Engine oil

[gwynfryn]

Does anyone use diesel/petrol car/truck/tractor oil in their bikes?

Latest repco flyer has a page of penrite deals.

Here is a list of penrite automotive oils that are wet clutch suitable, from penrite.

MOTORCYCLE & PASSENGER CAR COMPATIBLE OILS

If you are need products that cover both your 2 & 4 wheel vehicles there are Penrite Oils that are compatible with both Motor Cars and Cycles either Petrol, LPG or Diesel.
Some products can be used in your Motor Cycle, Motor Car & Truck including heavy diesel vehicles and stationery engines if one oil has to do it all!

Everyday Full Synthetic 5W-30 Full Synthetic
Everyday Full Synthetic 10W-40 Full Synthetic
HPR 5 5W-40 Full Synthetic
HPR 30 20W-60 Premium Mineral
HPR Gas 10 10W-50 Semi Synthetic
HPR Gas 20W-60 Premium Mineral
HPR Diesel 5 5W-40 Semi Synthetic
HPR Diesel 10 10W-40 Semi Synthetic
HPR Diesel 15 15W-50 Semi Synthetic
HPR Diesel 20W-60 Premium Mineral
Racing 10 10W-40 100% PAO & Ester Synthetic
Racing 15 15W-50 100% PAO & Ester Synthetic
Racing 20 20W-60 100% PAO & Ester Synthetic
Premium 0 0W-40 100% PAO & Ester Synthetic
Premium 5 5W-50 100% PAO & Ester Synthetic
Premium 10 10W-60 100% PAO & Ester Synthetic

I have been using auto trans oil in my 2 stroke gearbox but looking to try an engine oil.
Cheers

[iYRe]

I use penrite... its great.

I read a few reviews and then read one by a racing car driver in the USA, who drove around Texas, on the highway and in town etc, and determined that the temp of the oil rarely varied more than a degree or 2, which (he said) meant that it retained all the correct viscosity requirements and would reduce wear. Then he also said something about how it had millions times more of some element which meant it binds to the metal better...

Anecdotally, my 1999 ZRX 1100, with motul is noisey and clunks changing gears, and I get a lot of false neutrals. With Penrite I get a more quiet engine, rarely any clunks and false neutrals or missed gears.
I will use it all the time now.. even in my mower.

[50Shades]

Tractor transmission fluid in the 2 stroke gearbox and diesel engine oil, Delo 400 in the 4 stroke

[Tazz]

I ran diesel oil in my little DR but it made the clutch slip a bit after a while. If it was a city only bike it wouldn't have been enough to matter.

[scott411]

if its the basic oils it would not be too bad, look for the Jaso approval, some of the more top end car oils have friction modifiers that don't work well with wet clutches, which can get a hard time in dirt bikes

[Motu]

In the US vehicles have to meet an economy standard, so rather than use a smaller more efficient vehicle like the rest of the world, they use real thin oils with friction modifiers to get their engines economical. Penrite is an Aussie company and they have no such bullshit there, so as they are saying, most of their oil should be safe in bikes. You will find this clutch slip stuff on US forums, the real world doesn't seem to have such problems.

Not really such a thing as ''diesel'' oils until you get into real diesels, most of these oils are dual rated (eg SL/CJ) and called HDEO or heavy duty engine oils, they have a robust additive package and are good for use in motorcycles. I'm using Mobil Devac MX in a couple of my bikes.

[local]

I've used HPR5 in my bikes for the last few years, with no issues.

Main reason I do it is so I can run the same oil for all of our cars & bikes, then just stock up on it when Supercheap has 25% off.

[Boo]

Ive used transmission oil in my cr500 and was Ok, I use tractor oil now, you want the one that is used for the gear box and motor, it has no additives and works well in a 2t. Mind you I change my oil after every ride 2hrs its a good price too.

[Conquiztador]

In the US vehicles have to meet an economy standard, so rather than use a smaller more efficient vehicle like the rest of the world, they use real thin oils with friction modifiers to get their engines economical. Penrite is an Aussie company and they have no such bullshit there, so as they are saying, most of their oil should be safe in bikes. You will find this clutch slip stuff on US forums, the real world doesn't seem to have such problems.

Not really such a thing as ''diesel'' oils until you get into real diesels, most of these oils are dual rated (eg SL/CJ) and called HDEO or heavy duty engine oils, they have a robust additive package and are good for use in motorcycles. I'm using Mobil Devac MX in a couple of my bikes.

Competitive MX bikes have some serious (and expensive) oils that are recommended. One factory rider told me a few years ago that the European KTM factory team (who are sponsored by Motorex oils) use diesel oil in their race bikes...

[Pornstar]

Ive been lookin into this myself for my exc 500, the yanks seem to rave about shell rotella which is pretty much shell rimula over here I read, also caltex dello 400 is another diesel oil thats preferred by another camp, i read another report (very scientific) that debunked the argument that you must put motorcycle specific oils in your bike.
The diesel oil is a bit cheaper plus you can buy it at any servo and not have to trek to the m/c shop all the time.

[Moise]

Rotella T6 is a full synthetic, 5W-40 oil that meets JASO MA. Good luck finding a Rimula oil like that in NZ.

You can get Delo 400 from the Warehouse for about $30 per 5 litres when it's on special.

[Motu]

Shell put Rotella through the JASO test because so many people were using it in bikes....if other oil companies bothered to do it too they might pass as well. Rimula is not the same as Rotella, but there is certainly nothing wrong with it.

[Conquiztador]

Shell put Rotella through the JASO test because so many people were using it in bikes....if other oil companies bothered to do it too they might pass as well. Rimula is not the same as Rotella, but there is certainly nothing wrong with it.

So... if you had a high revving 2 stroke racing bike. Would you put a diesel oil in the gear box/clutch department??

[gwynfryn]

So... if you had a high revving 2 stroke racing bike. Would you put a diesel oil in the gear box/clutch department??

The 2 strokes are not as high revving as the four strokes and a lot is asked of the oil(high temp and pressure) when in a combined gbox / crankcase.
From what i'm learning it would be absolutely fine in your gbox.

[scott411]

So... if you had a high revving 2 stroke racing bike. Would you put a diesel oil in the gear box/clutch department??

two strokes are much easier on transmission oil, and normally run a very simple oil in them, this is due to it only doing one job, not having to lub the top and bottom end as well like four strokes do,

[Moise]

Shell put Rotella through the JASO test because so many people were using it in bikes....if other oil companies bothered to do it too they might pass as well. Rimula is not the same as Rotella, but there is certainly nothing wrong with it.
Some of the Penrite oils meet MA.

[pete-blen]

I used Mobil 2000 in my bikes for years... never had any issues,
clutches/gearboxes worked just fine..
Biggest thing is to do the oil/filter changes not leave the oil
in there for ever..

Use Motul 5100 now...





..

[MarkH]

I've used Mobil Delvac 1 5w40 in a previous bike, nothing wrong with that IMO.
I do always stick to the preferred weight (2nd number, the one after the winter rating) and I always go with a full synthetic for better maintenance of viscosity over the temperature range.

The big problem with a thread on oil is the woefully misinformed that try to tell you that 5w40 is 5 weight when cold and 40 weight when at operating temperature, or other equally ridiculous bullshit.
Here is one page of fairly good info for those that want to improve their understanding on motor oil: http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html

[Pornstar]

Rotella T6 is a full synthetic, 5W-40 oil that meets JASO MA. Good luck finding a Rimula oil like that in NZ.

You can get Delo 400 from the Warehouse for about $30 per 5 litres when it's on special.

there is a syn and non syn rotella, the non syn is the comparable one

[Moise]

there is a syn and non syn rotella, the non syn is the comparable one
Yeah, there's a whole family of Rotella oils. I wish we could get T6 here though.

[Flip]

I have been using mixed fleet lubes for ages myself in all kinds of vehicles.

[Flip]

I've used Mobil Delvac 1 5w40 in a previous bike, nothing wrong with that IMO.
I do always stick to the preferred weight (2nd number, the one after the winter rating) and I always go with a full synthetic for better maintenance of viscosity over the temperature range.

The big problem with a thread on oil is the woefully misinformed that try to tell you that 5w40 is 5 weight when cold and 40 weight when at operating temperature, or other equally ridiculous bullshit.
Here is one page of fairly good info for those that want to improve their understanding on motor oil: http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html

Can I quote your reference "An oil sold as 10w-40 is no thicker than 10 weight oil under Winter (10w) conditions, meaning below freezing. The 40 means it is no thinner than 40 weight oil at 212° Fahrenheit. So, the first number tells us the performance of the oil at or below the temperature of freezing water, and the second number tells us the performance at the temperature of boiling water."

What part of this don't you understand?

[MarkH]

Can I quote your reference "An oil sold as 10w-40 is no thicker than 10 weight oil under Winter (10w) conditions, meaning below freezing. The 40 means it is no thinner than 40 weight oil at 212° Fahrenheit. So, the first number tells us the performance of the oil at or below the temperature of freezing water, and the second number tells us the performance at the temperature of boiling water."

What part of this don't you understand?

Well, I'll take a guess at what part you don't understand!
I'm guessing that you don't understand that this oil is thicker at colder temperatures and thinner at 212°F and that what you quoted doesn't say otherwise.
I keep reading posts in oil threads that explicitly contain that misconception.
10w oil at well below freezing becomes quite thick, thicker (greater viscosity) than what 40w oil is at 212°F, the multigrade oil basically can be thick like really cold 10w oil or thin like hot 40w oil.

[Moise]

Well, I'll take a guess at what part you don't understand!
I'm guessing that you don't understand that this oil is thicker at colder temperatures and thinner at 212°F and that what you quoted doesn't say otherwise.
I keep reading posts in oil threads that explicitly contain that misconception.
10w oil at well below freezing becomes quite thick, thicker (greater viscosity) than what 40w oil is at 212°F, the multigrade oil basically can be thick like really cold 10w oil or thin like hot 40w oil.
Sorry mate, but you haven't quite got it. I'd suggest that you Google "oil weight" and do a little more reading.

Any oil gets thinner with increasing temperature, whether or not it's multigrade. That's not the issue.

[Flip]

Well, I'll take a guess at what part you don't understand!
I'm guessing that you don't understand that this oil is thicker at colder temperatures and thinner at 212°F and that what you quoted doesn't say otherwise.
I keep reading posts in oil threads that explicitly contain that misconception.
10w oil at well below freezing becomes quite thick, thicker (greater viscosity) than what 40w oil is at 212°F, the multigrade oil basically can be thick like really cold 10w oil or thin like hot 40w oil.

I will try this again.......

The multi grade designation is a way to describe, in a non technical manner, the viscosity performance of a blended muiltgrade oil that has a flatter viscosity curve than a straight single mono grade oil.

The first number is its cold viscosity, the second is its hot viscosity. It describes this viscosity relative to a mono grade lubricantnts at two points on the graph.

So a 20W40 oil has a viscosity like a 20 weight oil cold and a viscosity like a 40 weight oil when hot. This is a desireable feature as a thinner oil flows easier, warms up better and lubricates better when cold. A thick oil lubricates better when very hot.

I don't think anybody could explain this any simplier, and when all is said and done it does not really matter. There is always going to be some dumb horse thats going to die of thurst.

Back to the OP, I usually run Valvolene 20W40 diesel oil in almost all my vehicles. I wait until I see it on special at supercheap and grab a 10 litre pack. Being a diesel oil it has a full strong adative package (full zinc) and promotes engine cleanleness and low friction. If I had a vehicle that needed to be compatable with a wet clutch I would look an oil that meets the JASO test.

[Paul in NZ]

Email Penrite and ask - they are really good at getting back to you with a recommendation. I use the diesel 20-50 in the Triumph as the old HPR30 I used to use got updated with a friction modifier and I got some minor clutch slip. (1970 triumph engine oil shared with primary oil)

No issues at all.... Heartily recommend the product - used it for years in the Moto Guzzi as well...

[Kickaha]

I use the diesel 20-50 in the Triumph as the old HPR30 I used to use got updated with a friction modifier and I got some minor clutch slip. (1970 triumph engine oil shared with primary oil)

No issues at all.... Heartily recommend the product - used it for years in the Moto Guzzi as well...

Yeah I use their Diesel HPR 20-60, says it can be used instead of a straight 30 or 20-50

[Paul in NZ]

Yeah I use their Diesel HPR 20-60, says it can be used instead of a straight 30 or 20-50

Thats the stuff....

Its done quite well, my only gripe is the cost but its still the cheapest thing you can put in an engine

[flashg]

There you go guys, oil made for motorcycles. I've used it for years and buy it from Repco when they have a 25% off sale. Just a note for those that worry about slipping clutches, I have no problems as it's made for wet clutch engines and would work well in 2t gearboxes. Also gives me a nice smooth change ( smoother than some oils I used in the past)

[Scubbo]

I just switched from that castrol oil to some BO oil full synthetic off trademe/motoxparts? store --- $64 for 4 litres, full synthetic, the DRZ has never felt so smooth changing gears / revving to redline its quite amazing the difference that BO oil has made and it's so CHEAP

(this stuff http://www.motoxparts.co.nz/p/4-stroke-engine-oil-10w40-4-litres-bo-motor-oil )

[flashg]

I just switched from that castrol oil to some BO oil full synthetic off trademe/motoxparts? store --- $64 for 4 litres, full synthetic, the DRZ has never felt so smooth changing gears / revving to redline its quite amazing the difference that BO oil has made and it's so CHEAP

(this stuff http://www.motoxparts.co.nz/p/4-stroke-engine-oil-10w40-4-litres-bo-motor-oil )


I would run a full synthetic but Yamaha insists on a semi synthetic in the WR but I'm sure anything would be fine in the XT660Z Tenere, so just the one oil is keeping things simple. My Beta 2t gets ATF in the gearbox and that's said to be fine (works for me)
Years ago I ran a shell motorcycle semi synthetic oil , it was so good I had to turn down the idle a tad. It was removed from the market for reasons I don't know

[Toymotor]

I use Everyday Full Synthetic 10W-40 Full Synthetic in both my bikes without issue. I thought I had an issue after the last service, so went out and brought some Mobil Extra 4t 10w-40. Then I went over the bike only to find I had poorly adjusted the clutch causing the slip. So the next change will be the mobil, and then pack to penrite, unless I find the mobil superior vs price.