Motorcycle Oil

The wBW Motorcycle oil page, with information about motorcycle oil, motorcycle oil filters, fork oil, gear oil, spline lubes, chain lubes and more!

wBW Reviews:  Scottoiler Chain Oiler installation on a BMW F800GS  |  Tirox Motorcycle Chain Cleaning System  |  Cameleon Chain Oiler  |  Ducati 1000DS engine oil and filter change  |  Kettenmax Chain Cleaner review  |  Moose Chain Cleaner and Scrubber review  |  Chain lubrication with the Grunge Brush, MFR and Bel Ray Chain Lube  |  DuPont Teflon Chain Lube review  |  Comparison of Motul Chain Clean, Motorex Chain Clean 611 and kerosene for cleaning a motorcycle chain  |  Sea Foam Motor Treatment and the Poor Man's Carb Adjustment  |  Chain cleaner and chain lubes  |  See the wBW Motorcycle Repair and Maintenance page for many articles on maintaining and repairing your motorcycle  |  wBW Repair and Maintenance article directory  |  Changing the oil in a Triumph Thunderbird Sport  |  Triumph Fork oil change

Motorcycle Lubrication and Oils:  Desmosedici Engine Lubrication Video Animation!  |  Accu-mix makes an interesting fuel/oil container to mix two-stroke oil and fuel  |  Amsoil makes synthetic lubricating oils including a new 0W40 synthetic four-stroke oil  |  Bardahl has regular and synthetic oils for motorcycles, go to their "Powersports" section  |  Bel-Ray oil and lubricants are made exclusively for motorcycles  |  Blendzall motorcycle racing oil  |  Castrol  |  BMW motorcycle dealers carry an assortment of regular and synthetic BMW motor oils made for them by Golden Spectro; if you're looking for synthetic oil for any brand of bike, you may find that the BMW oil is cheaper than any other 15W50 synthetic  |  ELF is a French company now selling oil in the U.S.A. under the ELF Moto brand |  Interlube International makes the Opti-2 and Opti-4 motorcycle oils  |  Klotz racing oil can be purchased online  |  Manhattan Oil makes motorcycle oil and lubricants; they have a 20W50 V-Twin oil claimed to "reduce temperatures a minimum of 15 degrees" and they also make synthetic two-stroke oil and a synthetic castor oil blend  |  Maxima racing oils  |  Motorex of Switzerland makes all sorts of lubes, oil and helmet interior cleaning sprays; available in the USA  |  Motul oil  |  Neo Synthetics racing oils and lubrication  |  PJ1 oils and lubricants  |  Protectall makes all sorts of lubrication fluids and cable lubrication tools  |  Redline Oil  |  Repsol  |  Royal Purple synthetic oil  |  Silkolene oils |  Spectro Oils makes Golden Spectro brand and also manufactures oils for BMW  |  Torco Racing Oils makes oil for - what else? - racing  |  7th Gear Lubricants makes a variety of motorcycle oil, synthetic motorcycle oil, chain lube, two stroke and four stroke oil, coolants and more

Where to Buy:  Montgomeryville Cycle Center in Hatfield, Pennsylvania has a huge variety of motorcycle oils, lubes, chain lubes and chemicals from several different manufacturers; their shipping rates are reasonable  |  Elite Etc is an oil distribution company and they sell the vaunted Mobil 1 V-Twin in 20W50 and Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10W40 weights at relatively reasonable prices and sometimes with free shipping

Motorcycle Lubrication News:  NanoLub nanotechnology-based oil additive claims 5% improvement in fuel economy  |  Castrol Act-Evo synthetic based motorcycle oil now available for two stroke and four stroke engines; claimed to "form a protective film that clings to your internal engine and transmission parts..."  Available in 10w40 and 20w50, meets JASO MA and API SG specs  |  Repsol oils now available in the U.S.A., distributed by Motorcycle Stuff

Motorcycle Oil Technical Articles:  Our advice - don't get obsessed with oil: the best advice you can find is in the owner's manual.  Don't try to second-guess the factory!  |  Mobil 1 Motorcycle Oil FAQ; Mobil claims that Mobil 1 motorcycle oil has "Additive packages balanced differently for motorcycle engine and transmission operation" than for automobiles because cars "require low phosphorus systems and the use of friction modifiers" due to emissions regulations and other reasons.  See also the Mobil 1 Motorcycle Oil home page with information and links to various motorcycle lubrication products; many motorcyclists claim that Mobil 1 V-Twin 20W-50 is the best motorcycle oil  |  Very good and detailed FAQ on oil by Mark Lawrence  |  Motorcycle Oil Filters Exposed! Check out this site with photos and text on disassembled oil filters   Is motorcycle-specific oil any better than automobile-specific oil?  |  "All About Oil" by Castrol covers the basics and has a section on synthetic oil  |  Lots of chain lube info on the F650 owners site  |  Article covering various motorcycle oil options (slightly dated); it "seeks to answer questions concerning use of the latest grade of motor oils in motorcycles"  |  The Ducati Monster motorcycle oil FAQ is a good place to learn about oil  |  Bob Is the Oil Guy has a huge amount of information on motor oil, including comparisons, tests and more 

Motorcycle Oil Filters:   Amsoil has a detailed oil and filter application tool ("PowerSports Application & Filter Lookup") to select filters and oil for many different types of motorcycles; their "EaO" oil filters are claimed by some to be the best motorcycle oil filter available and that they actually can make oil cleaner than new  |  Very interesting engine oil filter report with photos and comparisons of many different oil filters  |  Motorcycle oil filter cross reference page lists commercially available substitutes for OEM motorcycle oil filters; that page also has links to other articles on motorcycle oil  |  Perf-form Filters makes "premium quality" replacement oil filters for BMW, Ducati, H-D, Kawasaki, Moto Guzzi, Yamaha and Suzuki; made in the USA  |  Oil Filters Exposed site by Toby Creek; Toby ripped apart many oil filters to see what's inside  |  Scotts Performance has stainless steel lifetime oil filters that filter out particles down to 35 microns; available for many brands and models (but I don't see them listed on their website)

Oil Filter Wrenches:  Quick look at some tools in the Ducati oil and filter change article

Classic and Vintage Motorcycle Oil:  Morris Lubricants (UK) makes a wide range of motor oil for vintage and classic bikes, including motorcycle engine storage oil, running-in oil, grease and more

Gear Oil:  Power Mist gear oils and lubricants  |  T.S. Moly Lubricants makes TS-90, a molybdenum additive for gear oils  |  Dow Corning makes M Gear Oil Additive (aka Dow Gear Guard) but try to find info about it on their site! Here's a link to a .pdf file with more information

Fork and Shock Oil:  MotoRace fork oil, racing fork oil and gear oil available for purchase online  |  Maxima makes fork and shock oil for motorcycles  |  Race Tech (the suspension folks) make suspension fluid (fork oil) and grease

Motorcycle Chain Lubes - Chain Lubrication:  wBW article on Motorcycle Chain Lube and see the links on the right-hand column of this page for more wBW articles on chain lubes  |  Motorcycle Consumer News recently tested 22 different brands of chain lubes (yes, including WD-40!) for "initial rolling resistance, post rolling resistance, sling off, corrosion resistance, grit resistance and value; the top 6 "Recommended" products were (in order of scoring): PJ1 Chain Lube Black (from PJH Brands); Kawasaki K-Kare Foaming Chain Lube (try this link to the Kawasaki parts site, but this specific lube is not listed); Yamaha Performance Chain Lubrication (no maintenance parts listed on their website); Pro Honda HP Lube; PJ1 Chain Lube Blue; and Torco Power Slide Titanium (Note: I wish I had a good selection of sites to purchase these products, but for some reason the websites where these products are available are so awful that I can't recommend them -- best bet is to try your local motorcycle dealer to purchase chain lube)  |  Kleen Chain is a synthetic chain lube that comes in a can with a sponge applicator

Motorcycle Chain Oilers:  Scottoiler Chain Oiler installation on a BMW F800GS  |  Cameleon Chain Oiler review and installation  |  The Scott Oiler is an automatic oil drip system for chain drive bikes  |  The Lubetronic chain oiler is also an automatic oiler for motorcycle chains and it has its proponents; also see the Lubetronic chain oiler at Motrax  |  The CLS Chain Oiler is made in Germany, it's controlled by a microprocessor to turn on and off automatically and it has a temperature sensor  |  The Loobman chain oiler is a manual system that has no moving parts  |  Here are some directions for a gravity-fed chain lubrication system  |  Pro-Oiler has an "electronically controlled precision electromagnetic pump, insensitive to temperature and oil viscosity" and it's adjustable while riding  |   See the wBW Motorcycle Wheels page for chain lubrication info

Motorcycle Spline Lubes:  Guard Dog Moly Lubricants makes moly spline lube grease (specifically designed for motorcycle splines), moly hypoid gear oil and moly-based chain lube  |  Check out the spline lube information for BMW K75's,  K100's, Moto Guzzi's and more on the wBW Technical Articles page  |  Note: Older BMW's and other motorcycles need regular cleaning and greasing of their splines; many other bikes that are shaft driven need regular spline lubes also (e.g., Moto Guzzi). There has been much debate regarding the best grease to use for this - but everyone's pretty much in agreement that the BMW recommended red grease #10 doesn't cut it; and whatever you use, it should be tacky (sticky) and have Molybdenum disulfide in it  |  Here is some grease selection criteria from Lubrizol  |  Try Honda Moly 60 paste - many BMW owners swear by it; available via the Hondaline Online Catalog - Moly 60 Paste - and any Honda dealer should either have it or be able to get it; around $8.00 per tube, and a tube lasts about 10 lifetimes  |  Spline Lubers are starting to use sticky Lubriplate 3000; however, it can be hard to buy just one tube; you can get a single tube for about $4.00 at SuperKleen  |  TS Moly Gear concentrate  can also be used as an additive for spline lubes; the TS-90 product is a molybdenum additive for gear oils; unclear how you can obtain this stuff  |  DuPont Performance Lubricants - Info on DuPont Krytox, a family of greases for certain applications; very hard to get a small amount, and unclear as to exactly which type is best  |  T.S. Moly Lubricants  |  Dow Corning makes M Gear Oil Additive (aka Dow Gear Guard) but try to find info about it on their site! Here's a link to a .pdf file with more info

Additives and Chemicals:  CRC Industries makes hundreds of different sprays for cleaning and lubricating motorcycles; I use their marine grade "Engine Stor" product to spray in my motorcycle cylinders during the winter; also their engine degreaser, carb cleaner and other products  |  The WD-40 Fan Club - check it out!  |  Motorcycle fuel tank cleaning with Rusteco  |  All sorts of cleaners and lubricants at Finish Line  |  Justice Brothers makes additives for fuel, oil, radiator and transmission systems  |  Kalgard lubrication products; engine guard, Chain Kote, air filter cleaner and more  |  Cerasafe Bike is an engine oil additive made in Germany, claimed to "reduce friction and wear up to 50%. Increase in power, oil consumption reduction and longer durability is the result."

Miscellaneous Lubrication:  Klotz racing lubrication products, fork and shock fluid, gear lube, assembly lube and more  |  Motorex of Switzerland makes all sorts of lubes, oil and helmet interior cleaning sprays; available in the USA  |  Mr. Moto cleaners, solvents and lubrication fluids; the Mr. Moto wash is claimed to be "environmentally friendly"; here are some wBW review articles on Mr. Moto and other lubrication and cleaning products (UPDATE:  As of April 2007, it appears that Mr. Moto is no longer in business.  If anyone has information on this, please contact us at )  |  Super Lube synthetic lubricants, dry film lubricants and grease  |  Tech Line Coatings and Lubricants

Motorcycle Cable Lubrication:  Protectall makes Cable Life motorcycle cable lubrication kits  |  Motion Pro makes motorcycle cable lube tools

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►Reader Comments and Owner Feedback

From "R.D." (3/09):  "In over 40 years of riding I have never bought MC specific motor oil for (either) dry clutch (Moto Guzzis) or wet clutch (Suzuki, Yamaha) motors.  But I will say my motors hardly ever get up to 7K rpm or higher too.  If they do it's not for long.

But I have owned since new a `91 Suzuki VX 800 with 80K miles on it now and never have I had a motor/clutch problem with it using car 10W-40 oil the whole time.  But I do change the oil every 2K miles the filter every 6K miles.

I also have used 10W-40 or 20W-50 auto oil in my `81 Guzzi with 110K miles on the motor for over 20 years.  On this bike I change the auto oil every 2K mi. and the filter every 10K mi.  The Guzzi spends most it's time in the 3,500 to 4,500 rpm range and has a dry automotive type clutch.

In total I have 6 - 2 or 3 wheel rigs and all of them run with auto oils.  I have never regretted it."

From "B.M.":   Referring to the issue of motorcycle specific oil vs. automotive oil used in motorcycles)

"...There is the comment (from an old Motorcycle Consumer News article on motorcycle oil) "The viscosity of petroleum-based oils, whether designed for auto or motorcycle application, drop at approximately the same rate when used in a motorcycle." and "There is no evidence that motorcycle-specific oils out-perform their automotive counterparts in viscosity retention when used in a motorcycle."

I do not doubt these statements but they ignore two pertinent issues. One, viscosity retention is not the only measure of an oil's ability to protect an engine.  Many motorcycles have flat tappet cam & rocker arm interfaces, which create high shear stresses. 

Newer automotive oils have removed the additives most beneficial in resisting these stresses (zinc? I'm not sure).  This is a characteristic of the "Energy Conserving" oils recommended for modern automotive engines.  I don't have any evidence of failures due to this in motorcycle engines, but I have seen evidence of failures in older automotive engines.

Two, clutch operation is NOT equal between moto & auto oils.  I recently "just tried" an oil change with Valvoline 4-Stroke Motorcycle oil.  I had been using Havoline 10w-40 (non-energy conserving), and difference was astounding.  With the auto oil, I thought I was about due for a new clutch.  I had to work at getting a smooth engagement without excessive slippage.  With the moto oil, the clutch bite was much better and still smooth.

I know that many moto oils are quite expensive, but the Valvoline is only slightly more expensive than auto oils, so cost is no longer an issue.  For me, it's a no-brainer. I'm sold on moto oils now."