Hitchcocks Forum

Hi All,

I took delivery of a new 500 Bullet this week and was going to pick up some spares, so I checked the manual to find out what oil it takes (15w50) but also found that during the PDI of the bike the dealer has changed the oil for 10w40?
I assume they did it because it works better in a colder climate?
Either way, what oil should be in it?

Thanks.
Ben.

Either or. So long as its proper non-clutch slip motorcycle oil it'll work. No point buying expensive stuff either, you drop it out every 2500 miles so its not doing the sort of work a 8000 mile watercooled bike will cause.

Andy

Cool, thanks. I'll stick with the 10w40 then as its already in it and you can find it everywhere.

At risk of dredging up an age old argument. It doesn't have to be motorcycle specific oil. Nor will you find any manual that sitpulates a motorcycle specific oil, they just specify the grade and viscosity. The type of oil wont make your clutch slip. Compressed springs, glazed slipper plates/worn friction plates and notches baskets make clutches slip. New oil may make it more obvious but a slipping clutch was already on the way out.



I was running Morrisons 20w-50 diesel car oil in the primary of my bullet at one point. It slips more on ATF than it did on that.



I put over 70k miles on a GPZ500 running it on castrol GTX. I put halfords own brand car oil in my VFR750 and my wifes CB500s. No worries. Oil is oil. All available oil is of sufficiently high grade to put in a motorcycle engine. Worn clutches will slip regardless of what oil you put in them.



In answer to the original question. The dealer put 10w-40 in your bike because that's what he has a big drum of out the back. Not for any other reason. That'll be what he puts in every single bike that goes through his workshop regardless of what is supposed to be put in it because that's what motorcycle shops do. If you want your bike servicing according to the manual and you want everything doing on that service that is specified in the manual, the only way is to do it yourself. Take this from someone who paid through the nose for dealer servicing for 3 years on a brand new bike only to find the sparkplugs were rusty and almost seized in, the tappet covers had never been removed, the coolant was totally spent and the fork oil had never been changed when he did it himself.



Also in answer to your question. 10w-40 will work fine, especially in winter. It might burn a bit more of it than it would of a higher viscosity oil.



Dealer servicing on amotorcycle consists of dropping the oil, changing the oil filter. Looking at the air filter and saying "Ahh, it'll do." then filling it with oil from the big drum of semi synthetic 10w-40 out the back. Possibly tightening anything they find is obviously loose as they go past.



Or maybe I'm too cynical?

I'm amused by such stuff as Harley Davidson Oil, Amsoil, Motul, Agip, and other exotically marketed oils. I've used GTX all my cars and bikes for over 40 years and the only slipping clutch was a souped up Ducati's dry clutch.

Hello Guys and Hi Stinkwheel--------So, "Oil is Oil" eh ??------ If only that were the case how much easier my Engineering life in the RN and Army would have been ( And British Railways for that matter----not forgetting the Aerospace industry either ).......In the following MoDspeak..OEP = Oil, Extreme Pressure.....OM = Oil, Mineral....... OMD = Oil, mineral, Detergent.......Whilst the numbers are NOT SAE ratings but refer to the BR Numbers ( Book of Reference ) where each individual oil, grease etc is individually catalogued and explained...The book is about as thick as an old-fashioned Bible and is constantly kept up to date within a Technical Library system....Some of you Ex-Military types may remember E.M.E.R.'s ??...........and it's applicable across the whole of NATO as well..... ENJOY !! http://www.armedforces.co.uk/companies/ ... k7M81Vl_3g.......

Motorcycle oils have fewer or no friction modifiers, but usually more zinc/ZDDP/ phosphorous, for protection of extreme pressure metal to metal working areas. This stuff is dangerous to the environment and should be disposed of safely. Oil companies are reducing the amount of ZDDP because of this. I think ZDDP is still available in the old quantities in Classic-type motorcycle oils such as Penrite market.
Synthetic and car oils are more" slippery", but will still work with a clutch in good condition. It is when there is a build-up of modifiers on the plates over time that the clutch might start to slip; sometimes this can work the other way and the plates will stick together. When running-in an engine, it is better to use an oil with no friction modifiers so the rings can bed- in properly in the shortest possible time.

"When running-in an engine, it is better to use an oil with no friction modifiers so the rings can bed-in properly in the shortest possible time".




Running in; who does that???


Now-a-days it seems like most owners follow the 'Ride it like you stole it' process?

This is a NEW bullet. A UCE. Stinkwheel is correct about the old iron tractor gearbox jobs, but this one has the clutch in the engine oil. Next you'll be on about samrat rockers and moving the splines round on the front brake!

Andy

Hi Guys---- just out of interest sake I had a look at the David Silvers site to see what oil they supply for my 1980's Honda XBR 500 ( A 500cc, single cylinder, Air-cooled, Unit Construction Engine with its' 5-speed gearbox and clutch all lubricated with the one oil ).....Admittedly there is an Overheard Cam but almost the same operating conditions as our new Bullet....OK, a world away in terms of performance but this enquiry was just out of interest.....anyway here it is}----- https://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/XBR500/part_314144/

On the back of the oil container you'll see the specifications listed as}---- JASO MA,... AND API 5G.

Here is the description regarding those specs.}----- https://www.oilspecifications.org/artic ... ASO_MB.php

So the answer to the original question would appear to be}--- "Yes, that 10w-40 is perfectly ok providing it meets the original quality specs. found in the 15w-50"