil pressure engine stress, clutch type and a lot more and formulate the oil accordingly. So when they say that a specific oil is made for a dump-truck, he meant dump-truck. It's not our position and standing to contradict that prescription. To put things simply, you can experiment with different oils only after being sure that they meet the various critical standards recommended by the vehical manufacturer, like for bikes its JASO MA, JASO MA2, SMJ, etc IF YOU WANT YOUR ENGINE TO BE HEALTHY AND LIVE LONG. Deciding that an oil is good just because it feels "smooth" and gives you "butter smooth gear shifts" is not really very smart. It might be f**king up your oil seals, piston rings, etc and you might never know its because of the oil and keep on enjoying the butter smoothness. An oil is meant to be good primarily for THE ENGINE and then for the rider. Just a piece of brotherly advice. Hope it does you and everybody else some good.....

I disagree to most parts. yes they make specific oils for specific engines. but facts are facts, diesel oils are 'better and superior' than gas oils. "they" told us. its all over the web. And also, there is no genuine oil available which can f**k things.. unless its already f***ed. but again, everyone is free to do what s/he wants and staying with recommendations wont hurt.

[Pinaki]

Guys,

Another question. What if I happen to use my bike very rarely, then even after 6 months i won't even reach the drain interval of the oil. Should i just use it until 3000km then only I change it?

Thanks.

The kilometers or the time limit specified by your manufacturer (for normal service) - whichever occurs earlier . The time limit is irrespective of usage or miles run or oil type . This is because , once poured in , the oil continues to go bad at a certain rate everyday .. whether you use the bike much or not . For stressful use (severe service) these specified limits have to be suitably reduced .
Do not try to extend one(kms) or the other(months) - engine work is usually more expensive and trouble than oil changes . Personally I cut the manufacturer specified limits by a third - I shall not run any oil for more than 2000 kms or 4 months ( whichever comes earlier ) and touchwood I have not had any problems from doing that .

Allow me to be as logical as I possibly can. It should be first understood that a specific oil is made for use in specific engines for a very good reason by scientists, engineers,r&d people, etc, in short, people who are highly qualified in the field(lubricants) and who mostly spend their life testing, determining, and working to create the best and safest oil for a specific engine. They take into consideration various working conditions of that specific engine like working temp, oil pressure engine stress, clutch type and a lot more and formulate the oil accordingly. So when they say that a specific oil is made for a dump-truck, he meant dump-truck. It's not our position and standing to contradict that prescription. ...

Scientists make oil ?? As far as I could find oil is made by mother nature only and we just mine it and separate it for various uses . If you meant that oils are separated from a different fraction of the crude mineral for each engine , then they'd have to put up a special oil-refinery for every model of engine in circulation . On the contrary , there are few things more generic in nature than automotive engine oils , and there are more categories of it made by marketing guys than any technical need .

[muztariq]

I burned my stock engine oil in my rtr 180 on less than 1k kilometers. Which oil do you'll suggest me to go in for.? Stock doesn't last long enough and gear shifts become rough in no time..

What I understand what you meant by burning is either:
1) Oil reduces in volume
2) It becomes very dark
3) You lose comfort

2) and 3) may still be OK and you may continue with the oil or change to a better brand as pixtantz has mentioned

If its 1) you may try a higher viscosity oil like 20w50 in place of 20w40 and test your bike.. If the oil is still getting low, get the engine repaired. Its not an oil problem.

[adityajohanan]

What I understand what you meant by burning is either:
1) Oil reduces in volume
2) It becomes very dark
3) You lose comfort

2) and 3) may still be OK and you may continue with the oil or change to a better brand as pixtantz has mentioned

If its 1) you may try a higher viscosity oil like 20w50 in place of 20w40 and test your bike.. If the oil is still getting low, get the engine repaired. Its not an oil problem.

Volume of oil hasn't reduced. It's the same. It has turned a little dark and the smoothness has disappeared in 1k kms

[krish2778]

Volume of oil hasn't reduced. It's the same. It has turned a little dark and the smoothness has disappeared in 1k kms

Which oil did you use ? Was the oil filter changed ?? Might be the bad quality of oil or the riding style, how would you describe your riding style ? sedate or high revs ??

Cheers
Ride Safe
Krishna

[arjunb25]

I have just filled castrol active 20w40 for my unicorn earlier I was using gulf pride 4t plus 20w40.
What I want to know the interval of km to change the above castrol oil.
Thanx

[madhav krishna]

It has been a little over 300kms from my change to shell rimula oil. The tappet noise present earlier seems to be gone down by a lil margin. The acceleration is good. I wont comment on the FE since i had upsized my tires recently & am expecting the FE to take a hit. No clutch slippage issues yet.