What kind of oil should I use?

Question

I have a 2001 Kawasaki Vulcan 800
I was wondering if regular motor oil like for a car will be OK to use
The dealer said there are special additives in motorcycle oil for the clutches
Is this TRUE or do they just want to make a sale

I bought the Bike as a rebuilt title from a private owner and have no owners manual to look at for specs.

Answer 1

you can get an owners manual from Kawasaki dealer, it wont be expensive. Automotive oils without friction modifiers last about 1,000 miles in bikes that use engine oil to lube transmission.
Diesel fleet oils work well and are cheap. If you want to extend usage, use synthetic designed for bikes. (particularly if you ride at very low or very high rpm, low rpm on V-twin causes all sorts of problems due to load reversals)

Answer 2

Stillfast is correct! Both types of oils (M/C and automotive) will protect your engine but automotive oil will breakdown, or loose it's viscosity sooner.

Also correct, stay away from energy conserving oils that contain friction modifiers. Hard on your wet clutch.

Contrary to popular belief m/c specific oils are not a 'cash cow' for dealers, in fact the margin is pretty embarrassing if not down right sad. They are simply marketing a specifically targeted product to a specific customer base. The reason for the additional cost is purely supply and demand, just like every other form of retail sales.

Answer 3

Some lighter weight car oils have friction modifiers, you don't want that in your bike. The modifiers will make your clutch slip. Those oils usually have the words "energy saver" in the circle on the back of the bottle.

You can't go wrong with the oils sold at the mc shops. I prefer a synthetic, but the most important thing is that you change the oil at 3000- 5000 miles, or every three months. We use 20w50 in our 600 cc Honda twin. Motul Oil is in there ,now, but I've used Honda oil and Amsoil, as well.

Answer 4

Your dealer is correct(technically speaking).Let me tell you why.Automotive oil,works fine in the enviroment in which it is designed to,which lubricates the piston,crank,cams,etc.....none of these put extreme pressure on the oil molecules.However,on motorcycles that have a transmission that shares the same oil as the parts listed above,the oil is placed under extreme pressures when it gets squeezed in-between the teeth of the gears,so much to the point that normal motor oil molecules will shear,as in tear.This is why motorcycle oil is engineered differently from automotive oil.So,you can use the automotive oil,just know that the automotive oil will breakdown molecularly much faster than motorcycle oil.

Answer 5

The Oil you use does depend on the type of clutch.
The wrong oils or additives can cause a clutch to slip.
You do not want to use an oil that has friction modifiers.

I called my brother, he uses AMSOIL motorcycle oil 10w-40w, a full synthetic.

If in doubt, Read and use the type of oil recommended in your owners manual.



Yours: Grumpy

Answer 6

All oils are not created equal . Do a little more research before you decide . check with a few repair shops .They can tell you the truth with out trying to make a sale . I would bet money you end up going with the recommended oil .

Answer 7

Check your manual, it will tell you exactly what your motorcycle needs, and IT won't try to make you buy something you don't need.

Answer 8

They are trying to sell you something the answer from Robert is correct