imported post
darbike wrote:
Can some one help meplease. I was told that I should use motorcycle oil in my Wing and notregular auto oil because of the wet clutch is thistrue or not. Or can I use regular auto oil in my bike. Thank you
darbike, what your were told is at least partially true. The reference to auto oil being 10W30, 5W30, 0W40 etc. Due to fuel mileage concerns in late model cars & light trucks the oil spec for those has been changed to "energy conserving". Those particular oil's could (not all do though) contain molybdenum (moly). There is great concern that high concentrations of moly in a wet clutch motorcycle could cause some clutch slippage. That hasn't really ever been totally proven but there is actually data supporting both sides on that matter. Most "energy conserving" oil's contain less phosphorous also & phosphorous is a good addition to motorcycles that sit forextended periods.
Now the good news, 15W40, 20W50, any of the CD oils, & motorcycle oil's are NOT required to be"energy conserving" so most do not contain moly.
If you choose a 15W oil, or a 20W50, or even most 10W40 oil there is a good chance it doesn't contain molly & also has a good concentration of phosphorous.
A quick guide is to turn the oil container around, on the back you will find a circle, in the top half of that circle there will be the words (API service), if the bottom half of the circle is blank, thenit isn't "energy conserving " so is probably OK for wet clutch motorcycle usage. If the bottom has the words (energy conserving) then it is probably not the best choice for your bike.
Twsity