Car engine oil

I have about 3L of Mobil Super S 10W-40 semi-synthetic car engine oil. Do you reckon that would be ok to use in the bandit? 10W-40 is 10W-40, right?

Tommyboy wrote:I have about 3L of Mobil Super S 10W-40 semi-synthetic car engine oil. Do you reckon that would be ok to use in the bandit? 10W-40 is 10W-40, right?

Only if you want a slipping clutch
As a general rule car engine oil has friction modifiers which works against motorbike wet clutches.
Some oils for diesel engines (Dello 400) have been used in bikes with good results but I've never been game to try them.

Get propper motorbike oil and all will be sweet mate.

if the oil does not have friction modifiers or is energy conserving AND it meets the recommendations as stated in the user/service manual (grade, weight etc) it will be OK for the bandit

if you want a bit more info, drop a line to the mobil tech line either by phone or e-mail and ask if the oil is suitable for motorbikes with a wet clutch - also tell them the details of the bike (year, model, make etc)

i have used non 'motorcycle' oil since purchase and know of a few that have for up to (and beyond) 50,000kms on thier bikes

I have heard, I think it was on a Pay Tv show about bikes (Western Australian based) that using 'car' oil in a bike is fine, providing you use the right grade of oil.

However, unless it's an emergency and I have no other choice, I always use motorcycle specific oil.

dhula wrote:if the oil does not have friction modifiers or is energy conserving AND it meets the recommendations as stated in the user/service manual (grade, weight etc) it will be OK for the bandit

if you want a bit more info, drop a line to the mobil tech line either by phone or e-mail and ask if the oil is suitable for motorbikes with a wet clutch - also tell them the details of the bike (year, model, make etc)

i have used non 'motorcycle' oil since purchase and know of a few that have for up to (and beyond) 50,000kms on thier bikes

Or you could Google Mobil Super S and see thats its not suitable

^^^^^^^^

or that :-)

I put it in.

I used the equivalent Castrol oil (magma or something like that) in my other bike and it was fine. Actually, I used that oil because it's supposed to coat everything on start up, and they say 95% of engine wear is on start up. My old KLE sounded a lot better starting with it than bike oil and it ran just the same.

I tried googling it but it's hard to find an answer. It seems some independent studies suggest car oils are the same as bike oils, but the oil companies say otherwise, possibly because they charge loads more for their bike oils.

Aside from the problem of friction modifiers, you'll need to change automotive oil more frequently as it doesn't contain the anti-shear properties required to stand up to the abuse of being put through a gearbox.

Without these anti-shear properties the oil looses its viscosity rating fairly quickly (within ~ 1500 - 2000 km).

I think there is a reason why Tommyboy hasn’t posted for 4 months
He's still pushing the Bandit home after the clutch shit its self

2wheelsagain wrote:I think there is a reason why Tommyboy hasn’t posted for 4 months
He's still pushing the Bandit home after the clutch shit its self

You wish

I used magma car oil in both my Bandit and KLE500 and didn't notice any difference -

If memory serves the bandit manual it doesn't specify bike specific oil, it just gives the grade. I read a few articles on the subject before I used the car oil and I got the impression there was no proof that car oils were any different than bike oils.

In my ignorance I came to the conclusion that a Magma-type oil that coats everything on startup was actually the best oil on the market for the bandit.

The 'coats everything on startup' bit is a nice bit of marketing bullsh!t aimed at the mechanically inept vacuously scanning the shelves at supercheap - use a bike oil designed for use in a unit engine/gearbox, it's the hardest working component in the engine & conveniently cheap & easy to replace so pay for quality synthetic motorcycle oil, don't get emotionally attached to it, change it often, & find something less important to save five bucks on!!! And change the filter too.Now!!

1.The viscosity of synthetic-based oils generally drops more slowly than that of petroleum-based oils in the same application.

2.Comparing these figures to viscosity retention for the same oils when used in an automobile (see later text by Prof. Woolum) would indicate that motorcycles are indeed harder on oils than cars.

3.The fastest and most significant drop in the viscosity of petroleum-based oils used in motorcycles occurs during the first 800 miles (or less) of use.

All of these results (1-3) agree with everything the oil companies have been telling us all along. However, the same test data also indicates that:

4.The viscosity of petroleum-based oils, whether designed for auto or motorcycle application, drop at approximately the same rate when used in a motorcycle.

5.There is no evidence that motorcycle-specific oils out-perform their automotive counterparts in viscosity retention when used in a motorcycle.

Now!

Full article: http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/oiltest1.htm

The energy conserving bit (friction modifiers) is the bit of most importance to bikes with wet clutches.
Energy conserving oil is said to have additives that make it more 'slippery' and thus the energy takes less energy to turn. These friction modifiers that add to the slipperiness factor of the oil is what can potentially harm the friction material of the wet clutch causing it to slip and maybe fail prematurely. It won't happen overnight, but it may happen so IMO it's best to stay away from those oils

Apart from that there is no reason you cannot use normal engine oil in a bike, even those bikes with integral gearboxes, so long as the grade and weight recommendations are correct for the type of environment you are riding in (there is a chart in the user manual but a fits all is 10W40)

The gear box thing IMO is nowhere near as important than the grade and weight. Look at the gearboxes out there that use engine oil for lubrication, they seam to do alright. Look at the cars that have a engine/gearbox combo and so have one oil for both, they also do OK.

IMO the 'motorbike specific' thing is more advertising and good marketing than anything.

Tommyboy wrote:

2wheelsagain wrote:I think there is a reason why Tommyboy hasn’t posted for 4 months
He's still pushing the Bandit home after the clutch shit its self

You wish

Glad to see you post again mate.
I still think you're taking a hell of a risk for the sake of a few £

dhula wrote:
The gear box thing IMO is nowhere near as important than the grade and weight. Look at the gearboxes out there that use engine oil for lubrication, they seam to do alright. Look at the cars that have a engine/gearbox combo and so have one oil for both, they also do OK.

IMO the 'motorbike specific' thing is more advertising and good marketing than anything.

What cars use the same oil for both engine and gearbox? I've not come across one yet.

mini's are one that comes to mind
not sure about the modern fancy ones, i'm talking about the original ones

Oh ok, I've never had anything to do with minis. So they work on a similar principle as bike engine/gearboxes eh? Learn something new every day dont cha?

No don't use car oil unless its 100% synthetic like Mobil 1 or something like that.

as with all discussions, interested to hear the reason behind your opinion.

I'm one of these facts based people, why a choice is made for a particular manufacturer type with relevant data. The amount of oils, detergents, friction modifiers, molecular composition (weight behaviour), mineral, synthetic, blend, whew! I just want good oil for my scoota without the bullshit.

Thof wrote:I'm one of these facts based people, why a choice is made for a particular manufacturer type with relevant data. The amount of oils, detergents, friction modifiers, molecular composition (weight behaviour), mineral, synthetic, blend, whew! I just want good oil for my scoota without the bullshit.

Yep. What he said^^

I use Motul. Thats what race bike use, if they used car oil i would probabbly use that.

Rick wrote:I use Motul. Thats what race bike use, if they used car oil i would probabbly use that.

+1

Thof wrote:I'm one of these facts based people, why a choice is made for a particular manufacturer type with relevant data. The amount of oils, detergents, friction modifiers, molecular composition (weight behaviour), mineral, synthetic, blend, whew! I just want good oil for my scoota without the bullshit.

Rick wrote:I use Motul. Thats what race bike use, if they used car oil i would probabbly use that.

+1 What they said.