What Oil Should I Use for Best Clutch/Transmission Performance? - Page 2

Boatguy · 05-23-2021, 07:47 AM

Has anyone actually been able to buy quarts of Rotella T6 15w40??

I went to 3 different stores (Walmart, Advance Auto and AutoZone). Only one store has it at all and they had one, single gallon on the shelf. I need a quart and don’t live in a house so I can’t store things.

I also did a search on Amazon. All gallons.

Do you just buy gallons and store it?

Boatguy · 05-23-2021, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krat

I sort of look at it from the other perspective. Rotella is good, especially in bull dozers, tractors and Kawasaki DR650 applications, but I like to have motorcycle blend in my bikes.

The CG250 only uses one quart of oil. You can go to Autozone and buy a quart of Lucas motorcycle blend specially suited to wet clutch applications for $10. I can afford $10 every 1000 miles.

It is 20/50 and we will need that 50 rating during the summer with these air cooled engines. The 50 rating cools better.

As for the finding neutral difficulty, I can not see the need for concern. The only time I use neutral is when I am putting on my helmet. Any other time I pull the clutch lever and if I put on my helmet before I start the bike I can live without that green light shining for a long time.

The only motorcycle blend I found at the auto parts stores was a Mobil one. They had a “racing” 10w40 and a “V-twin” 20w50. Both full synthetic.

Are these any good?

I didn’t see any Lucas motorcycle blends

Mobil “racing” oil

Mobil V twin.

I was thinking about getting the v twin because it is made for hot running air cooled engines. But I have no idea.

Any suggestions on these ones that are actually available? Or where to get T6 Rotella in quarts?

Boatguy · 05-23-2021, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CheapThrills

I found neutral real easy, just wait for light to turn green, gun it in first, then shift up and gun it again. Listen to your engine scream as the bike slows down.

However, after break in(have 2000+km) still have problems and gets worse with temp, so cable needs adjustment as engine warms up. 2nd to neutral seems easier at times.

Oh yeah!! Mine loves to do that too! The ONLY time I can get neutral is off the green light at an intersection. Ha ha ha.

I’m always in extreme heat with this bike, so maybe that’s a factor. Looking forward to getting out of Florida and to some cooler riding temps.

cycleway4 · 05-23-2021, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boatguy

Has anyone actually been able to buy quarts of Rotella T6 15w40??

I went to 3 different stores (Walmart, Advance Auto and AutoZone). Only one store has it at all and they had one, single gallon on the shelf. I need a quart and don’t live in a house so I can’t store things.

I also did a search on Amazon. All gallons.

Do you just buy gallons and store it?

In the past,...NAPA has been suggested for the 1-qt bottles.

RedCrowRides · 05-23-2021, 08:48 AM

Just my 2 cents but i would tend to avoid running the super slippery full synthetic oil types, this is fine in Jap Bikes with newer engine designs and materials but these Chinese engines are very old tech and the clutch plates are old school pieces designed for use in primarily 3rd world Nations where they are widely popular and whose market is vastly huger than the tiny amount of China bikes sold in the US- These nations buyers generally do not have the funds to buy expensive synthetic oils and so the engines are built with that consideration ,to operate on "standard" motor oils.Full synth blends may actually be TOO " slippery" for the clutch plates and trans designs and cause issues.Anyone who has owned a China bike and seen first hand the excuse for oils, greases, and brake fluids they arrive with from the factory can see that any quality , non synth product is by itself a HUGE upgrade.

What i'm trying to say is i run a full synth in my much newer design street bike which was designed and built by the factory for use with full synth oils ,and i run non synth oils in my China Bike because that is what it was designed for , at least those using the old CG clone engine designs.That engine is a 30 year old design , when full synth engine oils were only in their infancy and not widely available .

cycleway4 · 05-23-2021, 09:08 AM

As mentioned on these forums before,...don't over-think the oil choice. In the CG's engine intended market many years ago,...they would be lucky to see any oil changes, let alone being actually maintained...and they survived. Shell T4 (and T6 if you want synthetic) are both very well proven oils, in the severe heavy duty/service markets,..as well as in motorcycles for probably many, many years now. I know of a few GoldWing riders (1100/1200) that have run T4 for well over 100,000 miles, with never an issue...and its rarely (if ever) changed at the short intervals talked about on these forums...........proper viscosity, and the JASO rating,.. is way more important than the "high dollar brand-name" on the outside of the bottle. Honestly,..at the 300 to 500 mile change intervals some people do,..you could probably use Family Dollar Store 10-40 with fantastic results...at a dollar a quart.

Boatguy · 05-23-2021, 09:29 AM

Ok. Since the clutch is bathed in the oil and I’m having issues with getting into neutral reliably, I was thinking of changing from Rotella T4 to something else that might help the neutral issue. But I had no idea what.

I’m at 1000 miles and have only run Rotella t4 15w40 from the first time the engine was started.

I figured t6 was a good thing to try to see if I could improve the neutral issue.

Definitely open to suggestions though.

herbie · 05-23-2021, 09:51 AM

I bought my quarts of T6 from my local walmart. But honestly I would check into the honda oil, I was surprised how cheap it was at the local Honda dealer plus you help support the dealer to keep the doors open. I think a gallon of GN4 was like $18, not sure what a quart would be. In comparison a gallon of T6 at walmart is $21

Bruces · 05-23-2021, 10:32 AM

The Honda gn4 is nothing at all special other than the Honda sticker and price tag ,nothing wrong with it ,but also nothing to wet yourself with excitement because you have it either .The Castrol motorcycle oil sold at wallyworld is good cheap oil .

China Rider 27 · 05-23-2021, 11:03 AM

If I didn't have two China bikes and constantly in the mix doing upgrades and maintenance that eat up my motorcycle spending budget and combined with the fact I like to change oil often I would go for that Motul just to see if it would make a difference in that shifting issue. These bikes to me are all about the experimenting, something I would be hesitant to do on an expensive bike. Barring that any reasonable quality oil should work. One thing I like about Rotella is that it has a high ZDDP level a chemical used before the days of catalytic converters with a reputation as an anti wear additive and hence found in the diesel designation. Even MOTUL says there oil is "safe for catalytic converts" given the modern requirements.

https://www.amazon.com/Motul-7100-10..._t2_B0022ZFY2A

Boatguy · 05-23-2021, 11:41 AM

Ok, I think I’ll try to track down a quart of T6 to start. Maybe at different Walmarts or auto parts stores next oil change. I picked up the only thing I could find in quarts which was the t4.

Money isn’t an issue at all. I just can’t carry the extra weight of a gallon of oil I don’t need. It all adds up.

mototech77 · 05-23-2021, 02:26 PM

You’ve gotten a lot of responses already but I’ll throw mine in if you are interested. I changed to Amsoil 30w Break-in oil before first startup, based on recommendations from other Lifan Xpect riders. The engine runs quietly and smoothly with no clutch or shifting issues. Once I have finished the break in period, I am changing to Amsoil 10w-40 Metric Motorcycle oil (I used a little bit of this on top of the initial quart of break-in oil to get to top fill line).

Megadan · 05-23-2021, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedCrowRides

Just my 2 cents but i would tend to avoid running the super slippery full synthetic oil types, this is fine in Jap Bikes with newer engine designs and materials but these Chinese engines are very old tech and the clutch plates are old school pieces designed for use in primarily 3rd world Nations where they are widely popular and whose market is vastly huger than the tiny amount of China bikes sold in the US- These nations buyers generally do not have the funds to buy expensive synthetic oils and so the engines are built with that consideration ,to operate on "standard" motor oils.Full synth blends may actually be TOO " slippery" for the clutch plates and trans designs and cause issues.Anyone who has owned a China bike and seen first hand the excuse for oils, greases, and brake fluids they arrive with from the factory can see that any quality , non synth product is by itself a HUGE upgrade.

What i'm trying to say is i run a full synth in my much newer design street bike which was designed and built by the factory for use with full synth oils ,and i run non synth oils in my China Bike because that is what it was designed for , at least those using the old CG clone engine designs.That engine is a 30 year old design , when full synth engine oils were only in their infancy and not widely available .

All of this is just myths spread by ignorance over and over again. I have run synthetic oil in almost every engine I have ever owned (from very old to brand new), and the worst thing that has ever happened is that they exposed a small leak from old seals that maybe didn't "seem" leak before. Once the seal was replaced, it never leaked again, meaning the seal was bad to begin with and the leak was likely blocked by debris that the higher detergency in the synthetic oil removed.

I've been running T6 15w-40 in my hawk from more or less the beginning.

Megadan · 05-23-2021, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boatguy

Ok, I think I’ll try to track down a quart of T6 to start. Maybe at different Walmarts or auto parts stores next oil change. I picked up the only thing I could find in quarts which was the t4.

Money isn’t an issue at all. I just can’t carry the extra weight of a gallon of oil I don’t need. It all adds up.

Most of the shifting issues isn't down to the oil as much as it is the design of the transmission and shifting mechanism combined with their cheap materials. Over time the shifting will improve a bit, and clean fresh oil will always shift smoother than old oil. Remember that you are reading peoples subjective responses about what they found to work best as well.

Just buy a good quality oil, keep the clutch adjusted properly, and go from there. If you live in a hotter climate, a 20w50 in the summer months is going to help, but remember to change it out if you are going to ride in the colder months back to a 10 or 15w-40.

Wild Dog · 05-23-2021, 03:38 PM

The reason why i avoid using syn oil in these engines, it's because it's an overkill.
They were designed when Dino oil was the norm.

Don't know in the US, but here you can buy 2,5 liters of Dino oil with the same money you can buy one liter of syn oil.

The only damage you will get when using syn oil instead of dino is in the wallet.

05-23-2021, 07:47 AM	#16
Boatguy Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Northeast Posts: 929	Has anyone actually been able to buy quarts of Rotella T6 15w40?? I went to 3 different stores (Walmart, Advance Auto and AutoZone). Only one store has it at all and they had one, single gallon on the shelf. I need a quart and don’t live in a house so I can’t store things. I also did a search on Amazon. All gallons. Do you just buy gallons and store it? __________________ 2020 Lifan x-pect
	0

05-23-2021, 08:48 AM	#20
RedCrowRides Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Florida Posts: 759	Just my 2 cents but i would tend to avoid running the super slippery full synthetic oil types, this is fine in Jap Bikes with newer engine designs and materials but these Chinese engines are very old tech and the clutch plates are old school pieces designed for use in primarily 3rd world Nations where they are widely popular and whose market is vastly huger than the tiny amount of China bikes sold in the US- These nations buyers generally do not have the funds to buy expensive synthetic oils and so the engines are built with that consideration ,to operate on "standard" motor oils.Full synth blends may actually be TOO " slippery" for the clutch plates and trans designs and cause issues.Anyone who has owned a China bike and seen first hand the excuse for oils, greases, and brake fluids they arrive with from the factory can see that any quality , non synth product is by itself a HUGE upgrade. What i'm trying to say is i run a full synth in my much newer design street bike which was designed and built by the factory for use with full synth oils ,and i run non synth oils in my China Bike because that is what it was designed for , at least those using the old CG clone engine designs.That engine is a 30 year old design , when full synth engine oils were only in their infancy and not widely available . __________________ 2001 Mustang GT 2004 Sportster 2018 VADER 2020 Orion RXB250L
	1

05-23-2021, 09:08 AM	#21
cycleway4 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 269	As mentioned on these forums before,...don't over-think the oil choice. In the CG's engine intended market many years ago,...they would be lucky to see any oil changes, let alone being actually maintained...and they survived. Shell T4 (and T6 if you want synthetic) are both very well proven oils, in the severe heavy duty/service markets,..as well as in motorcycles for probably many, many years now. I know of a few GoldWing riders (1100/1200) that have run T4 for well over 100,000 miles, with never an issue...and its rarely (if ever) changed at the short intervals talked about on these forums...........proper viscosity, and the JASO rating,.. is way more important than the "high dollar brand-name" on the outside of the bottle. Honestly,..at the 300 to 500 mile change intervals some people do,..you could probably use Family Dollar Store 10-40 with fantastic results...at a dollar a quart. __________________ <div>Steve 2006 Roketa DB-07A/RSX-200E 2008 Roketa 250 Scooter 2019 Brozz 250
	1

05-23-2021, 09:29 AM	#22
Boatguy Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Northeast Posts: 929	Ok. Since the clutch is bathed in the oil and I’m having issues with getting into neutral reliably, I was thinking of changing from Rotella T4 to something else that might help the neutral issue. But I had no idea what. I’m at 1000 miles and have only run Rotella t4 15w40 from the first time the engine was started. I figured t6 was a good thing to try to see if I could improve the neutral issue. Definitely open to suggestions though. __________________ 2020 Lifan x-pect
	0

05-23-2021, 11:41 AM	#26
Boatguy Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Northeast Posts: 929	Ok, I think I’ll try to track down a quart of T6 to start. Maybe at different Walmarts or auto parts stores next oil change. I picked up the only thing I could find in quarts which was the t4. Money isn’t an issue at all. I just can’t carry the extra weight of a gallon of oil I don’t need. It all adds up. __________________ 2020 Lifan x-pect
	0

05-23-2021, 10:32 AM	#24
Bruces Join Date: May 2018 Posts: 1,578	The Honda gn4 is nothing at all special other than the Honda sticker and price tag ,nothing wrong with it ,but also nothing to wet yourself with excitement because you have it either .The Castrol motorcycle oil sold at wallyworld is good cheap oil .
	0

05-23-2021, 11:03 AM	#25
China Rider 27 Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: PNW Posts: 982	If I didn't have two China bikes and constantly in the mix doing upgrades and maintenance that eat up my motorcycle spending budget and combined with the fact I like to change oil often I would go for that Motul just to see if it would make a difference in that shifting issue. These bikes to me are all about the experimenting, something I would be hesitant to do on an expensive bike. Barring that any reasonable quality oil should work. One thing I like about Rotella is that it has a high ZDDP level a chemical used before the days of catalytic converters with a reputation as an anti wear additive and hence found in the diesel designation. Even MOTUL says there oil is "safe for catalytic converts" given the modern requirements. https://www.amazon.com/Motul-7100-10..._t2_B0022ZFY2A
	0

05-23-2021, 02:26 PM	#27
mototech77 Join Date: May 2021 Location: Central Florida Posts: 80	You’ve gotten a lot of responses already but I’ll throw mine in if you are interested. I changed to Amsoil 30w Break-in oil before first startup, based on recommendations from other Lifan Xpect riders. The engine runs quietly and smoothly with no clutch or shifting issues. Once I have finished the break in period, I am changing to Amsoil 10w-40 Metric Motorcycle oil (I used a little bit of this on top of the initial quart of break-in oil to get to top fill line).
	0

05-23-2021, 03:38 PM	#30
Wild Dog Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Argentina Posts: 756	The reason why i avoid using syn oil in these engines, it's because it's an overkill. They were designed when Dino oil was the norm. Don't know in the US, but here you can buy 2,5 liters of Dino oil with the same money you can buy one liter of syn oil. The only damage you will get when using syn oil instead of dino is in the wallet.
	1