Hey guys, I bought a 2004 350ES Honda rancher a couple weeks ago.. Also I bought a Clymer manual as well for this. It tells me that I can use oil other than honda oil as long that it is SG or higher and no energy conserving- graphite or molybdenum additives... my question is to you guys is if you use different than the Honda oil in your rancher... What do you use???
I myself like Valoline and Quaker State and I know that Honda has some one make there oil for them.... Thanks for any imput on this.. Also I did a search on the forums and came up with nothing... So that is why I am asking...
Rocky

 

The Honda manual is correct, although I'm sure a local "expert" on this site will disagree with Honda and recomend a high dollar syn oil.

The bottom line is any oil you find on the shelf will be just fine if you folllow Honda recomedations.

I have used Rotella 15/40 in everything I have owned. All the way from a blown small block to a 5 hp Briggs. Used it in my 1100 Suzuki for over 15K miles. That bike just put out a few more horses than any quad on this site.

 

bringing up oil is like talking politics, just stay away from graphite or molybdenum as both can build up on the clutch plates and cause the wet clutch to slip over time. ATV and motercycle oil's have more zink and other longer molecules that stand up to the high stress of the transmission but also short enough to still follow the tiny passageways to the camshaft at high RPM- something auto oils are not designed for plus All current auto oils have had the "good" stuff removed to pass DEQ requirements thus why I use ATV/Motercycle oils in my off road engines. I have tried the diesel 15w40 oils and still use it in my lawn tractor and generatror but since it has such high detergents for soot control i dont use it in small engines without pressurized oil systems without screw on oil filters.
Next time your walking the oil isle, give a bottle of motercycle oil a good flick- if you here a metalic ping that oil has the zink for added high RPM protection. Most gear oils are loaded with the stuff too

 

First, some required reading:

ThumperFaq: 4-Stroke Oil

Oils Well That Ends Well, Part 1 - Sport Rider Magazine

You will not go far wrong with any oil that is motorcycle specific and rated API SG/JASO MA. Beyond that, a synthetic or even a petroleum/synthetic blend is better than plain old petroleum. (In the modern scheme of things, petroleum oil is frankly obsolete!!!). Of the three different types of synthetics (Group III, Group IV PAO, and Group V ester), the esters have the best chemistry.

Actually, PAO and ester compliment each other in many ways, so the best oils will be ester based, with some PAO thrown in for "balance". My personal preferences are Redline and Maxima Extra/Ultra/530MX.

If you are willing to spend the money, I highly recommend Maxima Extra for the Rancher. But if you are on a budget, then Maxima Premium or Blend.

As far as "car/diesel" oils go, I just stay away from these completely! They all contain some friction modifiers that are not very wet clutch friendly, and will have reduced levels of the anti-wear additive ZDDP compared to an API SG rated motorcycle oil.

 

When it comes to oil reconranger knows what he's talking about and offers great advise.

I've been happy with Valvoloine 10w40 ATV oil.

 

Thanks guys for all the great advice and help.. It sounds like I just need to stick to a good name brand ATV oil. I have to say that this forum has helped me on several things and I want to say thanks a bunch to the ATV connnection forums. You guys Rock!!!!
Rocky.....

 

Read on the three different types of synthetics: http://www.maximausa.com/technical/l...beNews2002.pdf

A couple comments on "branded" oils. For years Honda oils for example, were API SG. A few years ago they quietly went SJ. What does this indicate???? SJ oils have lower levels of the very important anti-wear additive ZDDP. Why would they do this? Street bikes now have catalytic converters, and the catalyst will get poisoned by ZDDP, so they appearently did this so they could market just one oil to both street and off-roaders. I guess this just makes it more simple for the dealer????

The result is a compromise oil....in which the off-roader gets reduced protection to!!! As off-roaders, we don't have cat converters so there is absolutely no reason we should have to accept a downgraded oil! (Note for the record that other brands have done this same thing, not just Honda!)

So is Honda oil "bad" oil? Of course not. Honda is at least confident that its oils will get you through the warranty period, so that says something. But are these the "best" oils you can find? Again...of course not! If one insists on running Honda branded oils, I would at least run the synthetic fortified HP4, rather than the plain petroleum GN4.

I don't know about your, but nothing is to good for my family, my cats, or my off-road vehicles! It is interesting that folks will spend hours researching what is the best chain, or tires, or aftermarket pipe, or handlebars, or whatever, and insist that their quad get the best they can find no mater what the price. But then when it comes to oil, if they have to pay more then $2 a quart they insist they are getting ripped off.......