Re: st-digest V2001 #33 - Response to Which oil is best

[Rick Damiani <triumph@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 16 Jan 2001 15:31:00 -0800, "Jeff Page" <jpage@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

>I believe the SJ designation is not one you want by itself since this oil
>does not have the shear properties for use in your transmission and is
>designated for energy conservation.

SJ oils marked 'energy conserving' are a problem for bikes with wet
clutches, and the friction modifiers interfere with the friction the
clutch needs.

>I ended up emailing a couple of the motorcycle oil manufacturers and pretty
>much got the same story from both.  Of the two numbers in the oil rating,
>the first number appears to be the most critical.
>
>The thing to look for is oils with additives for transmission and wet clutch
>use.  Car oils found at local stores don't have these additives.

I have heard this, from time to time, WRT motorcycle oils, but I have
yet to see anyone but a motorcycle oil manufacturer claim any benefit.
More telling is that I have yet to hear of a motorcycle transmission
that was damaged by using a good automotive oil.

>I'm currently using MOTUL 15w/50 300V Competition 4T Ester (Maxima 15w/50
>was my other choice)which is a full synthetic oil, with no problems at all,
>if anything helped smooth things out a bit (I think the dealer installed a
>semi synthetic at my 600 mile service).  Triumph recommends 15w/40 for the
>'99 Sprint.

Triumph's oil recommendation is more complicated than that. What they
recommend is a synthetic or semi-senthetic oil with a cold viscosity
rating of no less than 10 and a maximum rating of 40 or 50 with a
range of no more than 35. 10W-40, 15W-50, and 20W-50 oils are all
fine, but 10W-50 isn't. Nor should you use any of the 0W- or 5W- oils.
AFAIK, there are no 15W-40 oils.


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