i need to change the oil in a 2004 recon 250. does anybody know what kind i should use?

 

Use any good grade of oil that is not labled "Energy Conserving" on the back of the container. Oil labled as such contains moly which is suspected to cause wet clutches to slip.
I reccomend Shell Rotella T 15w-40 or the Shell Rotella T Synthetic...both available at Walmart. I myself use Amsoil 0w-40 Atv oil in my 05 Rancher, the 04 Bruin and just put it in the 06 TRX90. It's JASO MA rated for wet clutch applications but is pricey. The Amsoil stopped the Bruin from smoking on start-up due to worn valve seals.

Oil is the life blood of an atv so don't skimp on buying a good brand of oil.

Go to bobistheoilguy.com.....then to the forums and click on Motorcycle Lubrication.

Due to higher shear loads in a shared sump engine, you really need a good oil. Honda oil is overpriced so don't waste your money on it. Any of the Shell oils or Mobile MC oils will work great in your machine. But don't take my word for it...go to the site above and research it.

 

Good basic article on oil: http://www.thumperfaq.com/oil.htm

Pick a Motorcycle Specific oil that is API SG/JASO MA.

Your Recon has an integrated transmission (your engine and transmission share the same oil), so you need an oil that is formulated with high pressure additives to stand up to the abuse it will receive being thrashed between transmission gears. Car/truck oils do not (cannot!) contain these additives, and some car oils will make your clutch slip. Best to just avoid them all together.

I am a big proponent of synthetics. The only advantage of the group III synthetics (Rotella) is price. The group IV PAO synthetics (eg. Mobil 1 and Amsoil) have huge advantages over petroleum oils, but the group V esters have many advantages over the PAO's. My personal choice is Maxima Extra, Ester Synthetic.

Some facts about synthetics: http://www.maximausa.com/technical/l...beNews2002.pdf

 

Good post ddrumman2004. Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

Thank you kindly doctorturbo!

I did a lot of research on what oil I should use for the best protection in my atv's. Synthetics are highly reccomended and really perform better than conventional oil in high and low temp applications. I almost bought the Shell product but Amsoil was highly reccomended and after dwelling a long time on the subject, I ordered a case.

Jet turbine engines have been using synthetic oils for years and new Corvettes and Vipers come from the factory with synthetic oil in their engines. I highly reccomend them for atv's as long as they are not Energy Conserving rated.

 

Ya I too like synthetic oils. They just arn't cost effective for me. I have used them in some of our race motors and some I used just regular old dino Rotella.
I haven't had an oil related failure in either. They both look the same on teardown.
I tend to stay with things that work and are very cost effective. Rotella is cheap and I have never had a problem with it.
I will say this. I will switch to a full synthetic oil when I have my first oil related failure. Hasen't happened in 25 years though.

 

I believe the worst substance for clutches is Moly (molybdenum disulfide). It is like marbles on wet ice...(best I could come up with).
Synthetics are the way to go though. Personally, I have been using Mercruiser 10-W-30 in my Rubicon and it seems to be great to this point. Hot temps are not much of a problem around here and I keep it in a heated garage during the winter. I have a friend in the Yukon who keeps his 700 KingQuad outdoors all year round and he uses 5-W-30 in the winter.
My $.02 worth...
Cheerz

 

AMSOIL is what I use in all my vehicles.