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Winger 82

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I know its probably been talked about before on here, but was wondering if anyone is running synthetic oil in there Vintage Wings or other vehicles , have you had any problems with the synthetic oil ?? Been running the standard 10W-30W /10W -40W oil in all my vehicles and it seems to be getting harder to find, will it affect the Clutch in the older Wings ??
Thanks in advance
Winger 82
 
I have been using Mobil - 1 Motorcycle 4-Stroke Formula for 10 years in all my Hondas, 1964 to 1885 models. All seem to do very well. Just be sure to use the MOTORCYCLE Mobil - 1, and NOT the automotive Mobil - 1 !
 
I have been using Mobil - 1 Motorcycle 4-Stroke Formula for 10 years in all my Hondas, 1964 to 1885 models. All seem to do very well. Just be sure to use the MOTORCYCLE Mobil - 1, and NOT the automotive Mobil - 1 !
Thanks for the reply, have heard that it's not good for the clutch and your oil pressure would drop ?????
 
The wet clutch needs a JASO MA rated oil (Japanese Automotive Standards Organization). Most car oils do not have this rating.

That said, I have been running Shell Rotella T6 5W40 synthetic in all my bikes since the 1990's. The newest is JASO MA-2, safe for catalytic converters.

They are backward interchangeable so if your manual says JASO MA then JASO MA-1 and JASO MA-2 are good.



All the older Car oils were fine way back but they have been adding stuff that makes engins get better gas mileage but it will ruin a motorcycles wet clutch.

Read some here:
What does the JASO oil specification mean?
 
I started using Bel-Ray 10W40 in the mid-80's. I switched to using Mobil-1 Motorcycle 10w40 about 2008. Valvoline also made 4-Stroke Motorcycle Synthetic at that time, and it seemed to work just fine, too. The Valvoline MC oil isn't available around here anymore, but the M-1 MC Oil is through NAPA, and is sometimes on sale even.
 
I've been using Rotalla T4 15w40(conventional) and Mobil 1 4T 10W40(synthetic) both are JASO MA 1&2 certified. My 87 GL1200A and 2007 KLR650 both have wet clutches.
In my 1981 BMW R100RT I run Valvoline VR1 20W50(synthetic) Racing Oil not JASO. The BMW has a dry clutch but due the the flat tappets in the bike is needing extra zinc protection and it doesn't have a catalytic converter.
 
I've been using Rotalla T4 15w40(conventional) and Mobil 1 4T 10W40(synthetic) both are JASO MA 1&2 certified. My 87 GL1200A and 2007 KLR650 both have wet clutches.
In my 1981 BMW R100RT I run Valvoline VR1 20W50(synthetic) Racing Oil not JASO. The BMW has a dry clutch but due the the flat tappets in the bike is needing extra zinc protection and it doesn't have a catalytic converter.
The Valvoline VR-1 20W50 racing oil that I run in my hot rod is NOT synthetic. Do you know of a VR-1 that I have yet to see?
 
I'll chime in with my usual.

I'm in Minnesota, and I love synthetics in vehicles in winter. Around 10F and below, you can hear the difference. I'm totally on board with recommending putting synthetics in your car if you live in a place where you know how cold it is by how snow sounds underfoot.

But for a motorcycle? I'm fine with using dino-oil.
 
I'll chime in with my usual.

I'm in Minnesota, and I love synthetics in vehicles in winter. Around 10F and below, you can hear the difference. I'm totally on board with recommending putting synthetics in your car if you live in a place where you know how cold it is by how snow sounds underfoot.

But for a motorcycle? I'm fine with using dino-oil.
Thanks everyone
 
Synthetic oil is good to use. If you are riding and putting on copious amounts of miles/Kms, do oil changes very frequently, use a mineral oil. Use the price point as a guide for which to use.

JASO standard came into being in 1999, and is a good guide but not necessary for our older vintage GWs. Honda requires a high detergent, premium quality motor oil to meet the original SE/SF classification with no use of special oil additives as these will increase maintenance costs. Recommended viscosity is 10W40 and the use of the oil temp chart in the owners manual.

After 1999, use the oil specified in the owner's manual, or equivalent - may or may not indicate the JASO specification. The API donut is the best guide. The lower half should be blank, and never use an oil that has energy conservation, or friction modifiers in the lower half of the API donut.

Remember that these GW engines were designed around the automotive philosophy, without any friction additives/modifiers.

My 2014 Can-Am Spyder 1330 cc engine requires a synthetic oil, but there is no mention of the JASO spec in the owner's manual. I use the same oil in it as I do in my GW - works well.

The API donut you are looking for is - the lower half is blank:
API-CK-4-Donut-non-energy.jpg
and the oil I use is this with the appropriate API donut and a good price point:
Bumper Oil 1.jpgBumper Oil 2.jpg
The best issue regarding engine oil is that there is a lot of choice out there, something to suit everyone's requirements and budget.
 
"Honda requires a high detergent, premium quality motor oil to meet the original SE/SF classification........"This was true, WAS. But all modern engine oils are SM, SN and even SP now. They have changed the additives a lot since SF. Use what you want in your bike but I'd advise caution in using a 10W40 SM oil.

Your Spyder is a 2014 so may be different than a 2011 but this is snipped from the Spyder Forum. "Click on expand" see more:

gypsy_100 Join Date Jul 2011 Location PA Posts 647


Quote
Originally Posted by Chief-J
View Post

Hello all;

I have a 2011 RT-S SM5. It has been great for the past two years, now that I have 15,500 miles the clutch has started to slip. I was on I-95 doing about 60 MPH. Is this about the time the clutch startes to go?

Thanks and be safe out there.

Chief


Quote
Originally Posted by finless View Post

I am no expert but was told the SM5 has a wet clutch. Check you oil level maybe?

Bob

Both SE's and SM's use almost the same clutch. The difference is in how they are actuated. Either way, they are bathed in engine oil, hence a "wet clutch". It has nothing to do with the hydraulic clutch fluid. That is the fluid, DOT 4 Brake Fluid by the way, that fills the hydraulic circuit between your clutch lever (the master cylinder) and the slave cylinder that actuates the clutch plates. That clutch fluid is a maintenance item and should be flushed out for corrosion and contamination reasons. Almost any weakness in that hydraulic circuit (extreme moisture pickup, dirt, leakage, etc) would make it difficult to disengage your clutch. You would have difficulty getting it into gear at a rest, getting into reverse, etc. It would not cause slippage.

What kind of oil are you using in the engine? While BRP simply specifies not to use oils rated SM, a better thing to look for is an oil made specifically for motorcycles with a JASO rating that says JASO MA or better yet MA2. These are Japanese specs for motorcycle oil that insures the oils will perform well in a wet clutch and not cause slippage. If you happened to use automotive oil in your engine, it could cause clutch slippage. If you always have the oil changed by the dealer and he uses the specified BRP oil, then you should be fine.

A good clutch that is not abused (excessive slipping by the operator) should last "forever". A long time. 100,000 miles or longer. Let us know what your dealer thinks.
 
Last edited:
"Honda requires a high detergent, premium quality motor oil to meet the original SE/SF classification........"This was true, WAS. But all modern engine oils are SM, SN and even SP now. They have changed the additives a lot since SF. Use what you want in your bike but I'd advise caution in using a 10W40 SM oil.

Your Spyder is a 2014 so may be different than a 2011 but this is snipped from the Spyder Forum. "Click on expand" see more:

gypsy_100 Join Date Jul 2011 Location PA Posts 647


Quote
Originally Posted by Chief-J
View Post
Dave - Just an opinion.
 
Just my opinion, I'd recommend almost any 5W40 or 15W40 Diesel truck CK-4 rated oil as they do not have any friction modifiers and most are safe for the big rigs automatic transmissions clutches. The FK-4 have friction modifiers for better fuel mileage but may rune the clutches.
The Shell Rotella T4 and T6 are JASO MA-2 and 10,000's of bikers have been running this oil in their wet clutch bikes. (These Rotella oils are NOT true synthetic, per Euro spec's, they are super super refined Dino stock)

Way back in 1983 I had a Suzki GS750 with a wet clutch. Can you imagine what Arco Grapjite oil does to a wet clutch?
 
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