motorcycle engine oil. i had to put in Automotive oil

[vash]

i rode my bike a lot this weekend. it was my coastside grocery getter.

i checked oil and it looked fine, then it wasnt. i assume i should have put my glasses on or something.

i noted a light tapping, so i checked oil again.. it was low!! a guy on the road had a half quart of regular Mobil 1. not the 10-40 i needed but i was about 100 miles in the middle of nowhere, i poured it in. half quart put i where i needed. i rode home. no clutch slip or anything.

i have the proper oil on order (from Walmart of all places). Mobil 1 4T motorcycle oil. it has the correct JASA specs rating for wet clutches.

got me thinking. it is only the clutch issue right? a 4 stroke engine, oil is oil right?

i have lots of life on my motorcycle oil. i am contemplating just leaving it..or would you dump it and put in fresh motorcycle oil? (i would leave the filter, it is very new)

[SiberianDVM]

Engine oil? Clutch? What am I missing? How are the two related?

[vash]

its a wet clutch on my bike. they share the same juice. hard to wrap my mind around it.

[SiberianDVM]

Originally Posted by vash

its a wet clutch on my bike. they share the same juice. hard to wrap my mind around it.

Aha!

I have no idea.

[pwd72s]

One thing heard at a PCA tech session of long ago that stuck with me...the wrong lube is better than no lube.

What's the normal capacity of the bike? If that half quart is 25% or less of capacity, I'd think you're fine. I've read on a mobil 1 site that it does blend with other oils without problems. But then, it's not my bike...

[David]

Am I the only one to remember a time when there was only automotive grade oil for use in wet clutch Japanese bikes? Of course there was no readily available synthetic oil back then either. I wouldn't worry about it unless you dump the clutch a lot.

[Jeff Higgins]

Meh - I wouldn't worry about it. While motorcycle oils meant for wet clutch applications have "friction modifiers" in them, I'm not sure it is as big of a difference from automotive oils as it once was. That, and you put so little in, it won't be a problem. I run Dello 400 or Rotella "diesel engine" oil in my XR650L, and have done so for 20,000 miles with no clutch issues at all.

[flatbutt]

I used to go for special MC oils with additives meant to reduce wear, now not so much. In your case 1/2 quart shouldn't make any difference.

[sc_rufctr]

I would dump the oil that's in there and put in the proper spec.

Oil is the cheapest part you can buy for an engine. Why even contemplate not replacing it?
(I wouldn't worry about replacing the filter but I would remove and drain any oil inside)

[Tobra]

What Peter said, change the oil for the right stuff

[vash]

at least i have the time!!

[Scott Douglas]

What's the total oil capacity?

Cheap insurance to just drain it and the filter and put in the correct fresh stuff.

[LJ851]

I’ve wrenched on motorcycles professionally for the last 20+ years and I have seen some clutches that appeared to be affected and slip from using non motorcycle oil but not often. My understanding is that motorcycle specific oil is designed to operate with wet clutches and also the high shear loads created by the gearbox, both characteristics not found in most automobiles.

I am a believer in running motorcycle specific oil but wouldn’t hesitate to add conventional oil in a pinch.

[vash]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

What's the total oil capacity?

Cheap insurance to just drain it and the filter and put in the correct fresh stuff.

3.8 qts., i think. i had a triumph motorcycle shop do the oil change for me. you know why? because only a dealership can reset the maintenance reminder light!! super annoying!!

i was just gonna dump the oil, and leave the filter and then wait for that dumass wrench icon to pop up center-stage of my instrument cluster.

[Scott Douglas]

Have you googled resetting the light?
Seems like that is something the interwebs would have an answer to.

This is on a Suzuki?

[dlockhart]

A whole lot of club racers and trackday guys have been using rotella synthetic for years.

[vash]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Have you googled resetting the light?
Seems like that is something the interwebs would have an answer to.

This is on a Suzuki?

I did. No can do. Triumph cornered that market.

[monkeyodeath]

Half a quart? Relax. Your engine isn't going to blow up. If the clutch doesn't feel weird I wouldn't worry about it for a second.

Plenty of folks out there feeding their bikes with normal car oil and doing just fine. No sense wasting oil and money for no reason.

[brp914]

I was at the yamaha dealer buying oil. I selected some Motul, the red stuff. I bring it up to the counter. The guy asks, are you going to put that in your R1? I didn't get his drift. I get home and realize I got 2T. Yeah, oil is specialized down to differentiating v-twin versus in line 4.

[Arizona_928]

Hmmm you may need to get a slipper clutch!

I've done it in a pinch in old pre emissions diesels, and gsxr/kawi. I just change the oil when I get home. I've put close to 70k on that gsxr too. Stats say the bikes will be crashed before they wear out engines (abuse aside).


Anyways Wal-Mart sells synthetic v twin, and inline 4 motorcycle oil made by Mobil 1.