0W-40 ok??

TownsendsFJR1300

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I think a Ninja 250 will run nearly forever on almost anything! They are/were a great little bike.

Really, the issue is the additives. For a low HP/low torque engine, its alot harder to slip the clutch with engine torque ONLY. Thus, your not going to feel any dfference.

Get into the higher torque, higher HP, higher RPM engines, that's when your going see clutch (wet clutches) slippage under high stress applications.
 

iviyth0s

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Really, the issue is the additives. For a low HP/low torque engine, its alot harder to slip the clutch with engine torque ONLY. Thus, your not going to feel any dfference.

Get into the higher torque, higher HP, higher RPM engines, that's when your going see clutch (wet clutches) slippage under high stress applications.
Makes sense, I merely thought that they would simply use a lower grade clutch that'd be proportionally coupled to that fact, so there'd be similar concern to be had.
 

TownsendsFJR1300

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Makes sense, I merely thought that they would simply use a lower grade clutch that'd be proportionally coupled to that fact, so there'd be similar concern to be had.

Your still pulling your weight around, the bike is lighter. The springs don't need to be as stout as in a larger engine.

Personal preferance like anything else.

I personally, wouldn't put anything BUT MC specific oil in my bikes. I'm certainly no expert in oil, but with the transmission/engine sharing the same oil, the "shearing" from the transmission is much more than if just run in the engine.

I'm currently running 2 quarts of semi synthetic Motul 5100 and one quart of Mobil one 4t (MC oil)-(left overs from previous changes). The next change, I'm trying Motul 7100 full synthetic (its sitting on the shelf waiting). I've read/heard nothing but good about it..

I've got too much invested in my bike to save a couple of $ on oil. :thumbup:
 

FinalImpact

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My concern in this application is 0 wt. The minimum weight is more critical as its a product of assembly clearances. If when warm AND you have some wear internal to the rod and main bearings etc - you risk internal oil leaks (low oil pressure do to loss) and damage to an otherwise fine engine. The lighter oil is meant for tighter clearances and or colder climates. Do you have those?

Guinea pig it is! Lets see how it goes! :popcorn::popcorn:
 

BlackAndBlue

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The 0w is still more viscous when cold than the 40w is when hot. Viscosity, as described in a single number, represents a range of viscosities that the oil will actually be depending on temperature. Just like 30w for lawn mowers is obviously thicker when cold than hot, that's true for the cold and hot viscositites both for a multi-weight oil. I am convinced that 0w for the cold number will not actually be harmful for any engine, as it's still thicker than 50w is when it's hot. If I could find -10w-40, I'd run it!
 

iviyth0s

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The 0w is still more viscous when cold than the 40w is when hot. Viscosity, as described in a single number, represents a range of viscosities that the oil will actually be depending on temperature. Just like 30w for lawn mowers is obviously thicker when cold than hot, that's true for the cold and hot viscositites both for a multi-weight oil. I am convinced that 0w for the cold number will not actually be harmful for any engine, as it's still thicker than 50w is when it's hot. If I could find -10w-40, I'd run it!
10W-40 is what the manual calls for :p

But yeah, no slippage or anything running this oil. Even though it's specifically motorcycle certified

Are you sure that the colder lower viscosity is actually thicker? I'm having trouble believing that numerically (especially in the case of 0W)
 

TownsendsFJR1300

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"BlackAndBlue's" above post has a -10W ahead of it, NOT10W.

Since my last post, (and not to start an oil thread debate), I have changed over to Motul fully synthetic 7100. This stuff is RED in color!! So far I'm very, very happy with it.

*Point being, the engine oil is the life blood of your engine. Spending a little more for the best you can afford is well worth the investment IMO.. :thumbup:
 

BlackAndBlue

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Are you sure that the colder lower viscosity is actually thicker? I'm having trouble believing that numerically (especially in the case of 0W)

Yes I'm sure. Every one has no problem following the old ritual of warming an engine up to make the multi-viscosity oil drain faster, then whenever I point this out they don't believe me. Do you honestly think that the cold oil coming out of your jug looks to be thinner or less viscous than the hot oil coming out of your drain? This is not a half baked theory either. I will link to sources whenever I get out of bed.
 

The_Paragon

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*Point being, the engine oil is the life blood of your engine. Spending a little more for the best you can afford is well worth the investment IMO.. :thumbup:


Call me nuts, and maybe I'm just throwing my money away. But my bike receives Yamalube Semisyn, I think its 10w-50 (whatever yamaha reccomends for the fz6 in the semi syn)

Also my SXR snomobile, sees nothing but Yamalube 2S, (its running up on 15,000 mi, all original top end, pretty good for a 2-stroke!) As well as our SRX, it always got Yamalube 2s and that thing had 12,000 mi on it too!

My dad runs 0-50 Full Syn Yamalube in his new APEX
Heck, even our old crappy Timberwolf 4wheelers get Yamalube!


Besides the point.. Theres absolutely no way that I'd run an oil that wasnt made for something.. Especially a bike running oil with no JASO-MA certification. It might not present issues right now.. but down the road it just may!

-Imagine this scenerio.. You put in normal car oil and the clutch starts slipping, which generates heat and bakes a clutch disk just a little bit. You change oil back and the slipping goes away. You think all is well until a clutch disk flies apart and gets eaten by crank-> drive gear.. You just spent alot of $$ because you could save a couple dollars on a bottle of oil..

^Now, I'm not saying thats what happened in the case of broken clutch disks that weve seen on this forum... but... It could happen!!
 
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BlackAndBlue

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A Simple Explanation of Viscosity Index Improvers

This does a good job of explaining it. Look at the first chart. The 10w-30 still gets less viscous as it gets hotter, but less dramatically than either the 10w or the 30w. What the 10w and 30w actually represent are "viscosity indexes", which are a range of actual viscosities that an oil of a specific index will be between a range of 100*F and 212*F. This is no big surprise, but what is a big surprise to people in general is that in almost any off the shelf oil I and most know of, the cold viscosity index and the hot viscosity index over lap the viscosities that they can reach within that range greatly, meaning that yes, multi-weight oil is always still more viscous when cold than when hot. This would even remain true if you had 0w-50 or probably 0w-60 as well. Hence, I always look for the lowest cold number available with the appropriate hot number.
 

ChanceCoats123

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"BlackAndBlue's" above post has a -10W ahead of it, NOT10W.

Since my last post, (and not to start an oil thread debate), I have changed over to Motul fully synthetic 7100. This stuff is RED in color!! So far I'm very, very happy with it.

*Point being, the engine oil is the life blood of your engine. Spending a little more for the best you can afford is well worth the investment IMO.. [emoji106]
+1. I don't mind paying the $15 or so that it costs per quart of Motul 7100 simply because it's great oil. Full synthetic, ester based, has all the correct certifications for use in a wet clutch motorcycle, and the shifts are really smooth now. I went with 20w50 because I wanted the best possible protection when I ride (in the summer it gets up into the high 90's often) and it's been very nice.

I know a lot of people are dead set on sticking to what the manufacturer calls for, but take their recommendation with a grain of salt... Of course they want you to use their "proprietary" oil, they charge way too much for it. More often than not, there is a better protecting and cheaper alternative. It's not a question as to whether full synthetic oil is better for your engine because it hands down is. It's been proven to lubricate better than dino because it separates into a protective film much better than dino does. It lasts longer before breaking down, and it can withstand higher temperature levels before it breaks down as well. The question is whether or not people think it's justified to pay 2 to 3 and sometimes 4 times as much for a single change.
 

FinalImpact

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ChanceCoats123

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You left out tiny tiny detail; synthetics have less vi packages than dino fluids as they don't need it.

Had to glance at your 7100, notice the phosphorus content and >1200ppm but doesnt state the value... https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...wQFjAA&usg=AFQjCNGVaF4MG-heqvwZFK5D5SZZCNOO6Q


Then there is this stuff which i didnt see a #### for regarding phosphorus. But read the service life blurb. I didn't expect to see that...
http://www.syntheticoildistributor.com/files/Download/g2089.pdf

That is the one downside to this oil. You and I had talked about it before, and the lower phosphorus is not good for the life of flat tappet cams, but generally speaking the oil performs incredibly well. Hopefully, when they say < 1200ppm, they have it right around 1199 ppm. Blah
 
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