"What kind of oil to use in your bike or ATV" is the question of the century, it has been asked in every forum ever created.
you will get all kind of answers to this question.
if you want to sum it up..well lets see....
you want to be safe and sleep good at night knowing you put the oil in you new quad that the manual recommended and pay $4-5 or more at the dealership.
others (including my self) just shop at walmart for oil. convetional till the engine is broken in then switch to synthetic mobil1 15-50 or 20-50, or castrol 10-40 , depending of the temp range you are riding in. like it was mentioned "no friction modifiers" F-M

engine oil is not good for the trans ??? please... Honda car trans is filled with engine oil (manual trans that is)
I had one of the first "real 4 stroke dirtbike" YZ/WR 400 yamaha back in 98 when they came out ran it hard for 2 years wiht mobil 1, and never a clutch slip. so does 80% of the people in the forum ran the same never had issues.
alos most people use engine ol in the 2 stroke dirtbike trans.

would you think that a motorcycle or ATV manufacture would ever print in the manual and car oil is OK, than who would ever buy the overpriced MA specific oil?

here is the deal I will stay with car oil till I start having clutch issues, once i do then inspect the clutch replace, and try MA specific
till then ...hello walmart.

 

Just so you guys know. For those of you switch from standard oil to a full synthetic be careful to flush your motor with some Seafoam or some kind of engine flush treatment. Standard oil and synthetic don't mix well and will kinda be like oil and water if you know what I mean.

 

Energy conserving automotive oils are all 5w-30 and 10w-30. I have used a little bit of everything in my Raptor. I like the idea of running a quality synthetic oil for minimal wear. Clutch performance is the same in All atv's I have recently owned with the better oil.

 

Surprisingly enough, that Rotella T did pretty good in the test I referred to. I must post that article for you all to read.

By the way, Amsoil was the first synthetic oil on the market, and is by far the leader, regardless of their sales approach. SAE does not formulate opinions, just non-biased facts.

 

I used Mobil 1 synthetic oil in my 02' foreman ES. I thought I was putting the best oil I could in my wheeler. Now with 1,200 miles the thing smokes really bad. It burns oil like crazy. I changed it every 300 miles or less depending on the look and feel of the oil. never had clutch problems. But I think it needs to be reringed all ready.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

Sandrider503,
Have you ever heard of a blended synthetic? Its conventional and synthetic, blended in one container. Thats an old wifes tale, about mixing conventional and synthetic oils.
Changing from one to the other, or even adding one to the other, isnt going to hurt a thing.

 

I hope the "split case" becomes the wave of the future, with the trans oil seperate from the engine oil. A transmission/wet clutch and engine have rather different lubrication requirements. The manufacturers have done us a disservice all these years by trying to combine them!

 

Oil again? Well I can't pass up the opportunity to try to sell everyone on what I use because I know what I use is the best. And I base all my facts on my own personal opinion. We should all be salesman.

zsebi, a lot of Honda's automotive automatics use 10w40 or 30 engine oil, not just the manual trans. Rincon (automotive style automatic) and the Rubicon too. I used Valvoline AllClimate 10w40 for a long time untill I switched to their ATV specific oil.

I use Valvoline 4-Stoke ATV Oil, 10w40 in both our Hondas. No problems.

Valvoline ATV oil contains a proprietary blend of premium base oils and advanced additive technology to help you get the most from your ATV.
· Extreme Condition Performance - Thermally stable formula maintains proper lubrication to protect engines under extreme conditions.
· Wet Clutch Protection - Optimal frictional characteristics for high torque, smooth shifting and proper protection of the wet clutch.
· Corrosion Resistance - Advanced additives help protect against water, deposits and other corrosive materials to keep engines clean.
· Maximum Horsepower - Proper additive balance for maximum horsepower.
· Minimal Wear - Increased anti-wear agents minimize wear from metal-to-metal contact.
· Shear Stability - Shear stable viscosity improvers better resist oil film breakdown.

 

Just say "no" to car oils.

 

Coyote chaser summed it in one sentence


----- Gimpster -----