Will any diesel oil work?
 

So I picked up a gallon of castrol GTX Diesel 15w40 on clearance. It was $10. I put it in my hawk and have a couple hundred miles on it with no probs. I noticed it was API CH-4/SJ but not JASO MA-2 yesterday.

Other than the possibility of clutch slippage not using a JASCO 2 rated oil, can this cause damage to my bike. I need to change the oil in my new to me KLR650 and have enough to do it but do not want to do something harmful. The oil is really bad and was going to change it, run it a couple hundred miles and change it again. Would be nice to use super cheap oil but not at the expense of hurting my motor.

So, what do y'all think? Run it in the KLR and the Hawk or neither?

If it’s not Jaso rated it doesn’t mean it wouldn’t pass and get certified. It just means the Mfg’er didn’t Pay$$$ to test it. You’ll be fine with that stuff, or other oils. I have used everything you can imagine in a 250 for 20 + years. While it’s “possible” to get a slip it’s mostly from the clutch cable out of proper adjustments and the newer slippery oil (read truly the wrong stuff!!) just exacerbates it finally. You we’re most likely at the end of clutch grip already.

That diesel oil is great.

Thanks RH

I run John Deere torq gard 15w40 +50 in my bike cuz i get it free at work.... got over 5k miles of commuting on regular changes of it with no issues...

It is what some factories recommend - diesel oil..
If the rating ie: 20W50 etc etc is right then use it - if clutch n things behave it is fine.
Diesel oil helps keep engine cleaner due to detergents etc.

This advise is for cheap China bikes - others I cannot comment.
Hawk n most USA sold cheap bikes = China bikes so run with it

I use Rotella T4 15W40 which is JASO rated and sometimes SuperTech 15W40 diesel oil from walmart which is NOT JASO rated. no difference

Most generic industrial/diesel oil lacks friction modifiers like moly, which are what causes issues with wet clutches. I would avoid most modern diesel oils that meet dexos 2 standards, but they are all very thin oils anyway, so it shouldn't matter.

As others have stated, a lot of them would likely pass.the JASO MA2 teats but the manufacturer juat didn't bother. Take Rotella T5 as an example. T4 and T6 have a JASO MA1/MA2 rating, but T5 does not, and it is literally a blend of the other 2.

Thanks guys. I will leave the current oil in the KLR for a couple hundred miles and then change it with rotella T6. T6 is what most of the KLR guys use in their bikes. I use Maxima pro 4 in my FZ1. I tried T6 but it shifted hard. I had to adjust the quickshifter for a longer pulse time as it took longer to shift and clunked some. Not with maxima. I am not putting $34 a gallon oil in my hawk though.

i do not want to sound old but I remember when you could buy a gallon of rotella (Before it was "T" anything for $7)

Shineray in the AX-1 copy engine (18Kw DOHC) suggest 20W50 diesel oil, so do some other cheap motor makers.
I would have no issue using it in a cheap engine China bike and if behaves fine run with it.
These are low tech things and applying high tech thinking just over does it often....

Chinese bike maker recommend those cheaply oil cuz they're as good old days: clutch won't slips / ZDDP are still there...
1 of those Shell Rotella low-end HDEO equivalent in China is Sinopec Tulux (this family had some market-share in some US industry...) T300 (it's SG rated http://www.motorcycleanchor.com/moto...to/mc_oil.html) -Easy to get - <$7 a gallon....

I agree with the Rotella 15W40 comments, have used it on old Hondas for years and think it works great. Probably Supertech is fine but I like name brands. On high performance bikes Honda GN4 is my choice, and have even used it in my TBR7 - About five bucks worth of oil so why not do that? Saves all the mystery for only a couple bucks more...

Thanks. I am now sure it will be fine.