Best Oil

[opnea]

I got an old machine and i’m not sure whether i should run a little thicker. It’s almost 35 years old. Might go 20w-40 

[Mech]

Thick oil doesn't help bikes with roller crank bearings, they need good oil flow, not pressure. I'd stick with the manufacturers recommendations for your temperatures.

[Gwbarm]

Good point Mech! I usually run a thicker oil in an engine that has been sitting for years on first start up to get everything oiled and lubed up and turning again, run it for a while to hopefully get the inside cleaned up  good, thicker seems a little stickier than thin, probably not, but thats what i do. Then change back to manufacturers grade after running for a month or so.

[Mech]

Thick oil helps in a worn engine that has white-metal/shell bearings, but it doesn't help with roller bearings, and if it's in a cold climate it can get pumped slow at startup and it can even strain the oil pump.

I think people have heard that thicker oil helps in old cars.. and so assume it will help in a bike as well.

[puskinelis]

I wouldn't experiment with different specs way off, but minima difference might improve. I would recommend use fully synthetic instead of Half-synthetic that will help for sure. Mine oldy moldy honda foreman 450 OEM recommendation 10w40 half synthetic, but I use fully synthetic, I think it's especially good for this bike for example as it uses oil cooler. And it heats up and cools down every second trhough cooler, which synthetic oil doesn't loose it's spec, but half synthetic might burn or downgrade a little more.

Edited March 8, 2024 by puskinelis

[Gwbarm]

I still use conventional oil in my old worn bikes, i use fully synthetic in my autos, but my expierience with synthetic in older engines is that it seems thinner than dino oil of the same grade and in older worn bikes they tend to use more oil if switched to synthetic. I dont race or really abuse the engines but i have still noticed using more oil if switched to synthetic, i have never really understood the reasoning behind half and half oil and never used it. 

[Mech]

Modern car engine's have minimum amounts of oil in their sump, extreme temperatures in the engine and under the bonnet, especially if they have a turbo, they have incredibly fine clearances everywhere, shell bearings, high stresses, require high oil pressures from cold to hot, and they rev high, and from cold often. They also have stringent emission requirements.  They need good oil, and synthetic oils are particularly good with the high temperatures.

Bikes on the other hand, even air cooled bikes, are low temperatures, low stress, roller bearings, mild power, low oil pressure, generous oil capacity, few emission requirements. They have very simple and low spec requirements for their oil compared to car or truck oil. In my opinion mineral oil is plenty adequate for them.

[puskinelis]

9 minutes ago, Mech said:

Modern car engine's have minimum amounts of oil in their sump, extreme temperatures in the engine and under the bonnet, especially if they have a turbo, they have incredibly fine clearances everywhere, shell bearings, high stresses, require high oil pressures from cold to hot, and they rev high, and from cold often. They also have stringent emission requirements.  They need good oil, and synthetic oils are particularly good with the high temperatures.

Bikes on the other hand, even air cooled bikes, are low temperatures, low stress, roller bearings, mild power, low oil pressure, generous oil capacity, few emission requirements. They have very simple and low spec requirements for their oil compared to car or truck oil. In my opinion mineral oil is plenty adequate for them.

I agree. Especially modern engines with EGR system are contaminated after a few hundred of km or miles. But engines which doesn't have EGR like bike engines are always clean brown even after thousands of kilometeres. But! I wouldn't agree that bikes do not need synthetic, because with the car you usually drive with no rush, on low RPM so engine and oil doesn't stress and degrade. With the bike you go full throttle and then stop, full throttle and then stop, it's play thing. Also you don't change engine oil so often so longetivity of synthetic wins there again.

Edited March 8, 2024 by puskinelis

[Riki]

I think castrol makes best oils

[Mrdale907]

Rotella 15 40. I literally run in almost everything

[Gwbarm]

I like the Rotella also, but i have been sticking with Yamalube only because i thiught it might be more compatable with clutches.

[jen]

Rotella diesel   gets my vote as I have to run a high sulfur oil in my '66 VW powered sand rail.  Rotella has about 1200 ppm of sulfur as I recall.

However, I run Yamaha oil in My SXS.  

[jen]

The reason  My VW motor requires high sulfur oil has to do withthe typ of rocker arms used...Don't understand that but ,,,

[Gwbarm]

All engines of that era needed high Sulfur-Zinc oils it provided better lubrication for the metals used at that time for the engines, of course during that era all oils were of that consistancy, they may have been a few synthetic oils around but were not very good and not widely used. There were also softer metals used in the valves and the lead in the gasoline helped with lubrication there. I still run a couple of older engines factory specs and use a lead substitute in the gas.

The volkswagon engine was probably the most underrated and ignored engine of the 60s in the first truly simplistic compact car. It was simple to the max everything you needed to get from A to B. I was one of those people never owned one never wanted one, but i have seen those engines sit in a junkyard for 30 + years and within 2 hrs you can have it running truly a great engine easy to work on and run. I always wanted to build what you have from a volkwagon  frame but took the easy way out got a jeep CJ5  instead, been running it 40+ years never let me down.

[Gwbarm]

Since those days i have developed a great respect for those 1200cc 40HP engines, not a lot of engine or car for that matter for those days. Wide open it would go 72 MPH downhill with a good tail wind, but it would do that all day long. Great cheap German Made product, was not accepted with open arms so soon after the war. Same with Japanese but Honda kind of smoothed that over with there fun little motorcycles of the 60s and slogan, You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda.

 

[jen]

that's a great picture....hmmm its an old picture  OMG look at those girls hair styles LOL

[WeeBee]

The Middle right side of the picture ,light blue Honda CL77 305 Scrambler. My First motorcycle a 1965 Red 305 Scrambler ,engine in a basket, the rest was complete for $50!!

 

[jen]

my dads friend owns three Honda dearlerships .  He had an old scrambler .  But the one i liked was his Kawasakii 700 cc (two cycle ) triple , OMG it was a rocket ship.

That Scrambler was tough.  My Grandpa had a Jawa 250 cc .

dont uou hate that you sold those bikes and cars.

[jen]

OOps my Grandpa's friend...The bikes of the 60's -70's  Grandpa's era.. transitioned from the Honda dream machines to performance bikes. The Triumph Bonneville, the Kawaski Z 900 and of course the BMW.   What a heady time that was.   However, pertaining to OIL...I read where the Triumph oil was probably good for about 200 miles before heat broke it down...???

[WeeBee]

I had a 1965 Triumph 650 Chopper w/10" over Springer frontend also a 1969 Triumph 500 Scrambler !

[jen]

my dads friend owns three Honda dearlerships .  He had an old scrambler .  But the one i liked was his Kawasakii 700 cc (two cycle ) triple , OMG it was a rocket ship.

That Scrambler was tough.  My Grandpa had a Jawa 250 cc .

dont uou hate that you sold those bikes and cars.

[jen]

HMMM  CJ5 Grandpa had  a CJ5 with a Buick 225 cu inch (Factory  ) motor. It had a fiberglass body he got from Seats and Roebuck.  He thinks it was a 1972 CJ5.

I believe that the VW opposed 4 cylinder was one of the few Magnesium motors ever mass produced. Don't catch them on fire...LOL

[shorty]

Regarding oil for bikes, Rotella 15w-40 is great. Extreme Pressure (EP) additives, ok for wet clutch, maybe a little thick for winter use

[Martin82]

What kind of oil you i should use for Sawtooth 200 engine ?

 

Thanks for answere

[Martin82]

And what brand of air filter is good to nuy ?

[WeeBee]

I use WIX if you can find them -NAPA usually carries the WIX Brand!

 

[shorty]

Winter oil should be thinner viscosity 

1 minute ago, WeeBee said:

I use WIX if you can find them -NAPA usually carries the WIX Brand!

 

I think wix and napa are the same filter. Both excellent 

[Martin82]

Thanks for the tip 

[Gwbarm]

Oreileys sells WIX