For your 400 AT, I would only run Honda oil as per the manual, the auto transmission are known to fail, and most of these failures are due to improper oil (not poor quality,or cheep, but the wrong oil).

Just my 2 cents.

Chad

 

Not saying I don't believe you, but you do need to provide some documentation for this statement!!!! I don't think we have ever heard this before. There have been a number of 400AT problem posts, but none lead back to oil as the culprit. (Honda discontinued this transmission anyway after only a short run, so most likely it had some insurmountable design problems that were just not worth fixing. It was replaced with the new gear-on-gear dual-clutch transmission in the 420AT.)


For the record....Honda oils aren't even API SG anymore. They got a downgrade in the anti-wear additive package (ZDDP) to SJ a few years ago, so they could sell the same oil to both road bikers that have cat converters, and off-roaders. You don't have a cat converter, so why run a downgraded oil????? I did run Honda synthetic blend HP4 years ago when it was still SG, but with so many alternatives out there, no reason to even give Honda oils a second thought....

See this reference: http://www.belray.com/scripts/future...6-e27066d0d02a

"Fuel injected street motorcycles with catalytic converters restrict the types of
additives that can be used in an engine oil. There are certain performance
enhancing oil additives that cannot be used for environmental reasons. These
restrictions reduce the film strength potential that off-road high performance
4-stroke single engines require in an oil. This means that if you want the
best oil possible for your off-road machine, a general purpose or multiuse
motorcycle oil is out of the question. Why be restricted to the limitations of
an oil with an additive package designed for a catalytic converter when you
don’t have one?"

 

Where does Mobil 1 Synthetic for motorcycles (10W40) rate for a Rancher??? Seems I read somewhere this is a group 4 synthetic.. I had great luck running Yamaha (yellow container) racing synthetic with esters in a Suzuki 400..... It is pricey. Maxim oil is just not available anywhere I have looked here in Texas....

 

Sorry, I don't have any proof of my statement, just reference to searching this,or other ATV forums for the 400 or 500 Hondamatic failures. There is many statements regarding wrong oil and transmission failures/issues.

On a side note, I do agree with you that there is much better oil available, and most likely cheaper then the Honda labeled bottle. I was just offering a sure solution to getting the right oil in the bike because if you refer to the O&M manual,it is 2 pages of specifications for the oil, and may be confusing and overwhelming for someone.

Chad

 

Mobil 1 was formerly Group IV PAO based and they bragged this up quite a bit in their advertising. It however now seems to be Group III...which is a downgrade from Group IV! If you contact their tech service, they will refuse to comment on the "composition" of their oil....which for me confirms that it has been downgraded. It it API SG/JASO MA so it has a good additive package. Still better than petroleum, but certainly not the "best" oil out there. Oils have to meet a price point to be competitive on the shelf, so the trend in general is unforutnately for many manufacturers to go Group III.....

My personal preference is Redline, and I luckily have a Cycle Gear store nearby that stock is on the shelf. Also available from them by mail order. http://www.cyclegear.com/?esrc=CJ

While I hate mail ordering heavy stuff like oil or using a credit card for anything, Maxima is available from On-offroad, Motorcycle Tires, ATV Tires, ATV Tire Kits, Wheels, Lubricants, Oils, ATV Exhaust as well as other places like Chaparral and Rocky Mountain. I do wish Maxima would make Extra in 10W30!

 

It's pretty simple....any motorcycle specific oil that is rated API SG/JASO MA, will excede every manufacturer's requirements! If you also go synthetic, you are doing even better!

The 500 Rubicon transmission has had an excellent reputation for almost a decade now! Many of them are showing their age so things are going to crop up, but this will be true of any older machine. I will for sure do some research on this issue...