Honda Oil

[goodgreenbandit]

I can't find the type of oil recommended by the manuals for my 85 Big Red. The guy at Napa said that type of oil wasn't made anymore, that they had changed the classification letters/numbers. He recommended regular 5w30 engine oil. I didn't buy it, I bought Delo 30w that said Specially Formulated For 4Stroke Engines, gas or diesel. Now my kickstart won't work/slips. Wondering if the heavy oil or the type is causing the slip. The Delo's classification is CF/SL. The manual says use Honda 4stroke, SE/SF. What do you guys use??

[MonroeMike]

Valvoline 4-Stroke ATV Motor Oil.

http://www.valvoline.com/products/brands/valvoline/motorcycle-atv-oil/15

[Mr_RPM]

Honda's GN-4 is great! or yamaha's yamalube

any 4 stroke motorcycle oil will do the job, just make sure its motorcycle oil/atv oil

[twitch101]

so could the fact im using 10w-40 cause mine to smoke? as the oil is a lighter weight when cold? should i switch to straight 30?

[Mr_RPM]

so could the fact im using 10w-40 cause mine to smoke? as the oil is a lighter weight when cold? should i switch to straight 30?

nope, thats not the cause of your problem. if smoking when its cold (in cold weather) is normal, just as long as it stops when it warms up. if not then you probably need new piston rings or valve guide seals. if it smokes when its warm outside, even with a cold engine smoke is bad. your burning oil either way. oil weight wont effect this, at least as far as i know

[zppeacock]

Honda's GN-4 is great! or yamaha's yamalube

any 4 stroke motorcycle oil will do the job, just make sure its motorcycle oil/atv oil

I agree 100%

[fabiodriven]

We need more threads on oil in here.

[anderson8687]

i use any 10-30 synthetic oil for vehicles out there....was told by a relieable source that thats as good or better than any thing ever run in those or recomended

[muddog]

i run 10-40 all year round bit of a pain to get going in winter but for a piece of mind i think its worth it

[Mr_RPM]

ill run anything from 10-30 to 20-50. normally 10-40. i like the thick stuff on hot days where im gonna be riding real hard and get that engine HOT. in cold weather 0/10-30 and for stop go stop go situations. and 10-40 is a good happy medium for a good average riding

[goodgreenbandit]

I just recently learned that the newest oil API classification replaces the last one, so going by that, any oil made from about 87 on should work. Running 5-30 now, prob. gonna try the thicker stuff for the heat this summer. Thanx 4 the suggestions guys! If I find that website, I'll post the link. Here you go, you be the judge. Tell me what you guys think. http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/API.html

[84honda200s]

i found honda oil at my local honda place .. its pricey but worth it.. ive found it lasts longer and doesnt harm the clutch pack or anything like that. i use to use Valvoline 10w 30 and that seemed ok as well..

[oldskool83]

shell rotella

[200XMichigan]

Thanks for that chart. That is great. Something to know if you can find SL,or SJ, it has a higher zinc content than the newer SM, often the bargain oil is previous years spec oil. However emission standards have required them to put less zinc in new oil. So sometime the bargain oil is actually going to be better than the more expensive stuff.

Auto oil will not ruin your clutch in any 3 wheeler. Honda designed them to use regular auto oil, so it is fine to run it. It is in everyone's service manual. Just change your oil frequently. ATV/motorcycle oil does have additives for the clutch, so the clutch might last longer, but auto oil is just fine.

[oldskool83]

i ran auto oil for 30,000 miles in my one sportbike with a wet clutch, ya know what it did.......NOT A DARN THING! and the clutch never needed adjusted or anything. i changed it every 4K which for 6 years!!!!!!

that old saying is 100% bullsheet in my book cuz i proved it wrong and had no probs...so what did i do, got another bike and ran it in that for another 10K, same thing, nothing and i road wheelies all time time for miles.

[Grizzlypeg]

I'm using Honda oil, but I can agree with oldskool that Shell Rotella doesn't seem to harm clutch packs. I used it in my Yamaha Grizzly for years.

[oldskool83]

it heavy duty diesel oil, i like the stuff in the white bottle better then the synthic

[200XMichigan]

Diesel oil is great stuff. It has more additives than regular auto oil. Just make sure the diesel oil is S rated. Rotella is, but some others are not rated for spark ignition. That is where the S comes from in the chart. S- spark ignition, C - compression ignition. Most diesel oil is S rated but almost no regular oil is C rated.