What type oil do you use in your scooter and why? By mapbike (Read 28,722 times)

[speedracer]

Alley you are right about synthetic oil. I've put over 5,000 miles on my 150 and not once did I have to add any oil or did it leak a drop of oil. I think those you use it and say it leaks out are having problems to begin with. Being cheap with using oil is the worst thing you can do to your scoot. High heat and high RPMS will break down most regular oils.

[mapbike]

Well, i dont know if it is just the slightly cooler air we are having here in central Texas the last few or if it is the oil.....but since I changed my oil from the synthetic to the 15w-40 Castrol with and added PTFE friction reducer my scoot seems to maintain speed up the hills I drive daily better, I know this will get several eyebrows up and maybe even some "whatevers" but the truth is that I lose about 2-3mph less speed now when pulling those hills and the only change I have made is the oil, so I guess this is a puzzler and may actually have nothing to due with switching the oil but it sure sems strange that my top end power would have a noticable increase after swithching to the non synthetic 15w-40 Castrol Diesel oil, I'm not swearing anything here just thought I would post this and see what kind of input I would get on the subject, pretty sure I'm gonna stick with the combination I have now Castrol 15w-40 & Greased Lightning PTFE Treatment.

[Cruiser]

I would think that most of the difference in performance can be attributed to the cooler temps especially since the engine is air cooled. Cooler air also increases volumetric efficiency.

To make a fair comparison, you should have tried synthetic with the PTFE additive also. Or, you should have just changed to dino oil without PTFE to see what the difference was. In any case, environmental conditions should be the same if you are making comparisons between oil types and the addition of PTFE additives.

[fairweasel2323]

I use Castrol Drive hard 10w40 in the Bali 250cc but my 150cc Wildfire calls for 5w50 synthetic even though its just a gy6? but love the Castrol!

[mapbike]

To make a fair comparison, you should have tried synthetic with the PTFE additive also. Or, you should have just changed to dino oil without PTFE to see what the difference was. In any case, environmental conditions should be the same if you are making comparisons between oil types and the addition of PTFE additives.[/quote][/color]

When I was running the synthetic I was also using the same PTFE additive so the oil comparison is the same in this area, but I am heavily leaning on the cooler temps. being the primary reason for the increase in performance, I know I used to be involved in drag racing in a small degree and our engines always ran better on the cooler denser air, and it has been being 100-106 in the shade here for the last month or so, and now we are having cooler low 90's in the day and 60's at night plus we are humid right now as well, I guess my oil change was just at the right time to make it seem as though it in itself had made the power increase and I'm still not saying that the oil change made NO difference but it's hard to see how even if it did it would be as noticable as it is.

[Cruiser]

Yea, now that summer is winding down, I guess we will all be getting a performance boost on our scoots.

[Bashan]

I have resisted posting but since this thread has endured maybe I'm meant to. Mapbike, I didn't mean to crticize you in any way when I posted about reading the Scooter Doc manual, nor sound elitist about what oil the dealers use vs. the average Joe. I simply thought the everyday rider might be interested in what the guys who deal with repairs on a regualr basis think about oils. The various practices regarding sythetics is one case in point. The guy on the street knows his scooter better that anyone and should use what he feels works best for him. I just wanted you to have some opinions from the mechanics to compare your practices to; and also be aware of the manual I worked so hard on and I wonder if anybody....snif ........ . Anyway, no offense meant my friend, Rich

PS, great comment on the volumetrics Cruiser, colder air=denser air=more oxygen=more available combustible material; also=might have to tweak carb, this AIN'T fuel injection.

[wolfhound]

I use full synthetic in my 150 crankcases and I use synthetic 75/90 in my 150 trannies(rear ends?). I was told that synthetic in the trannys would give me an increase in pickup and
overall speed and so it did. My TGB Del 150 now cruises on 55 at half throttle instead of 3/4
and tops out at 64 instead of 60. It picks up speed faster too. So far no leaks (except for the trike and it leaks like a sieve and always has) However I think that what ever oil works for you is the oil to use. I change both every 1000 miles.

[mapbike]

Sept 6, 2010 2:56:32 GMT -6 Bashan said:

I have resisted posting but since this thread has endured maybe I'm meant to. Mapbike, I didn't mean to crticize you in any way when I posted about reading the Scooter Doc manual, nor sound elitist about what oil the dealers use vs. the average Joe. I simply thought the everyday rider might be interested in what the guys who deal with repairs on a regualr basis think about oils. The various practices regarding sythetics is one case in point. The guy on the street knows his scooter better that anyone and should use what he feels works best for him. I just wanted you to have some opinions from the mechanics to compare your practices to; and also be aware of the manual I worked so hard on and I wonder if anybody....snif ........ . Anyway, no offense meant my friend, Rich

I took NO offense Bashan and the info. you put together is very good, I was just looking for feedback from everyday riders and there personal experiences with lubricants they use and the reasons they feel confident with them, that is all I was after nothing more, nothing less just pure curiosity on my part, so NO offense taken in any way from your post.....I have very thick skin and am not the type to get my feathers ruffled over little silly things even if you had been slightly critical in some way...NO worries here buddy we are all just having a good time here and hopefuly learning a thing or two along the way.
Sincerely, Shan

[Bashan]

Cul

[jrryan]

Alright I'll drag up the rear here, I don't and will not use synthetics in my scooters for two reasons, one the leaking thing like mentioned, tried it on my Bali with the custom oil cooler, figured since I had lowered the temps with a oil cooler why not gain a tad with a synthetic oil as they do have a tendancy to run a little cooler. I did oil temp tests on my Bali last summer and tested 8 different oils including synthetic, liked the castrol synthetic because I run it as a dino oil too and it ran about 8 degrees cooler.

But after two weeks I developed a bad leak in two places and after fixing them went back to my dino oil.

The other reason is cost, I replace my oil every 1000 miles and why pay double for this oil when changing every 1000 miles is good enough with dino oil? I even keep my used scooter oil for my old lawn mower that uses a little oil.

I also change my oil with the season. In the hot Arkieland summers I use 20W/50W for extra protection and it runs cooler, by my own temp tests I took myself. In the winter I use 10W/30W and if I ran in 30 or below temps a lot I would use 5W/30W as it allows for a lot better cold starting. On a cold day the 20W/50W will bog her down.

To each his own again I ran temp tests on 8 different name brand oils and Castrol beat them all about 8 degrees cooler by average. A cooler engine especailly a air cooled engine is a longer running engine IMO. Dr. JR

[mapbike]

Wow thanks for the Dr. JR that was very good information and as to the Castrol it's funny you would say what you did about it running cooler, because I had an uncle that owned a Yamaha dealership from the 60's - 90's he was a Castrol NUT he would not use any other oil in anything, he built custom High perfromance racing engines for many motorcycles and said that the engines would run cooler and last longer under high revs with Castrol than any of the other oils that were around at that time, he had one RD125 twin 2 cycle engine that would twist up to 24,000 RPM's now that was some revs, he said that Castrol would take the heat and pressure better than any other standard oil because of the added Castor OIL thats in it, which is known to be a great 2cycle oil additive. Now of coarse as you pointed out JR changing the oil regular is just as much if not more important than the type of oil a person runs, keeping the oil clean is the main key to reduced engine wear along with good lubrication, thanks for that post JR, if my late uncle was still alive and he could read that post you would be getting a great big Amen from him, he'd say "now that fella knows what he's talking about, ya just cant beat that Castrol"
Shan

[kiwiscoot]

Sept 6, 2010 2:56:32 GMT -6 Bashan said:

I have resisted posting but since this thread has endured maybe I'm meant to. Mapbike, I didn't mean to crticize you in any way when I posted about reading the Scooter Doc manual, nor sound elitist about what oil the dealers use vs. the average Joe. I simply thought the everyday rider might be interested in what the guys who deal with repairs on a regualr basis think about oils. The various practices regarding sythetics is one case in point. The guy on the street knows his scooter better that anyone and should use what he feels works best for him. I just wanted you to have some opinions from the mechanics to compare your practices to; and also be aware of the manual I worked so hard on and I wonder if anybody....snif ........ . Anyway, no offense meant my friend, Rich

PS, great comment on the volumetrics Cruiser, colder air=denser air=more oxygen=more available combustible material; also=might have to tweak carb, this AIN'T fuel injection.

Hi Rich,
I just want to let you know that I think that manual of your (&others?) is a magnificent piece of work. I would just like to thanks you.
Kiwiscoot

[Alleyoop]

Well I run 10x40 Full Syn Castrol GTX also I use Full Syn in my Tranny I set my Odometer to zero and it only goes to 999 and then rolls over so when it reaches 999 I change my oil. My tranny I change every second oil change. A few bucks extra for the Syn is not going to break the bank and Like they say Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later Also not one Drop of oil leaks out.

Everytime I fill up my 5 gallon Gas Can for the Trike I put in 5oz of Seafoam in the Can then go fill it up, and that Seafoam is NOT cheap. I haven't had to clean out my carb or anything, just change my Fuel Filter every 1,500 or so
Alleyoop
Alleyoop

[workdog95]

I use 10W40 Valvoline in all my bikes Ive owned. I really liked the Durablend (semi-synthetic) but last time I checked they didnt have any. Ive always used Valvoline in everything from the scooters, lawn mowers, cars, and everything in between. I was raised on the stuff (if that makes any sense, IE that's the only oil we ever would buy while I was growing up). I think that also has a affect on what brand of oil people will buy.
I was at WalMart tonight and looked at some Valvoline 15W40. A gallon for $12 or so. Im going to pick some up and try it out in the bikes and see how it works for me. I was going to just get a quart of Rotella but I figured why mess with success!